Damon Hay is the estranged father of Jacob Hay who began an affair with Sarah Barlow in 2023.
Damon became a controversial figure on the street right from the off as he was revealed to be the younger half-brother of drug lord Harvey Gaskell and seemingly wanted to pick up where his sibling left off by terrorising Nick Tilsley and Leanne Battersby. However, over time he began to show a softer side and went straight, preferring a more settled life helping to run the Viaduct Bistro.
Damon and his brother Harvey Gaskell were raised by Harvey's father Wayne and their shared mother, who died when the pair were both still young. When Wayne too passed away, the brothers were raised by their aunt Sharon.
Sometime prior to Harvey's arrest and imprisonment in 2021, Damon - seemingly a successful club manager in Ibiza - had lent him a significant sum of cash but instead of repaying his debt, Harvey had given a large portion of the money to Nick Tilsley, in order to pacify his guilty conscience over his murder of Nick's son Sam Blakeman's mother Natasha, with Nick then investing the money into the Viaduct Bistro. Damon arrived in Weatherfield in December 2022 and put on the pretence that he was seeking to reconnect with his estranged son Jacob, however, he wasted little time in revealing to Nick that the real reason for him turning up was that he believed he rightfully owned a share in the bistro and wanted to peddle drugs through the business. Nick was horrified about the situation but, as he had neglected to inform his partner Leanne Battersby that he had accepted money from the man who terrorised her, he reluctantly remained quiet.
Damon blackmailed Nick into giving Jacob a job at the bistro.
In 2023, he began an affair with Sarah Barlow. When Sarah's husband Adam found out about the affair, he stayed with Sarah but plotted revenge against Damon. Adam tracked down Niall Grainger, an old contact of Damon's. Fearing for his safety, Damon fled the area.
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