EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick has spoken about his long career on the soap so far,

revealing that he has only recently realised how much he has achieved.

The actor joined EastEnders as Jay Brown when he was only 12 years old, and he has

now been a familiar face in Albert Square for 18 years, having grown up in Walford.

Borthwick has now told The Mirror‘s Invite Only podcast that he is “very pleased that I’ve stayed the course” on EastEnders.

“You know, there was a lot of opportunity for them to maybe lose me and there was opportunity for me to go elsewhere,” he explained, adding: “I’ve loved every minute of my time at EastEnders. I still love it. It’s the people there – they’re fantastic.”

In his almost two decades on the soap, Borthwick has been part of a number of major storylines, from the murder of Jay’s father Jase Dyer and his fostering by Billy Mitchell, to witnessing Ben Mitchell’s murder of Heather Trott.

He has been involved in relationships with Abi Branning, Honey Mitchell and Lola Pearce, with his marriage to Lola and her death from a brain tumour forming part of a major recent storyline.

“Now I’m older, I’ve realised, ‘Wow, I’ve done all that’,” he said. “The same with Strictly. I watch myself… and think, ‘Who is that person?’ It’s really odd. It’s like an out-of-body experience.”

Borthwick is currently competing on Strictly Come Dancing alongside his EastEnders filming commitments, with the actor being paired with professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas.

Following the pair’s Argentine Tango last Saturday (November 9), they have made it through to the iconic Blackpool Week and will perform at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom this weekend.

“Blackpool is the marker that I kind of set myself when I signed up to do the show,” Borthwick said. “It’d