| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Jacqueline Bernadette "Jacqui" McQueen (previously Malota and Ashworth) is the daughter of Myra McQueen and Billy Alexander, the sister of Mercedes McQueen and the half-sister of Tina Reilly, Carmel Valentine, John Paul, Michaela, Theresa and Carmina McQueen, as well as Niall Rafferty and Emily Alexander. She was also married to Aleksander Malota until their divorce in 2008, and Rhys Ashworth until his death in 2012.
Jacqui was the tough McQueen sister. From her teenage years Jacqui went from petty crime to petty crime landing her in and out of prison throughout her late teens to early adult life her feisty personality was more apparent to those she loved and wronged those who Jacqui often cared about and because of this Jacqui took of the "matriarch role" in her family.
Jacqui arrives in Hollyoaks no stranger to crime and many of her storylines during her time on the show showed Jacqui often committed many crimes most notably fraud for refugee, Aleksander Malota in 2007. In 2010, Jacqui helps cover up the murder of Calvin Valentine after she witnesses her cousin, Theresa McQueen kill him.
Jacqui also had many relationships during her time with the likes of Tony Hutchinson and Rhys Ashworth. In April 2013, Jacqui fled the village after she had conned dangerous gangster Trevor Royle out of £50,000.
Jacqui made a return 10 years later in December 2023. Now a nun offering advice to Mercedes who yet again has cheated on her partner, forcing Jacqui to give a pregnant Mercedes some tough love.
Biography[]
2006-2008: Arrival, Criminal Antics, Relationship with Tony Hutchinson and Niall's Revenge[]
Jacqui is first seen in September 2006 and her thuggish behaviour is instantly seen when she assumes that her sisters, Mercedes' new boyfriend, Russ Owen is robbing her families new home however she's told whom Russ is straight away its then revealed Mercedes had visited Jacqui just before she was released from prison. Jacqui later winds up Mercedes over wanting to sleep with Russ since it's been a while since she's had any man. Weeks after her arrival its revealed that Jacqui is working with a gangster named Davey Thomas by keeping money safe for him but things take a funny and unexpected turn when Jacqui's sister, Carmel McQueen steals the money to get breast implants although Jacqui along with Mercedes finds some of the cash Davey makes it clear it's not enough Jacqui managed to persuade Davey that she will do him a favour if he allows the rest of the money be forgotten.
Jacqui later meets Tony Hutchinson and instantly the two get along too the point they end up sleeping together. Jacqui isn't too pleased when Tony goes in holiday for a few weeks but when he returns she decides to enter in a relationship with him. Jacqui gets too comfortable one night around Tony's home when she misses her tag time and because of this Jacqui is sent straight back too prison this temporarily ends Jacqui and Tony's relationship. While back in prison Jacqui meets with the recently convicted Becca Dean whom was inside for supposedly grooming Justin Burton. Jacqui becomes good friends with Becca while inside but Jacqui is released before Becca and weeks later Jacqui is saddened to learn that Becca had been stabbed to death by her cellmate Fran Hathaway.
Jacqui later decides to get a job and start focusing on her life she reconciles her relationship with Tony. But Jacqui is soon met with Davey again whom approaches Jacqui on the offer that she owes him one the favour sees Jacqui being told that she will have to marry a man named Aleksander Malota a polish refugee wanting a British citizenship in order for him to move into the country, Jacqui along with Alek manage to convince the immigration officer that they are a loved up couple but still continues to sleep with Tony however the whole scam is revealed when Jacqui along with her family discover that Carmel is in a relationship with Alek and that Jacqui married him in order to pay off her full debt to Davey. Shocked, Myra tells Jacqui to leave along with Carmel and Alek. Jacqui is left shocked when she discovers that she is pregnant but is devastated when Tony tells her that he does not want another child as his not over the death of Grace. However Jacqui sadly miscarries to her devastation. Jacqui is disgusted in Mercedes when she discovers that Mercedes cheated on Russ with gangster Warren Fox.
