Series 3
JJ first appears in "Everyone" when he meets best friends Freddie and Cook before starting their first day at Roundview College. There he often goes unnoticed despite his magic tricks and articulate speech. He, along with Freddie and Cook become infatuated with Effy. In "Cook", JJ manages to impress the gang with a magic stunt involving a goldfish, which Cook spoils. Cook persuades JJ to accompany him to a brothel where JJ nervously asks for a kiss from a prostitute. In "Pandora", JJ and Cook attempt to sneak into Pandora's "girls only" party. After Cook goes in, JJ goes in himself only to find Emily and Naomi Campbell kissing. The party turns into a massive house party when Katie Fitch's boyfriend and his friends arrive. JJ calls Freddie to get him out of the party after he gets "locked on".
In "Freddie", JJ witnesses Effy's destructive influence over his closest friends. He performs an elaborate fire eating stunt which impresses Effy, Freddie and Cook. He votes against Karen in a reality television program, under Cook's instructions, as revenge against her stealing Freddie's shed. However, this sparks a violent confrontation between Freddie and Cook.
In JJ's centric episode, his autism and his temperament are made clear. He regularly attends a clinic where he requires heavy medication. At the clinic, he meets Emily who is receiving counselling, and the two discuss their woes outside the clinic. She confides to him about her homosexuality, and he in turn confesses his desire to be normal, shocking her with the number of drugs he has been prescribed. He also expresses his fury that the friendship he had shared with Freddie and Cook has been destroyed the love triangle caused by Effy. He and Emily visit Freddie, in which they walk in on him having sex with Katie, and JJ accidentally reveals Emily's homosexuality to Katie. Freddie refuses to make up with Cook and tells JJ to choose between the two.
JJ tries to call Cook, but hears Cook on the phone having sex with a girl who JJ assumes is Effy. He then confronts Effy about her role in destroying a friendship he prized so much and confesses his love for her. Effy says that she has not seen Cook in days, but seeing the impact she has had on JJ's life, is apologetic and suggests they become friends, but he refuses. When he goes to confront Cook, he discovers that the girl he had sex with earlier is in fact Pandora, though he does not reveal this to anyone else. Seeing that Cook is, like Freddie, indifferent to his own feelings, JJ explodes at him over it. Cook, moved by this, gives him a hug and invites him to buy drugs, which subsequently gets busted. After they escape, JJ goads Cook into taking his new medication, because he knew that the drug is designed to both calm someone down and make them more honest. As a result, when the gang are at a party, Cook settles into a relaxed state, which surprises the gang, and reveals his affair with Pandora, which Pandora's boyfriend Thomas overhears. Cook also reveals Effy loves Freddie. JJ leaves the party and finds a distraught Emily, who says JJ did her a favour by outing her to Katie, though; nevertheless, she is afraid to go home and face her, so JJ allows her to stay at his house for the night. She in turn offers to take his virginity which JJ nervously accepts, and the two have sex. The next morning he introduces Emily to his mother (portrayed by Juliet Cowan) who is relieved to see that her son has finally made a new friend.
In "Effy" JJ accompanies the gang (minus Cook) on a camping trip. When Cook invites himself along the gang reveal their true feelings about him, including JJ who states they are no longer friends after the way Cook had been treating him. In "Katie and Emily", JJ sees Emily through her disguise as her sister in an exam, but does not tell anyone else. Later on, he and Freddie meet the Fitch sisters while buying clothes for the college prom. Emily is horrified when JJ reveals he told Freddie about their fling. Freddie mentions it to Katie, who is equally shocked. Katie then reveals Emily and JJ's fling to Naomi, who is upset. This causes a fight between the Fitch sisters.
In the series finale, JJ resigns from his job with Freddie and walks out on him after an argument. JJ then encounters Effy's mother, who reveals her sadness at not having Effy around, who has run off with Cook to stay with his father. After Freddie receives a call from Effy, the two visit Cook. Cook challenges Freddie and JJ to a race, where the winner is allowed to keep Effy. JJ ultimately wins, and as a result he forces Effy to admit she is in love with Freddie and not Cook, which upsets the latter. They flee the town on Cook's father's boat.
Series 4
In "Thomas", the series opener, JJ asks the gang to stop talking about Effy, due to her impact on the "Three Musketeers". He and Pandora later visit Thomas to watch a film, where Thomas reveals that he cheaterd on Pandora. In "Emily", JJ tries to break up a fight between Cook and a fellow party-goer, Shanky Jenkins only for Cook to head butt him in rage, although Cook did not see JJ at the time. This upsets JJ and Freddie, the latter confronting Cook about it.
In subsequent episodes, JJ develops a close friendship with Thomas as Cook is arrested and Freddie spends more time with Effy. This highlights JJ's developing maturity and his ability to make other friends.
In "JJ", JJ asks out Lara Lloyd (played by Georgia Henshaw), a fellow co-worker at a confectionery store. Thomas pressures JJ to do this after he concedes he has developed feelings for her. Before the date, Freddie forces a recently escaped Cook onto JJ, and JJ allows Cook to stay at his in exchange for some dating tips. JJ discovers Lara is a single mother and her baby, Albert, is fathered by her ex-boyfriend Liam. Liam catches JJ with Albert and demonstrates his overly protective attitude for his son. The date does not go well, largely because of Cook's poor dating advice. However, Lara reciprocates JJ's feelings and they have sex at her house.
As a result of spending time with Lara, JJ forgets about a starving Cook, who is locked in his room. JJ's secretive behaviour results in his mother taking him to counselling, in which he reveals that he has a girlfriend and that he wants to keep his autism a secret from Lara. After a row, JJ storms out of the clinic and has a meltdown, in which he runs into Liam, who taunts him for his autism.
JJ takes Lara to meet Emily and Naomi. Emily confides to JJ that Lara could be using JJ to get back at Liam; JJ refutes this by stating they have trust in their relationship, as opposed to Emily, whose relationship with Naomi is rocky. This brings Emily to tears. JJ later takes Lara to meet his parents but this does not go well as JJ's mother, via a Freudian slip, mentions that she thinks Lara is a slut. This, along with JJ and his mother arguing over the bathroom door being locked causes Lara to leave, and JJ reveals Cook is hiding in the bathroom. Liam confronts JJ at the confectionery store, demanding to know about his medication. JJ angrily lashes out at Liam which prompts a watching Lara to break up with him. JJ later apologises to Liam who admits his protectiveness is of his son. JJ manages to win Lara back by singing a rendition of Spandau Ballet's "True", accompanied by a group of ukulele players.
After his centric episode, JJ makes fewer appearances but is usually seen at parties with the gang, including in "Effy", where the gang receive their A-Level results, and JJ scores very well, with 2 A's and a B. Lara makes no more appearances, but JJ is seen with Albert in the finale "Everyone", suggesting they are still together. JJ is last seen at Freddie's shed partying with the rest of the group.
