Jake Stone

A recovering alcoholic, Jake used to be a chef and ran his own chain of restaurants, and have a happy family - him, his wife Sadie, and his daughter Bella. But drink caused him to take his eye off the ball in both business and personal matters... his business went bankrupt and his marriage was on the rocks, with his wife finally throwing him out after he fell off the wagon. But Jake’s determined to rebuild his pride and start again from scratch. But in a recession, there’s a shortage of willing investors.

Jake’s on the road to recovery, attending counselling and going to AA – he genuinely wants to prove he’s changed. But Jake’s fundamentally weak. And where weakness lies, temptation always follows, but not usually in the name of Lauren Branning. With the two getting closer and closer through the counselling sessions, they finally gave into their feelings and kissed. It was a tricky situation with Jake being a married man, albeit before he got kicked out by his wife!

Jake and Lauren managed to keep their relationship under wraps and he supported her through Max’s court case ordeal. But the relationship soon became too much for Jake to handle and he was left with no choice but to reveal a secret to Lauren – he was back with his wife. With Lauren heartbroken, Jake is making every possible effort to make his family work as they move onto The Square. But with Jake’s alcoholic past, and the couple harbouring the guilt of their car crash that killed a child, could they really go back to happy families?

It wasn't long before Sadie began making her mark on Jake. She made him change his profession but he still wasn't happy, Jake turned back to Lauren for some TLC. But with juggling his marriage and seeing Lauren, can Jake really have his cake and eat it too? It was put to the test when Sadie invited Max to their dinner party, and Lauren conveniently tagged along. But despite all the awkwardness, tension and Jake revealing he was a former alcoholic, Jake managed to keep his cool… just about.

Unfortunately Jake got caught lip-locking with Lauren in the kitchen of Scarlett's by Max. Unsurprisingly, Max wasn’t best pleased and threatened to lift the lid on Jake's dirty secret if he didn’t keep away from his daughter – naughty, naughty, Jake!

The great love affair continued to get riskier though, until eventually Bella walked in on Lauren in the bedroom! And when Max confronted Jake about Lauren’s potential pregnancy, Sadie finally found out. Finally learning from Bella that she found Lauren in her bedroom, Sadie walked out on Jake. On the rebound and drunk, Jake forced Lauren to get into his car. Speeding off, Jake lost control and crashed into Kat's buggy, before fleeing the scene.