After Jacqui discovers that she no longer can have children she takes her anger out on her mother Myra and berates Myra for being a terrible mother and later starts back up her relationship with Tony and moves in with him. However, when Jacqui discovers that Tony has an estranged son named Harry Thompson, Jacqui selfishly gives Tony an ultimatum to either chose her or Harry. Jacqui is devastated when Tony chooses Harry and later sleeps with Mercedes. By the end of 2008, Jacqui along with the rest of her family discover they have an estranged older brother named Niall Rafferty they discover this when Niall kidnaps all of the McQueens including Jacqui keeping them hostage in an abandoned church which he explodes. Although Jacqui survives her sister Tina Reilly perished which left Jacqui and the rest of her family devastated. Jacqui ends the year by sleeping with shady detective Mark Gascoyne and originally believes Tony had slept with her 15 year old cousin Theresa McQueen however later discovers the truth that Theresa lied about her age to Tony.
2009-2010: Looking after Max, Relationship with Des Townsend and Calvin's Murder[]
Months after Tina's death, Jacqui begins to take care of her son, Max whom is named after Max Cunningham. This is through the majority of the first half of 2009. Jacqui decides not to let Max's biological father Russ see Max this leads to Jacqui clashing with both Russ and his girlfriend Nancy Hayton. However, Jacqui is left devastated when Russ takes Max by June 2009. Jacqui is left furious with Carmel when she tells Jacqui that she allowed Russ to leave with his son this leads to them falling out and Jacqui would then turn to her ex Tony by asking for money for a private investigator which he agrees Jacqui herself then later decides to go to France for some weeks in a bid to find Russ and Max however she is sadly unsuccessful.
Jacqui returns weeks later and although at first she's cold towards Carmel, Jacqui eventually comes around to forgiving her sister. Jacqui later meets new teacher Des Townsend and hits it off with him Jacqui then begins a relationship with Des unaware that Des is in fact a racist and Jacqui is still in fact in love with Tony but even though Jacqui tells Tony she's still very much in love with him before he marries Cindy Cunningham. Jacqui is left devastated when Tony rejects her. Jacqui then decides to move on from Tony and focus on her relationship with Des but when Jacqui ends up in a photoshoot after drunkenly agreeing to it the photos are naked and this puts Jacqui's and Des' relationship on hold however when Jacqui discovers that Des is a racist and he departs the village putting an end to Jacqui's relationship with him and despite proposing to Jacqui too.
By May 2010, Jacqui is surprised when Mercedes tells her that she's been having an affair with Calvin Valentine behind her husband's Malachy Fisher's back this shocks Jacqui and she is left furious with Mercedes due to going with Carmel's soon to be husband, Jacqui then confronts Calvin and after a heated confrontation Jacqui later finds a gun and hides it in her handbag and while Calvin and Carmel are married and have their first dance Jacqui stands next to Mercedes as the two watch on however Jacqui along with Mercedes are shocked when Theresa grabs the gun out of Jacqui's bag and shoots Calvin killing him. In a bid to save Theresa from going to prison, Jacqui plants the gun on Gaz Bennett who originally gets arrested but soon the police arrest Kyle Ryder.
2010-2012: Relationship with Rhys Ashworth and Rape Ordeal[]
Jacqui decides to try and land herself a job at the club now known as Chez Chez which is now owned by Cheryl and her older half brother Brendan Brady. Jacqui finds herself in competition with Rhys Ashworth however they would both bag a job at the club. Jacqui decides to try and find herself a man after landing a job and signs up on a dating site and starts to speak to someone and instantly bonds with them however she's unaware that she is in fact speaking to Rhys and vice versa. When they discover this the two are originally shocked but after processing it the two kiss and begin a relationship. Jacqui would later move in with Rhys after she has a falling out with her trouble maker of a younger cousin in Bart McQueen after Bart had stolen money from Jacqui. However Jacqui and Rhys' relationship is extremely tested when Jacqui meets dangerous gangster Danny Houston and despite being in a relationship with Rhys, Jacqui begins to date Danny in an effort to keep Rhys safe. Jacqui tells Rhys this and this leads to Rhys sleeping with Cheryl after Jacqui was forced to sleep with Danny.
