Jake Moon is a fictional character from the British soap opera EastEnders, played by Joel Beckett.
This involves the character developing a feud with Johnny's gangland rival Andy Hunter (Michael Higgs), up to the point where Jake witnesses Johnny killing Andy on the show's 20th anniversary episode; sparking a romance with local landlady Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman) that leads to the pair attempting to flee the county after Jake discovered that Chrissie murdered her estranged husband Den (Leslie Grantham) and framed her nemesis Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) for the crime; becoming embroiled in Chrissie and Johnny's respective feuds against the Mitchell family; having a brief conflict with Sam's brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) in light of both Danny's death and Johnny's arrest; forming a brief relationship with fellow neighbour Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley); and clashing with his business partner Sean Slater (Robert Kazinsky) upon learning of his scheme to exploit Johnny's adolescent daughter Ruby (Louisa Lytton).
His last scene saw him being confronted by mobsters shortly after Johnny had died of a heart attack in prison, but his fate was left unknown.
Beckett reprised his role on 12 September 2024 for a one-off appearance, coinciding with Chrissie's release from prison, during which it was revealed that he was still alive.
Whilst Jake is saying goodbye to Chrissie Watts (Tracy-Ann Oberman), Johnny forces Danny into his car.
Jake soon repairs his relationship with Chrissie – whom he recently had a fling with – and is later shocked when she admits to have killed her husband and Johnny's close friend, Den (Leslie Grantham) – whose body had been uncovered from the cellar of The Queen Victoria pub, several weeks before; Jake is further surprised to learn that Chrissie killed Den on the same night that Johnny murdered Andy – as well as framing her nemesis Sam Mitchell (Kim Medcalf) for the crime.
Danny then shows Jake a mobile phone recording of Andy's best-friend, Dennis Rickman (Nigel Harman), being stabbed to death on New Year's Eve 2005.
Jake regains consciousness just as Sam's brothers Phil (Steve McFadden) and Grant (Ross Kemp) arrive to confront Johnny – seeking to bring him to justice for Dennis' murder as they had promised to their ex-lover Sharon (Letitia Dean), who recently married Dennis months before his death.
As Phil and Grant leave to confront Johnny again, Jake mourns the loss of his brother and proceeds to bury Danny in the woods with a spade – which he then uses to mark his grave.
As Jake copes with the events of Danny's death and Johnny's arrest, he forms a relationship with Carly Wicks (Kellie Shirley); however, he ends it in August 2006.
Jake reunites with Chrissie after her release from prison, and after a brief stop in Albert Square to reminisce about the past, they drive away for a new life together.
The character's arrival was announced on 20 October 2004,[4] and Beckett was quoted as saying "I've watched the programme since the beginning and I'm very excited to be joining such a successful television institution".
[6] However, producer Kate Harwood gave Jake a reprieve, and the character subsequently took a short break from the show which coincided with Danny's exit and then returned.
[8] It was announced on 7 May 2006 that Beckett had quit the role to move on and further his career,[9] and the character made his final appearance on 20 October 2006.
Regarding his 2024 return, Laura-Jayne Tyler from Inside Soap joked, "So, Jake Moon has been waiting 19 years to get his hands on Chrissie?