Emmerdale’s Billy Fletcher has been left heartbroken as wife Dawn announced she wanted to separate

Emmerdale has revealed a devastating blow for Billy Fletcher as his wife Dawn (played by Olivia Bromley) announces her desire to separate, amidst her clandestine affair with Joe Tate (Ned Porteus).

In a shocking turn of events, Dawn declared her intention to part ways with her husband, attributing his illicit boxing career and his habit of viewing explicit images of other women online as the reasons behind her dwindling affection for him.

Billy, a devoted father, was taken aback by Dawn’s revelations but immediately suspected she was involved in an affair, a claim she falsely denied. Will Billy uncover the truth?

As Billy becomes the focal point of the ITV soap, we delve into actor Jay Kontzle’s past television triumphs prior to his arrival in the Dales.

Jay has been embodying the character of Billy on Emmerdale since December 2018. However, his journey to stardom began on the ITV talent show Britain’s Got Talent, where he was part of the boyband The Mend, reports Leicestershire Live.

The band was established in 2008 by former Take That manager Nigel Martin-Smith and amassed a large fanbase before announcing their split in 2015.

They initially auditioned for The X Factor in 2011 but were asked to leave during the boot camp stage due to an existing management deal.

Nevertheless, they reunited with judge Simon Cowell on BGT 2012 and made it to the final after being selected as the judges’ Wild Card Act.

The band secured a spot in the final, ultimately finishing in 7th place. They later supported Little Mix on their 2013 DNA tour.

The boyband split back in 2015, but Jay has never shied away from praising his time with The Mend.

Chatting to Cheshire Live, he reminisced: “Being part of The Mend was a huge life experience for me and some of the best times of my life.”

He also admitted that growing up meant recognising when change was necessary, saying: “Obviously being on tour and performing live on TV gave me so much experience, but as we grew older we realised that as a boy band that catered for teenagers, we couldn’t keep re-inventing ourselves.”

In another revelation to Inside Soap, Jay confided that while he relished the camaraderie of band life, the commercial aspects were less appealing.

Speaking candidly to the magazine, he stated: “The best thing about being in a band was the insight I got into the industry.”

He shared his mixed feelings about the industry’s inner workings: “We worked with people at the top of their game, like Simon Cowell. But in the end, the business side of music put me off. It was an experience! I don’t really talk about it now because I’ve kind of moved on.”

Jay’s foray into acting led him to the set of Emmerdale in December 2018, following a nudge about an audition from his mate, ex-Hollyoaks actor Jamie Lomas.

Emmerdale airs weekdays at 7:30pm on ITV and ITVX