.
Guest Character Profiles > Jools Halliday Eva Seymour

Jools Halliday 2024

When Felix Rodwell, freshly released from prison on parole, arrived to stay with his brother Andrew and family on Ramsay Street, it wasn't long before his girlfriend Jools Halliday turned up too. Andrew returned home one day to find Felix in the spa, when he'd said that he'd be going out to look for a job, but before he could say much more, Jools suddenly appeared from under the water. She was delighted to meet Felix's brother and quickly explained that she'd been practising holding her breath underwater for when she and Felix went snorkelling on holiday. Aware of his parole conditions, Felix said that the holiday wouldn't be happening any time soon, and later took his unimpressed brother to one side and told him that he'd met Jools before his latest stint in prison and she'd stood by him the whole time, even when he lost contact with his own family. Though Andrew had warned Felix about bringing any guests to the house - particularly those who might cause him to get sent back to prison - he made an exception for the friendly and talkative Jools, who he hoped might be a good influence on his brother.

It soon became clear that Jools was the only person who was aware of Felix's secret - that he might be the father of JJ Varga-Murphy, the teenager who lived over the road. Years earlier, Felix had been paid by Phillipa Wade to donate his sperm, which she'd given to her friend Cara, who'd later given birth to JJ. With Cara also using an anonymous American donor, Felix couldn't be certain that he was JJ's dad, but having already noticed that they had very similar birthmarks on their backs, he was becoming increasingly concerned. When they then saw JJ across the street, Felix told a delighted Jools that, if he got the labouring job he was about to apply for, he'd save some money for a few weeks and then skip his parole and take her to the Philippines.

A couple of weeks later, Jools turned up at a 'Welcome to Ramsay Street' party that Wendy and Andrew were throwing for Felix. After getting to know several of Felix's new neighbours, Jools was surprised when he took her to one side and admitted that he was enjoying getting to know JJ and was beginning to reconsider his plan to rob the building site and skip town. Jools, meanwhile, got territorial when she overheard Holly Hoyland asking Felix on the date, and the confrontation ended with Jools smashing cake over Holly's head. After this incident, plus a lecture from JJ's parents, Cara and Remi, about the influence he was having on the teenager, Felix told Jools that his original plan was back on, and they'd be leaving for the Philippines as soon as possible.

Felix's plan soon started to unravel, however, when JJ overheard him talking to Jools about it, then his accomplice Slade was caught and arrested. With hardly any time left before the planned robbery, JJ offered to step in and help and Felix reluctantly accepted, though soon realised his mistake. Felix lied to JJ that he'd found someone else to help him, but JJ turned up on the morning of the robbery anyway, only for the whole thing to be interrupted by Andrew, who'd worked out what his brother was up to. A panicked JJ ended up reversing the van into some scaffolding, which fell onto Andrew. Felix told JJ to run, while he apologised to his brother and disappeared too. As he recovered in hospital, Andrew was then forced to inform his colleagues at the police station about seeing Felix and JJ performing the robbery and, while JJ willingly went in to give a statement, the police used Jools to lure Felix out of hiding. Though she felt awful about doing it, Jools asked Felix to meet her, telling him that she had money, when infact all she'd brought with her was several police officers, who took Felix away. At the police station, as he waited to be taken back to prison, Felix received an apology from Jools as well as a visit from Andrew, who told him that he never wanted to see him again.

The following week, JJ was looking for answers, having been told that Felix wanted no contact with him. Unbeknownst to JJ, Remi had visited Felix before he'd been taken back to prison, telling him that she wanted him to have nothing to do with JJ, leaving the teenager confused about why his father wouldn't even acknowledge him. When a letter he'd sent to Felix in prison was returned to him, JJ decided to try contacting Jools to see if she had any answers for him. When JJ and Jools met up, she was surprised to see how much he looked like Felix, but told him that she wasn't surprised by her boyfriend's lack of contact. She explained to JJ that Felix's whole reason for robbing the building site was to get enough money together to leave the country, as he was so unsettled by the thought of being a father, and she advised JJ to forget about Felix and get on with his life.

Trivia Notes
• Jools' pet-name for Felix was Lixy

Episodes Featured
9006, 9012, 9020, 9026

Biography by Steve

Back