EE - Jay has been ridiculously underused these past few years

fawltytowers93 · 21/03/12 - 18:12

Jamie Borthwick is brilliant, yesterday really gave the audience the recognition of what a great actor he is.

Jay's been ridiculously underused these past few years, IMO this storyline will be the making of the character:)

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 18:13

Dunno, feels like its the breaking of him...not sure how he can come out of this with his head held high :S

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 18:20

Tbh, I sense that after this week he will once again be forgotten and will feature rarely. We'll see him every couple of weeks but it will be all about Ben and Phil for the most part.

He's a decent enough actor, but I still don't like the way he's covering up a murder after what happened to Jase, even if Jase was sort of referenced yesterday.

towers · 21/03/12 - 18:27

Jay's not the only character to be underused, though he's certainly one of the worst when it comes to being abandoned for weeks / months on end - along with Billy and Lola. TPTB can't let go of old favourites such as Phil and Sharon, Kat and Alfie, Max and Tanya or indeed new favourites such as Derek and Tyler.

Let's hope Jay continues to play a good role in this storyline and hasn't already had his moment in the sun.

Master Ozzy · 21/03/12 - 18:34

I think the actor who plays Jay is fantastic. He shows real promise...they need to give him more to do. It's the same with the actress who plays Abbi Branning. They always focus on Lauren, when in my opinion she's an awful actress and Abbi is much, much better. Apparently the actress who plays Abbi has her GCSE's this year and then she'll be featured more.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 18:46

He was superb last night, the best actor on screen by a mile. If he isn't used more after this it will be an absolute travesty.

Also, I have to say that so far this week Eastenders has been something it hasn't been in months: must-see TV.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 21:11

He's by far the best young actor EE has right now. I know people go on about Jac Jossa, who is fantastic, but Jamie Borthwick's scenes at the time of Jase's death were incredible, and I think he was around 14 at the time. He's been criminally underused but this week's scenes definetly show that he's still got it. He's playing Jay's conflict between what he knows is right and the loyalty to the Mitchells that his being forced upon him brilliantly. Hopefully they don't let his talent go to the waste until he becomes disposable.

Superstar99 · 21/03/12 - 21:20

I think he's a decent actor but I wouldn't really go above that with the praise. Yes he does crying well, but overall his actions and stuff are not really that outstanding, he has very few lines and seems to pull the same face and seems a bit of a one trick pony to me. For all the criticism of Ben, I think he has actually been very convincing in this storyline, to me he's the one really deserving of the praise, given the fact he's a relatively new actor with no previous experience.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 21:21

He wasn't as good today. Still good but a bit too silent and shocked.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 21:52

He hasn't really. He's still had scenes and storylines. You can't always make drama just for the sake of someone showing their potential, it could turn out to be really bad drama? Sometimes, you just have to wait for your time.

Stupid_Head · 21/03/12 - 21:54

Maybe the actor had exams and whatnot to do in the real world, like Abi right now.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 22:17

Stupid_Head wrote: »

Maybe the actor had exams and whatnot to do in the real world, like Abi right now.

Yeah, I think people are forgetting that the actors who play the likes of Jay, Abi etc, are still classed as children, so soaps like EE have quite tight restrictions on how much they can work.

Plus all soaps now try to encourage their young actors to stay studying after 16 at least up until 18 (usually to complete B-Tecs or A-Levels in drama and the performing arts).

This all means that the likes of Jay and Abi physically cant be seen as much as older characters. As they grow older and complete their studies, these actors will feature more.

The powers that be on EE obviously like the character of Jay on EE as they have made quite an effort to integrate him into the Mitchell family. I think they have big plans for him in the future.

As a comparison, remember that the likes of Libby, Darren and Tamwar didnt appear much until the actors that played them got past 17/18.

[Deleted User] · 21/03/12 - 23:08

Superstar99 wrote: »

I think he's a decent actor but I wouldn't really go above that with the praise. Yes he does crying well, but overall his actions and stuff are not really that outstanding, he has very few lines and seems to pull the same face and seems a bit of a one trick pony to me. For all the criticism of Ben, I think he has actually been very convincing in this storyline, to me he's the one really deserving of the praise, given the fact he's a relatively new actor with no previous experience.

At last I've found someone who agrees with me

Jamie Borthwick is good, but Joshua Pascoe has been just as good and if not better!

