EastEnders fans have questioned the absence of a ‘missing’ character in recent scenes.

Jay Brown (Jamie Borthwick) has not been seen in the soap in recent weeks, despite his family dealing with Phil Mitchell’s (Steve McFadden) mental health crisis.

This week, he has also been missing from scenes as his stepdaughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown) has begun to question where her grandfather is, not knowing he is currently receiving treatment in a mental health unit.

Confused fans of the BBC soap picked up on Jay’s lack of screen time, with one writing on Reddit: ‘Anyone else noticed he seems to of just disappeared.

‘I think the last time he was on screen was when he had that conversation with Phil in his house a few weeks back.’

Another said: ‘He’s been starved of screentime for absolutely ages now which irritates me because he’s one of my favourites and Jamie is a fantastic actor.’

However, there is a simple explanation as to why Jay is missing.

Scenes that are currently airing on screen would have been filmed around January time – which is when Jamie was embarking on a nation arena tour with his Strictly Come Dancing  co-stars.

The actor appeared on last year’s series of the BBC ballroom show, finishing in seventh place with professional dance partner Michelle Tsiakkas.

The couple were one of seven couples to then take the show on the road earlier this year.

The Strictly tour wrapped up on 9 February, meaning Jay fans will likely see Jamie back on screen in EastEnders next month.

One fan remarked: ‘Hopefully he’ll get a good story in the second part of this year once he’s back as I love Jay and have started to miss his presence.’