Jay Brown (previously Mitchell) made his first onscreen appearance on the 4th December 2006 and he is the son of Jase Dyer and Karen Brown although he was adopted by Phil Mitchell. Jay's first relationship was with Abi Branning, who he later got engaged to and his second girlfriend was teenager mother Lola Pearce and his best friend is Ben Mitchell, who is the father of Lola's daughter Lexi.
Storylines
Jase Dyer tries to flee Walford when he double-crosses a football firm but Dawn stops their departure by setting a date for her and Jase's wedding. Jase and Jay live safely in Walford for the next year. In January 2008, Jase gets involved with a local gang lead by Tegs. Tegs wants Jay to throw a brick through a window to finally be accepted into the gang but Jay refuses, his good side shows up and says she is a neighbour. Tegs stabs Jay and is later arrested. Jay goes on the straight and narrow.
Jay's father Jase is found by the football firm that are after him. The firm, led by Terry Bates, holds Jay hostage to get revenge on Jase. Jase is able to save Jay with Billy Mitchell's help but is beaten to death and Billy, too frightened to intervene, leaves Jase to die. Jay accuses Dawn Swann of causing his father's death and goes into care to get away from her.
Jay is later fostered by Billy, who is wracked with guilt for not saving Jase from the gang. Jay's behaviour worsens when he plans an arson attack on Dawn, but Billy is able to stop him and Jay eventually makes amends with Dawn. Jay and Billy move into a flat with Janine Butcher, who tries to get rid of Jay by stealing and blaming it on him. Feeling unwanted, Jay befriends Marissa Moore, who works at a brothel, and they plan to run away together. When Marissa backs out, Jay runs away alone and sleeps rough, until Billy convinces him to move back in. Terry's trial for Jase's murder approaches and Jay is furious to learn that, rather than attempting to help Jase, Billy hid to save himself. Terry's wife, Viv Bates, threatens to hurt Jay if Billy testifies. Jay is taken hostage by Terry's firm as a security measure, and Billy risks his own life to save him. Billy and Jay are both rescued by the police and Billy testifies, which results in Terry receiving life imprisonment for murder, partially redeeming himself in the eyes of Jay. Jay then becomes close to Phil Mitchell and he decies to adopt Jay and his name becomes Jay Mitchell.
Jay's girlfriend Abi Branning returns from her trip and learns from her parents Tanya and Max Branning about Jay's involvement in Heather's murder, and she rejects him. The next day she tells him he should have done more to stop Ben. He resumes his friendship with Lola Pearce and helps her steal cleaning supplies to make money, and they end up sharing a kiss in front of Abi. Abi insists she is happy for them both, however, Lola says she was just winding Abi up, and the three friends reunite. Jay gains employment from Max but is sacked when Phil refuses to work with Jay, when he has to collect cars from Phil. Abi consoles Jay, and after she is attacked by Alexa Smith, Jay comforts her and they declare their love for each other. Jay is later pleased when Lola asks him to be her daughter Lexi's godfather, he has doubts whether he will be good enough but Abi's grandmother and Lexi's godmother Cora Cross assures him he will be. In court, Jay is sentenced to community service for his part in Heather's death.
Jay, Abi, Lola, Dexter Hartman, Peter Beale and Cindy Beale Williams go on a caravan holiday, where Abi discovers her period is late and tells Jay that she could be pregnant. Jay and Abi argue because she wants an abortion if she is pregnant, while Jay would rather be a father. Abi is not pregnant but Jay thinks thinks their relationship is over, so kisses barmaid Kitty, witnessed by Dexter, who is Abi's cousin. Jay and Abi reunite but he feels guilty, and when Kitty keeps calling him, he tells her to stop, but is overheard by Lola. Jay promises Lola that he only loves Abi, and Lola agrees to say nothing to Abi. Dexter reveals Jay's infidelity to Abi in an argument. Abi is devastated, but ultimately forgives Jay.
Peter's twin sister Lucy Beale is murdered by an unknown assailant, and Jay discovers that Max is having a fling with a detective involved in the case, Emma Summerhayes. He agrees to keep quiet for the investigation's sake. Emma and her colleagues organise an appeal to raise public awareness into the murder inquiry, and display CCTV footage of a man in a beanie hat on the same bus as Lucy on the night she died. Jay is skittish on seeing the footage and later burns the hat. He then makes arrangements to move away with Abi when she gets accepted into Bolton University. On hearing that the police have a new lead on the man on the bus, Jay makes plans to leave for Bolton with Abi immediately after saying goodbye to Phil at a barbecue run by the Queen Vic, but during the proceedings Summerhayes and her superior, DI Samantha Keeble arrive and question Jay (as seen in scenes available online) over a robbery at a shop near to where Lucy was killed, and it is revealed he was with another man at the time. He denies any involvement and is released without charge. He later confides in Shirley Carter that he was with Ben Mitchell on the day Lucy was killed, but he has only seen Ben twice since he was released from prison. Shirley forces him to tell Phil, and his initial anger leads Jay to move in with Abi for a while, and he plans to move to Bolton before Phil marries Sharon Rickman (Letitia Dean). Jay later reconciles with Phil and reunites him with Ben. It is revealed that, under Ben's instruction, Jay buried Lucy's phone and purse in the allotment. On the day of Sharon and Phil's wedding, Jay and Abi split when Abi realises Jay is harbouring feelings for Lola. When Phil is accidentally shot by Shirley, Jay and Ben are instructed by Ronnie Mitchell (Samantha Womack) to throw the gun in the canal. Ben phones the police in a last ditch effort for more time with Lola, Jay is arrested, and Lola and Lexi move to Newcastle alone. Jay receives a suspended prison sentence and a three-month curfew. Although he intends to join her when the curfew is finished, Lola later calls Jay to end their relationship. Three months later, Jay meets Linzi Bragg and is attracted to her. They start dating but agree to take the relationship slowly. Jay takes Linzi to the car lot for some quiet time, and leaves her there while he goes to buy condoms, but when he returns, Phil has demolished the car lot and Jay fears that Linzi has been killed until he sees that she was not in it at the time and Phil had in fact nearly killed his own daughter Louise Mitchell.
In 2017, Ben is angry when Louise ends up in hospital after school bullies Madison and Alex pushed her into some candles, leaving her almost dead in hospital. Ben the tries to go and kill Madison and Alex but is stopped by Jay when he tells Ben that they are only fifteen. Ben then replies "I thought Louise was your sister two ?" but Jay reassures Ben that Louise is his sister and Ben is his brother.