Jake Rory: The Shropshire Lad plays gay-vague on EastEnders, falls in love with Mercutio, gets n*ked in third of his on-screen roles.

  

Link to the n*de photos

The media calls Jake Rory  a Shropshire Lad, reflecting the book of poetry by A.E. Housman, who was terrified of acknowledging his love for men:

Look not in my eyes, for fear
  They mirror true the sight I see,
And there you find your face too clear
  And love it and be lost like me.

He grew up in Maesbury, Shropshire, near the Welsh border; his Mum ran the Talbot Pub across the border in Welshpool.  After secondary school at The Hammond, he attended ArtsEd, a "world-renowned" drama school in London:

There Jake appeared in:

The Cherry Orchard (who hasn't?)

 Orpheus Descending, by Tennessee Williams.  Bi actor Marlon Brando starred in the movie version.

Macbeth

And The Voysey Inheritance: Desire and social obligation, by the heavily closeted Harley Granville-Barker.

He also had a minor role in the short Renters (2024): a lesbian couple in Auckland are looking for a flat.  One seems too good to be true, until... 

Jake graduated with a B.A. in Acting in 2024, and was immediately cast in a modernized version of Oedipus on the West End (October 2024-January 2025).  Mark Strong played Oedipus. Jake was in the ensemble, and understudied the roles of Eteocles, Polyneices, and Lichas (Oedipus' son, brother, and assistant).

In 2025, Jake and Connor Monroe wrote and performed in Mercutio,  a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet, at the Camden Fringe Festival.  A review mentions an "unexpected romantic subtext," but of course the gay-subtext romance betwween Mercutio and Romeo is well known.  

Connor Monroe is apparently gay.  A woman posts on "Love Is All That Matters" about her "gay brother Connor Monroe," and someone by that name mentions having a husband. 

Jake also began television work in 2025.  In Episode 1.8 of The Agency, Martian (Michael Fassbinder), a CIA agent working undercover, walks in on his daughter  Poppy and her boyfriend Daniel (Jake), both unclothed.  Danny Boy strikes a pose, planning to fight the "intruder"; but upon realizing that it's just Dad, he settles for covering up.

Martian is nonchalant about his daughter getting busy.  Later he praises her for growing into a "cool person."

More after the break

After all, he's been n*de on-screen, too (on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends).

Jake also appeared as Officer Balen, at the bottom of the cast list, in a 2025  episode of FBI: International, with the FBI agents in Belgrade "racing against time" for something or other. 

But his biggest role on 2025 was an episode of the soap EastEnders.  Phil Mitchell (Steve McFadden), a regular since 1990, has faced the usual murder attempts, murder accusations, kidnappings, affairs, life-threatening diseases, and addictions.  

The stress of living in a soap opera causes Phil's mental health to deterioriate, and after two self-harm attempts he is admitted to a mental hospital.  He befriends fellow patient Andy (Jake), who lost his dad at an early age, grew up in foster homes and on the street, felt "invisible," and wanted to "make it all stop" by self-harming.  Phil and Andy help each other realize that they aren't alone; when things get rough, they can count on others for help

The episode was praised for its realistic depiction of mental illness.  A five-minute clip was later broadcast  broadcast on Comic Relief during a Red Nose Day fundraiser.

Andy doesn't mention having or wanting a girlfriend, even when he envisions his future, "getting on with my life."  It's a minimal queer code, but intensified for fans, since Phil's biological son Ben is gay.  Their relationship was  difficult, with Phil's homophobia and Ben's internalized homophobia.  They are both crooks (Phil's  attempted/successful murder count is 25, Ben's is17) so their conflicts often led to framing each other, squealing to the cops, or assaulting a partner.  Finally Ben married Calum Highway, who cheated on him, and...well, it goes on like that.   Maybe Daddy Phil thinks that by being a surrogate dad to Andy, he can respond to a gay kid the right way.

Left: Ben was played most recently by Mark Bowden.

Jake has compiled an impressive number of gay subtexts for someone who is just starting out.  No overt gay characters, however, and he mentions a girlfriend in an interview, so I guess he's straight in real life.

I wasn't lying: he gets n*ked in a third of his three on-screen roles to date.

D*ck and backside photos are on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

See also: Sonny Kendall: Obviously gay, too young for n*de photos, so his EastEnder teen had better pay off. With Boreanaz and twinks

Eric Brody: Fashion model from Florida shows his stuff in his first acting gig

"No Good Deed": Four lesbians, a gay realtor, a gay son, Oedipus, some murderers, and Phoebe from "Friends"

Taylor Gregory: The fierce, fabulous Barbie kid grows up to ballet, bodybuilding, and kissing boys. With bonus Czerwonko going downtown