Jem Costello | |||||||||||||||
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Hollyoaks character | |||||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Helen Russell-Clark | ||||||||||||||
First appearance | 5 March 2010 | ||||||||||||||
Last appearance | 30 November 2010 | ||||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
Introduced by | Lucy Allan | ||||||||||||||
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Jem Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks , played by Helen Russell-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 5 March 2010. It was later announced that Jem had been written out of the serial, and the character would leave in November 2010. Russell-Clark made her final appearance as Jem on 30 November 2010.
In December 2009, in an interview with entertainment website Digital Spy series producer Lucy Allan revealed that there would be a new female arriving in Hollyoaks who would be a threat to Steph Cunningham (Carley Stenson) and Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh). [1] The character of Jem Costello was created as the new love interest of already established character, Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan).
It was announced in early 2010 that Hollyoaks series producer Lucy Allan had cast television newcomer Helen Russell-Clark in the role of Jem having previously auditioned for the role of Rae Wilson. [2] Russell-Clark was initially signed to a six-month contract. [3]
In January 2010, it was announced that Lucy Allan had stepped down from the position of series producer and that Paul Marquess had taken over the role. [4] It was soon revealed that Marquess planned to give Hollyoaks a "shake up", changing the productions team [5] and beginning a cast cull by axing three established characters. [6] In April 2010, it was announced that Marquess would introduce a second new family after the Sharpe clan, the Costello's consisting of mother Heidi (Kim Tiddy), father Carl (Paul Opacic), sons Riley (Rob Norbury) and Seth (Miles Higson) [7] and daughter Jasmine (Victoria Atkin). [8] It was later revealed that Jem would be a part of the Costello family after previously been given the surname by Lucy Allan. [9] Jem transpired to be the daughter of Carl, the stepdaughter of Heidi and the half sister of Riley, Seth and Jasmine. [10] Before her family arrived, Jem revealed her mother had died when she was young.
Speaking to OK! of her character, Russell-Clark stated, "Well, Jem’s well into her martial arts – as I am, which means you’ll be seeing lots of fight action. In fact, the first thing you really see of me is my hand hitting someone, but it’s all in self-defence!" [3] In March 2010, in a video interview with Hollyoaks Backstage , Russell-Clark introduced her character and described her personality, she said, "Jem is a bit of a free spirit, she loves travelling, she loves anything like new experiences, big ideas, she's full of big ideas [...] She's quite feisty, she's really into her martial arts and keeping fit and stuff. She's quite honest with everyone." [11]
Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan) decides to go travelling around the world with Zoe Carpenter (Zoë Lister) and Mike Barnes (Tony Hirst) after he gives up on his love for Steph. Gilly returns to the village with Jem whom he met in Thailand after he saved her from a shark attack. Jem is excited when Gilly proposes to her after he declares his love, much to the disappointment of Steph who runs off. Jem makes friends with Steph and another ex-girlfriend of Gilly, Cheryl and both of them try to make Jem and Gilly split up however they realised Jem was too nice for them to do anything else. Jem moves in with Gilly and the Ashworth family and formed a bond with Josh Ashworth (Sonny Flood) because of problems with his family. During her time with the family, Jem works in The Dog in the Pond and starts running a martial arts class teaching a lovestruck Duncan Button (Dean Aspen). Duncan tried to kiss Jem, but she retaliated using the exercise she taught him. Jem realised that Gilly was still in love with Steph, and called off their engagement, even after making an effort to befriend Steph.
Jem helps Anita Roy (Saira Choudhry) track down her birth mother, Eva Strong (Sheree Murphy), and moves in with Anita and her brother Ravi Roy (Stephen Uppal). Jem applies for a job at the SU Bar but India Longford (Beth Kingston) applies for the same job. Jem and India both try to persuade Charlotte Lau (Amy Yamazaki) to give them the job and after organising an event as part of the interview process with India gaining the job; however, they both later agree to share the job.
Jem and Ravi flirt and sleep together leaving Anita annoyed. Jem and Ravi go out for a drink where Jem meets her father Carl for the first time in three years. Carl tells Jem he is the new owner of the pub. Jem reunites with her step-mother Heidi and brothers Riley and Seth but refuses to talk to Carl after his numerous affairs. Jem starts to bond with Carl and they try to rebuild their relationship. When the family learns that Jasmine is seeing Bart McQueen (Jonny Clarke), Carl is furious and threatens him. Jem breaks up the confrontation and asks "What are you going to do, break his legs?" When she talks to Carl outside, she reveals that he broke the leg of her ex-boyfriend Liam McAllister (Chris Overton). Liam was also training to be a footballer like Carl, but he ruined Liam's career. Jem splits up with Ravi after finding out that he slept with Eva.