Jacqui having fallen for Rhys by 2011 she struggles to cope with his betrayal of sleeping with Cheryl. Jacqui would confide her feelings too Rhys' best friend in Gilly Roach even though Jacqui kisses Gilly afterwards she goes to bed and Gilly thinks this is an invite however Jacqui wanted to go to sleep and Gilly forced her to have sex meaning he had raped Jacqui the next day Jacqui tells Rhys whom at first does not believe Jacqui however Rhys would later side with Jacqui whom goes to the Police and reports Gilly for rape and this leads to an arrest and Jacqui goes on trial and is devastated when Gilly is found not guilty. After this Jacqui is approached by her estranged father William Alexander whom asks Jacqui for a kidney Jacqui is cold towards her father and tells him no but feels guilty when she finds out that the Kidney is in fact for her estranged half sister Emily Alexander. After the trail Jacqui agrees to later marry Rhys however not yet over her rape ordeal with Gilly. Jacqui decides to temporarily go to Spain to stay with her father and get to know Emily.
Jacqui returns to the village and tells a devastated Rhys that she was not a match for Emily and that she told Jacqui she was only interested for her kidney. Jacqui would later marry Rhys but their marriage instantly hits the rocks when Jacqui does not want to be intimate with her now husband and as Jacqui begins to struggle with her life she ends up getting herself a job at The Dog but her marriage with Rhys is continues to be testing and eventually Rhys tells Jacqui that they need to spend some time away from each other however they later decide to be together still and the two later find a dog whom they name Terry and the dog seems to be helping Jacqui cope with her ordeal. As the year goes on Jacqui is fed up with Rhys constantly getting aggressive with Gilly and temporarily moves back in with her family but would later return to her life with Rhys and by the end of the year in November 2011. Gilly approaches Jacqui and apologises as he realises what he's done Jacqui forgives Gilly but tells him to move away from the village after a special three hander episode. Jacqui sees Gilly depart the next day.
By January 2012, Jacqui along with Rhys meet Ally Gorman and he later moves in with them as a lodger as it would help with their house bills. The year also starts with Jacqui temporarily clashing with her sister Mercedes after Mercedes had kissed Rhys. Jacqui would also meet struggling and homeless teenager named Phoebe Jackson and offers Phoebe to move in with her and Rhys. Later on Jacqui and Rhys would later adopt Phoebe and their life and relationship seemingly seems to be going well however Jacqui is unaware of Rhys' having an affair with Cindy but tragically in November 2012 when Jacqui along with Rhys attend the double wedding of Tony and Cindy and Ste Hay and Doug Carter and tragically a bus driven by Maddie Morrison would crash into the venue and Jacqui would later find out Rhys is dying she talks to Rhys in his dying moments and is left devastated by his death but Jacqui would soon discover of his affair with Cindy and Jacqui attacks Cindy. Jacqui is also shocked to discover that Rhys also slept with Sinead O'Connor who is also pregnant with his child.
2013: Conning Trevor Royle[]
In February 2013, Jacqui reunites with her old former prison friend in Trudy Ryan. Jacqui is coasted into trouble when Trudy arrives one of which Jacqui is set up by Trudy who she plants stolen items in Jacqui's bag after Jacqui along with Theresa bag themselves a cleaning job for money. Jacqui is seemingly about to be raped by a security guard but is also seemingly saved by Trudy however its seen the security guard was paid by Trudy to do so but Jacqui tells Trudy she's been raped before and this leads Trudy to sympathize with her and after a heart to heart Jacqui and Trudy grow closer. Jacqui later reconciles her relationship with Tony again. Jacqui is left scared why Phoebe is poisoned thanks to Trudy's dodge Vodka.
