Jase Dyer

Jase Dyer is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', played by Stephen Lord between 19 July 2007 to 29 August 2008. The character and his casting was announced on the mid-2007 on June. Lord, in his first role, began filming for ''EastEnders'' in June 2007 one month before his casting announcement, and made his first episode broadcast on 19 July 2007. The character was introduced and created by Diederick Santer the executive producer of ''EastEnders''. Beginning in the serial on July as a man in his mid-thirties, Jase arrives as the father of Jay Brown (played by Jamie Borthwick). Jase is also described a love interest for Roxy Mitchell) and Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon).

Following Jase's arrival his storylines mainly focused on him arriving and bonding with his son, being engaged to his girlfriend Dawn and his secret past, which later it is revealed he was involved in a gang and was sent to prison for his crime. Lord was nominated for the "Best Newcomer" at the 2008 British Soap Awards for his portrayal of Jase, though lost out to ''Coronation Street''s Michelle Keegan ( Tina McIntyre). In an interview Lord has described his character Jase as a "enigmatic", "a dead wrong'un" and "mystery character with a dark past". It was later confirmed on the character will leave ''EastEnders''. The character was killed off in the serial, making his final credited appearance, (as a corpse) aired on 29 August 2008 after being subsequently murdered by his antagonistic gang leader, Terry Bates ( Nicholas Ball). On ''Virgin Media'' his death was named one of the "Soaps' best storyline" in 2008.

Storylines

Jase arrives in Walford in search of his estranged son, Jay (Jamie Borthwick). He flirts with a pregnant Honey Mitchell ( Emma Barton), angering her husband Billy (Perry Fenwick). When Billy finds Jase's letter regarding visits to a probation office, he tells the community that Jase is a criminal, causing them to shun him. When Jay discovers his father has been in prison, he reacts badly and is arrested for carving "LIAR" into a bus shelter, referring to Jase's lies about where he had been all his life. In wake of this, despite the initial animosity, Jase and Jay begin to bond.

Jase meets up with Terry Bates ( Nicholas Ball), leader of a gang of football hooligans, who looked after Jase when he was a teenager. It is revealed Jase's involvement with the gang, led to his imprisonment. He decides that he does not want to be part of the gang any longer, as he has Jay to look after. Terry is angry about this and makes various threats to get him to reconsider. Jase refuses and Terry's gang raid The Queen Victoria looking for him. Jase is dragged into the cellar and beaten. Meanwhile, a heavily pregnant Honey calls the police and steps in to stop Jase being attacked; however, in retaliation, she is assaulted by the gang, after being caught-up in a violent siege. She goes into premature labour and gives birth to her son, Will Mitchell. Enraged by the gang attack, Jase swears revenge on Terry and threatens to kill him to gain his freedom, but he is stopped by the intervention of Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), who calls the police; the gang is then arrested. Phil expects repayment for his help and forces Jase to assist him in his various vendettas.

Following a brief fling with Roxy Mitchell), Jase begins a more serious relationship with Dawn Swann (Kara Tointon), whom he later proposes to. He unknowingly begins working for May Wright (Amanda Drew), the woman who had planned to adopt Dawn's daughter, Summer. A violent confrontation occurs when May tries again to abscond with Summer and causes a gas explosion in Dawn's house; Jase saves Summer's life, catching her when she is dropped from a first floor window. With their house burnt down and no money, Dawn begins to fret over their financial future. Wanting to please Dawn, Jase takes a mysterious call saying he will do "one more job for him." The next day Jase brings home a bag full of money. Dawn then spends the money on various things including clothes and rent money for a new flat. Jase adopts Summer and his name is added to her birth certificate, after Dawn had left it blank when Summer was born. Dawn's demands continue, so Jase does more jobs for his associate. When he comes home beaten and bloodied, he is forced to admit to Dawn that he is working for Terry Bates once again. Dawn is initially furious, but despite realising that he is involved in criminal activity, she makes no attempt to stop him as she is desperate to keep the money and get the wedding of her dreams. Jase speaks of leaving Walford to escape Terry, but Dawn announces that they have set a date for their wedding, ensuring that Jase cannot leave.

