Emmerdale star Jayme "Jay" Kontzle has opened up about his traumatic past which saw him labelled "miracle baby" after tragic accident only to sadly loose his mother a few years later.
Jay is best known for his role as Billy Fletcher on the ITV soap, since his debut on Emmerdale in December 2018, the actor has found himself at the centre of several gripping storylines.
From being kidnapped and tortured alongside his new wife Dawn Taylor by serial killer Meena Jutla to later being hospitalised after suffering horrific injuries from a racially motivated attack.
READ MORE: Emmerdale's Jeff Hordley reveals back up career as he shares 'uncertain' soap future
While Jay is now a much-loved soap-star, his first love was music. He appeared on Britain's Got Talent as part of boyband 'The Mend'.
The group were formed in 2008 by ex-Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith, and the band attempted to make it big in the United States, as well as gaining legions of fans in the UK.
However, the group finally parted ways in 2016, with Jay going on to pursue a career in acting. Jay has gone from strength to strength, the story of his success is even more incredible given he had such a heart-breaking start to life.
Jay was brought up by his grandparents after loosing his mum at a young age, the soap star was only a baby when he suffered a fractured skull after a car hit his pram as his mum pushed him across a pelican crossing.
The car hit the pair with Jay’s pram going through a shop window, his mum was badly injured but Jay was labelled a “miracle baby” after surviving the incident. Jay says his mum saved his life by taking the brunt of the accident.
Sadly just four years later, Jay’s mum passed away after being involved in a car accident, she was just 21 years old and was travelling to DJ at a club in Manchester at the time.
During a previous interview with our colleagues at Manchester Evening News, Jay said: "I believe all these negative things help to build your character."
"After The Mend I worked at a school with children with special educational needs and because of everything I have been through I wanted to show them that it's possible for anyone to get where they want to be.
"I tried to give them a positive outlook."
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