Inside Jay Kontzle’s life away from Emmerdale: Near-death experience, heartbreaking family tragedy and X Factor audition
Jay has had quite a dramatic life off-screen
Emmerdale cast member Jay Kontzle has been playing Billy Fletcher since 2018. But away from the show, actor Jay has had his own dramatic life.
During his time in the village, Billy has been mixed up in some huge storylines. And at the moment he remains unaware that his wife, Dawn, had been having an affair with Joe Tate.
However, Jay has had quite a packed life himself. The 34-year-old is currently married with three young children. But his early years had their own tragedies.
Near-death experience
According to The Mirror, when Jay was only a little baby, he and his mum were involved in an accident that left him with “critical injuries”.
His mum was pushing his pram across a pelican crossing when a car hit them. Jay’s pram went through a shop window. While his mum was also seriously injured, Jay suffered critical injuries, including a fractured skull. From then, his mum called him a “miracle baby” as he somehow survived the shock incident.
Family death
Just a few years after his near-death experience, when he was four years old, his mum tragically passed away. At the age of 21, Jay’s mum died in a car accident while travelling to DJ at a club in Manchester, leaving him to be raised by his grandparents.
He spoke to OK Magazine about his childhood. Jay said: “My mum was the best person in the world. But my grandparents have done a really good job. I really appreciate everything they have done for me.”
He also spoke to Manchester Evening News about being raised by his grandparents, and how he wished they got “more recognition” for what they did.
He said: “They really struggled to get by and had to use their pensions to care for me. Being a kinship carer can be overwhelming sometimes without any emotional or financial support.
“My behaviour was terrible as a kid. I could be a nightmare sometimes because of what I had been through. But they never gave up on me. My grandparents hadn’t planned to raise me, but they did because they loved me. Yet, they didn’t receive any help at all. That’s not right or fair.”
Jay Kontzle X Factor and Britains Got Talent before Emmerdale
Acting isn’t Jay’s only skill as he is also a singer and producer. In 2011, he and his band, The Mend, auditioned for The X Factor – but they failed to get past Boot Camp.
However, they didn’t give up and they actually auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent the following year. And they made it to the live finals.
However, as time went on the boyband decided to go their separate ways, splitting in 2015. And it doesn’t seem like Jay has any regrets as it was through the band that he met his wife, Mimi, when she went to one of their concerts.
Marriage and family life
After meeting at a concert, the pair went on to get married in 2017 and share three young children together. And Jay seems to be the doting dad as he loves to share glimpses at his family on social media.
Speaking about their wedding, Mimi said: “We just had our family there. It was really nice. It was inevitable that we were going to get married. So, we just thought, ‘why not do it now?’.”
Emmerdale role for Jay Kontzle
In 2018 Jay was tipped off about a casting session for Emmerdale by Hollyoaks pal and Charley Webb’s brother, Jamie Lomas.
After then going to the auditions, the rest was history and he was given the role of Billy.
Since then, his time on Emmerdale has been going strong. But fans have been worried that we may be gearing up for a Billy exit due to recent storylines.
Read more: Complete guide to the Emmerdale cast 2025
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights at 7.30pm on ITV, with an early release at 7am on ITVX.
Classic Emmerdale usually airs weekdays at 6am and 6.30am, plus 1.40pm and 2.10pm on ITV3.
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