Superstar99 · 21/03/12 - 23:15

I think people only like Jay because he is a good looking lad and generally a nicer character. However in terms of acting Ben is really doing the job because he is the one that is getting people talking. Okay he might not be good looking (to some), his character is horrible and twisted, but look beyond the visual aspects of him and just look at how good he plays the part.

Jay had a couple of crying scenes this week and has spoken all of about 20 lines and suddenly he's redarded as the best young actor on the show by many. Ben has had to do all sorts of different storylines of late and nailed them perfectly in most. Okay at first when he joined he was a little bit weak, expected given it was his first major acting role. But since the Phil stalking stuff I think he has been excellent and is playing the character exactly how the producers would have wanted.

John Dough · 21/03/12 - 23:15

Rocket562 wrote: »

He wasn't as good today. Still good but a bit too silent and shocked.

I think he's 'pitching it' just right overwhelmed by what's happened but painfully aware that he's got to avoid making himself an obvious suspect. He's 100 times more credible than 'Ben'.

chicaxs · 21/03/12 - 23:19

What a fantastic actor, he really shines this week, I loved the bit where he went to hold Ben's hand and Ben shook him off. He really plays the vulnerable young teen well. I hope they use him more. Much better than Ben. I just cannot take Ben (or Pascoe) seriously.

[Deleted User] · 22/03/12 - 00:06

Sylar11 wrote: »

He was superb last night, the best actor on screen by a mile. If he isn't used more after this it will be an absolute travesty.

Also, I have to say that so far this week Eastenders has been something it hasn't been in months: must-see TV.

I agree. Amazingly well done episodes.

Sez_babe · 22/03/12 - 00:15

I think Jamie is brilliant and last night's episode proved that. I haven't liked Ben in the past but I think Joshua is really good too - what he's done in the last few eps has been excellent

Bathsheba · 22/03/12 - 12:09

I agree OP. We have not seen much of Jay the last year or so but we have been forced to endure appearances by Tyler Goon nearly every episode.

Vanessa73 · 22/03/12 - 12:12

Agreed! Give Jay a new storyline! I want to see more of him! :mad:

Sez_babe · 22/03/12 - 13:18

Same here

[Deleted User] · 22/03/12 - 13:25

He should've been axed when they decided to kill his father. It was silly to keep him - EE has far too many hangers-on and loose threads about.

tfox6 · 22/03/12 - 14:07

towers wrote: »

Jay's not the only character to be underused, though he's certainly one of the worst when it comes to being abandoned for weeks / months on end - along with Billy and Lola. TPTB can't let go of old favourites such as Phil and Sharon, Kat and Alfie, Max and Tanya or indeed new favourites such as Derek and Tyler.

Let's hope Jay continues to play a good role in this storyline and hasn't already had his moment in the sun.

Not to mention Diane Parrish and Rudolph Walker, two of the best and most underused EE actors.

vald · 22/03/12 - 14:37

Superstar99 wrote: »

I think people only like Jay because he is a good looking lad and generally a nicer character. However in terms of acting Ben is really doing the job because he is the one that is getting people talking. Okay he might not be good looking (to some), his character is horrible and twisted, but look beyond the visual aspects of him and just look at how good he plays the part.

Jay had a couple of crying scenes this week and has spoken all of about 20 lines and suddenly he's redarded as the best young actor on the show by many. Ben has had to do all sorts of different storylines of late and nailed them perfectly in most. Okay at first when he joined he was a little bit weak, expected given it was his first major acting role. But since the Phil stalking stuff I think he has been excellent and is playing the character exactly how the producers would have wanted.

Spot on. Jamie did a good job but Joshua was the one I couldn't take my eyes off. He was so convincing as a deluded killer who showed not a scrap of remorse...chilling.

Sez_babe · 22/03/12 - 14:42

Yeh Ben was good too but my heart went out to Jay

jamesisace · 22/03/12 - 18:19

Joshua Pascoe is great at playing such a horrible, sick twisted freak and I'm not doubting his ability as he is a fantastic actor but Jamie Borthwicks deffinatelty got a talent for tugging at the viewers heartstrings (this week, when Jase died, when Jay got stabbed just to name a few) than Josh hasn't. Though I'm guessing we arent meant to feel sorry for Ben

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