In September 2010, Jem decides to join Hollyoaks Community College, followed by Darren Osborne's (Ashley Taylor Dawson) decision to join as well. Jem is allocated a flat alongside the other fresher students. She kisses Doug Carter (PJ Brennan) to annoy Carl, which raises suspicion that he was responsible for attacking Doug later that day. Jem accused Carl of hitting Doug, but became aware of the absurdity of her allegations against him, and apologised to Carl. Jem then starts studying for her play which is graded on, helps Kevin Smith (Cameron Crighton) and Jamil Fadel (Sakinder Malik) through their problems. Liam later turns up in the village, she explains why she left him and they go on a few dates. Later when her brothers end up in danger after going to a party hosted by Liam and his brother Nathan, Heidi angrily blames Jem for allowing the boys to go and putting their lives at risk.
When Nathan dies Liam returns to the village seeking revenge on Carl. Later Jasmine tells Jem she wants to be a boy. Jem agrees to help Liam by paying Mitzeee (Rachel Shenton) to seduce Carl. Jem's plan backfires as Mitzeee sleeps with Liam and Heidi finds out what Jem's been up to. Jasmine Costello (Victoria Atkin) reveals to Jem that she is now Jason and she feels like she is a boy. Although Jem is accepting she exclaims their father won't be.
After an argument with Heidi, Jem decides she needs to leave. Finally making up with her father, she says a tearful goodbye to her family.
Steph Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Carley Stenson. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 8 March 2000. Steph was introduced into the serial by executive producer Jo Hallows. In 2009 Stenson decided to quit, but the then producer Lucy Allan convinced her to stay to play out a dramatic storyline. The announcement of her departure was made public in June 2010. Stenson's fellow cast members have described her as a "Hollyoaks legend" because of her lengthy duration.
Neville Ashworth is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera, Hollyoaks, played by Jim Millea. He debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 30 September 2005 and was introduced by David Hanson. Neville departed in July 2010 with his wife Suzanne Ashworth and their son Josh Ashworth, after they were all axed by new executive producer Paul Marquess.
Stephanie Louise Waring is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Cindy Cunningham in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks. In addition to her work on Hollyoaks, she has also had roles on Coronation Street, Doctors, Holby City, Crash Palace and Merseybeat, as well as competing in the tenth series of Dancing on Ice.
Gilly Roach is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Anthony Quinlan. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 4 October 2005. Gilly was created in 2005 by executive producer David Hanson. Gilly has often been portrayed as a push-over and has a double act partnership with fellow character Rhys Ashworth. His main character traits have been his "nice attitude", with Quinlan branding Gilly in his first five years as a "push-over". He has been labelled a loser and unlucky in love after failed relationships with Jessica Harris, Beth Clement, Cheryl Brady and Jem Costello. In 2009, executive producer Lucy Alan made changes to the character and reached a mutual agreement with Quinlan to shave off his hair, which has characterised Gilly during his early years.
Ravi Roy is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Stephen Uppal. He first appeared in an episode airing on 20 May 2008, introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood. Since then he has been central to a bisexuality storyline and living with an aneurysm. Uppal announced in 2010 that he had decided to leave the show.
Loretta Jones is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, and its spin-off series, Hollyoaks Later. The character is played by Melissa Walton and first appeared on-screen on 26 November 2008 during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later as a new love interest for the character Dominic Reilly. She made her first appearance in the Hollyoaks series in February 2009 and was the first character to be introduced to the series by producer Lucy Allan. In 2010 Loretta was axed from the series, along with 15 other characters, during a cast cull by executive producer Paul Marquess.
Cheryl Brady is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Bronagh Waugh. The character first appeared on-screen on 25 November 2008, during the first series of the Hollyoaks spin-off Hollyoaks Later, as the former love interest of Malachy Fisher. She made her first appearance in main Hollyoaks episodes in July 2009, introduced to the serial by series producer, Lucy Allan. In 2010 when Paul Marquess began producing the serial, he felt that Cheryl was being used in the wrong way, subsequently making her a central character to the show. It was announced on 1 February 2013 that Waugh quit her role. Cheryl departed Hollyoaks on 22 March 2013, after four years on the show, along with her brother, Brendan Brady.