Upon cancelling his stag night to collect £100,000 for Terry, Jase reluctantly takes Billy on as a getaway driver, revealing his intention to steal Terry's money. They agree to split the money 60/40, however upon arriving at the location of the job, there is no money, only a note stating that Terry and his men have Jay hostage and the job is a setup. When they arrive back at the flat in search of Jay, Jase and Billy are greeted by Terry and his men wielding baseball bats. Eventually, the confrontation between Jase, Terry and his men leads to violence; Jase and Billy manage to save Jay, but in the ensuing fight, Jase is brutally beaten up by Terry's men. To Billy's horror, he witnesses the assault; however, he is too frightened to help Jase and hides in the bathroom. After beating Jase up, Terry fatally stabs him. Meanwhile, Jay, hiding in the van, makes a call to Honey, who makes the call to 999. The police arrive and arrest Terry and his men, however, Jase later dies of his injuries in hospital. Dawn learns of his death on their wedding day. Jase is last seen when Jay identifies his body in the mortuary.

He is later cremated on 7 October 2008, with Jay, Dawn, Darren Miller ( Charlie G. Hawkins), Garry Hobbs (Ricky Groves), Minty Peterson (Cliff Parisi) and Billy attending the funeral. Several months later, Billy eventually admits to Jay what happened on the night Jase died after being blackmailed by Nick Cotton ( John Altham), who threatened to tell Jay about his cowardice. Viv Bates ( Dido Miles), Terry's wife, and his gang threaten Billy into staying away from the court case by kidnapping Jay for security measures. Billy saves him, and he finally testifies against Terry, which results in him receiving life imprisonment for Jase's murder.

Casting and characterisation

Lord's casting was announced on 4 June 2007. Kris Green of Digital Spy reported Lord was cast in the recurring role of Jase Dyer, father of established character Jay Brown played by Jamie Borthwick. Lord commented on that it felt good to join the cast, while executive producer Diederick Santer stated "I am delighted that ''EastEnders'' has attracted yet another top class actor to its cast. Stephen Lord is an actor of great talent and charisma, and I hope that his character Jase will attract, intrigue and entertain the audience in equal measure." Lord stated filming his first scenes at Elstree Studios one month before his casting announcement. Nicola Methven and Polly Hudson of the ''Daily Mirror'' wrote that he would make his first screen appearance as Jase in July 2007.

Shortly after the character was announced, a show spokesperson stated "Jase is an enigmatic character in his mid thirties and arrives on the Square looking for his son. We don't know much about him, but what we do know is that he hasn't been in Jay's life for years and he was never a doting parent." They added that Jase's past is full of secrets and summed him up as "a dead wrong'un." A writer from the ''EastEnders'' website said "Jase is something of a mystery man, with a dark past." During an interview with a ''What's on TV'' writer, Lord explained that Jase comes to Walford to see his son and he admitted that both Jay and his father-in-law, Bert Atkinson (Dave Hill), are shocked by his appearance. Lord stated that it is obvious Jay is happy to see his father, but Bert is unsure. He explained "The truth is Bert doesn't really know Jase. They've not had much to do with each other. He just assumes Jase is up to no good. Well you can see why Bert thinks that – there's definitely something of the dark horse about Jase. He doesn't give much away."

The ''Daily Mirror'' describe Jase a "hunk who will soon be breaking Walford hearts". It said, "Jase hasn't been in Jay's life for years. He returns to find his boy. And, naturally, our Jase has a dark past riddled with shocking secrets". In 2007 he turns up in the Square to look after son Jay after being mysteriously absent for many years. It also adds the Jase keeps himself to himself.

Lord further explained that Jase has not had much to do with Jay and he was not with him when his mother died of breast cancer. Jase tells Jay that he has been working on cross Channel ferries, but has finally had enough of it. Now he wants to get to know Jay and help bring him up. Lord commented "He genuinely wants to be there for Jay and be part of his life." The interviewer said Jase looked like he would be a ladies' man and Lord believed that Jase does not have any intention of attracting as many women as he can, however he does turn on the charm when he wants. Lord added that Jase is unpredictable, which makes people wary of him. Jase's profile on the ''What's on TV'' website stated that Jase preferred to keep himself to himself and that he was determined to stay on the straight and narrow, while doing the right thing by Jay.

Development

In 2007, Jase's primary storyline was arriving to Walford to salvage the relationship with his son. Keeping on eye on him to make a fresh start with him. Saving Dawn's baby Summer by catching her at a first floor from a burning house window at the hands of baby-stealer borderline psychopath Dr. May Wright (Amanda Drew). Having a brief fling with Roxy Mitchell

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