By late March 2013, Jacqui along with her family are in despair when they discover that Mercedes has been kidnapped and held to ransom by Clare Devine whom tells the family for Mercedes to not be hurt to give up to £200,000 as well for her release. By April 2013 Jacqui later decides to sell of the dodge Vodka to a dangerous gangster Trevor Royle although not realising how dangerous Trevor is. Jacqui plans to sell Trevor the full van worth of dodge booze for up to over £50,000. Jacqui's plan is halted when she along with Phoebe come across a van full of illegal immigrants, Jacqui sets them free and is later threatened by Trevor. When Trudy gets arrested for human trafficking with Trevor. Jacqui unknowingly poses as Trudy this leads Trevor to find out that Jacqui has been conning him and Jacqui is later attacked by Trevor as he prepares to kill her but she's saved by Tony after escape Trevor.
Jacqui ends her relationship with Tony not wanting him to be in the run for the rest of his life and the two have a tearful goodbye as Jacqui tells Tony to be a father to his upcoming twins with Diane O'Connor before jumping into a back of a taxi despite Tony attempting to prove to Jacqui how much he loves her by proposing to Jacqui before hand just over a week later. Jacqui is in Alicante when Mercedes tracks her down Jacqui is furious with Mercedes when she tells Jacqui that the kidnap was meant to be a scam that would get her husband Paul Browning to pay but after the two have a heated confrontation Jacqui forgives Mercedes. In November 2014, Jacqui is devastated when her sister Carmel dies due to a Train crash. In June 2015, Jacqui is told of Phoebe's death which is said to be leaving Jacqui heartbroken. Despite Trevor's death in May 2016 meaning Jacqui is safe to come home she has not yet returned its unclear weather Jacqui knows of Trevor's death but given the family is regularly in contact with Jacqui its highly likely that Jacqui has been told about Trevor's death.
2023: Brief Return[]
By December 2023 and after Mercedes cheats on her partner, Felix Westwood with his best friend, Warren Fox. She falls pregnant and decides to move away from the village however Felix isn't so sure so this forces Mercedes to contact an unknown family member. Later Mercedes is seen at a church pondering on what to do as a nun approaches her, Jacqui is revealed to be the nun. Mercedes sees the funny side however Jacqui tells Mercedes she was the one who came to her so she needs to take her seriously and that she only has an hour to tell her everything.
Jacqui is left unimpressed that Mercedes choose Warren of all people to cheat on Felix with, eventually Jacqui gives Mercedes some harsh home truths even mentioning past husbands that have died such as Russ, Malachy and Sylver. Jacqui then receives a slap from Mercedes after Jacqui tells her that she hopes the baby is Warren's and that Felix would be better off dead. Jacqui eventually asks Mercedes if she wants to keep the baby no matter who the father is. The pair have a brief heart to heart after all the arguing, before Jacqui tells Mercedes she has a decision to make before hugging and saying their goodbyes.
As Mercedes leaves it's hinted Jacqui may have been either involved or the cause of a murder of a barman in Alicante, Spain as she picks up a news article to look at the headline.
Kill Count[]
Murders[]
None
Attempted Murders[]
- Cindy Cunningham, 26th December 2012 - Bludgeoned with a Christmas gnome after discovering Cindy was having an affair with her late husband Rhys Ashworth.
Background Information[]
- Jacqui's birthday was initially 8th October 1981, as per Episode 2141 (8th October 2007). However, this was later changed to 13th October 1982 in Episode 2406 (13th October 2008) continued to Episode 2409 (16th October 2008). Myra McQueen later gave Jacqui's date of birth as 13th October 1981 in Episode 3586 (22nd April 2013).
Introduction Sequence[]
Quotes[]
| “ | What do you think you’re doing? | ” |
— First line, to Russ Owen.
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| “ | I'm just gonna do what the birds do... I'm gonna follow the sun. | ” |
— Last line, to Mercedes McQueen in 2013 departure.
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| “ | Mother of Mercy. What have you got yourself into this time, lovey? | ” |
— to Mercedes McQueen, in 2023 return.
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| “ | Yeah. You see the trouble men cause. Mercy, take some time and think. If you need any help, advice, shoulder to cry on... don't come back here. Come on. Right? I've said it, take control, make a decision. | ” |
— Final line, to Mercedes McQueen.
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