Eva Strong is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Sheree Murphy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 April 2010.
Gabby Sharpe is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Phina Oruche. She made her first on-screen appearance on 18 June 2010, before departing on 17 December 2010.
Amber Sharpe is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Lydia Lloyd-Henry in 2010 and Lauren Gabrielle-Thomas in 2014. The character was introduced as a member of the new Sharpe family, as part of series producer Paul Marquess' rejuvenation of the serial in 2010. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 June 2010. Amber's storylines have included sleeping with Finn O'Connor and subsequently discovering she is pregnant and giving birth to her daughter Bella.
Carl Costello is a fictional character from the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Paul Opacic. The character was introduced by executive producer Paul Marquess and he debuted on screen during the episode broadcast on 19 July 2010. Carl arrived in the village as the new owner of The Dog in the Pond and the father of established character Jem Costello. Carl departed from Hollyoaks on 1 December 2011 with his son Jason Costello. Opacic later reprised his role and returned to Hollyoaks on 26 September 2012 and left again on the 5 October 2012. Opacic reprised his role once more in January 2013, which coincided with the exit of Mitzeee Minniver. He returned on 25 January 2013 and departed again on 15 February 2013. Opacic returned again for a guest appearance on 10 July 2018, which ended in his character being murdered by Breda McQueen on 11 July 2018. He departed on 16 November 2018, When the character was killed off.
Heidi Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Kim Tiddy. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 July 2010 and made her final appearance in the series on 1 November 2011, after Heidi was accidentally murdered by her father, Silas Blissett, in which he mistakes her for Lynsey Nolan.
Riley Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Rob Norbury. Riley was introduced on 20 July 2010 with the Costello family as part of a cast overhaul of the series. In December 2011, the serial's executive producer Emma Smithwick said that Riley would remain in Hollyoaks despite his family's departure. On 14 September 2012, it was announced Riley was to leave Hollyoaks and Riley was killed off in a shooting during the episode airing 3 October 2012.
Seth Costello is a fictional character from the British television soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Miles Higson. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 July 2010. His first major storyline was in 2011 when he was the centre of a steroids storyline. He also became involved in the storyline where his father Carl Costello began an affair with Mercedes McQueen. 2020 saw the return of Seth, when he blackmailed the McQueen family with grandfather Silas Blissett. He departed again on 2 February 2021.
Anne "Mitzeee" Minniver is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Rachel Shenton. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 23 July 2010. Mitzeee was created by series producer Paul Marquess for a different television series which was never commissioned and instead introduced his ideas onto Mitzeee. She is also one of the first characters created in Marquess's 2010 reinvention of Hollyoaks. Mitzeee is a wannabe glamour model and WAG, she is portrayed as being ruthless in achieving her goals and is fame driven. Shenton helped create her backstory and has stated on different occasions that Mitzeee uses femininity to get what she wants. Various media outlets drew comparisons to the character with pop star Cheryl Cole and Mitzeee spells her career name with triple e's because she finds her name plain, a tag Shenton has also agreed with. On 20 December 2012, it was announced that Shenton had left the show and her final scenes aired on 15 February 2013.
Bart McQueen is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Jonny Clarke. He first appeared onscreen at his stepmother's funeral in August 2010, introduced by producer Paul Marquess as a member of the McQueen family. During his time on the show, Bart had been involved in: relationships with Jason Costello and Sinead O'Connor, being stabbed during the third series of Hollyoaks Later, his involvement in Esther Bloom's bullying storyline, causing the bus crash featuring in the notable Enjoy the Ride storyline, and falling off the rails with a growing cannabis habit.
Jason Costello is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Victoria Atkin. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 2 August 2010 and was introduced by series producer Paul Marquess as a member of the yet to be established Costello family.
Hollyoaks began airing on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom on 23 October 1995. The target audience was that of teenagers and it initially dramatised the lives of seven of that age group who lived in Hollyoaks, a fictional suburb in the city of Chester in Cheshire, England.
Lydia Lloyd-Henry is an English actress. She was born in Manchester, England. She played Amber Sharpe in Hollyoaks.