Jesse McGregor
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| Jesse McGregor | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home and Away character | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Ben Unwin | ||||||
| Duration | 1996–2000, 2002–2005 | ||||||
| First appearance | 20 May 1996 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 26 July 2005 | ||||||
| Introduced by | John Holmes (1996) Julie McGuaran (2002) | ||||||
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Jesse McGregor is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by actor Ben Unwin. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 May 1996. The actor departed in 2000, but returned in 2002 and departed once again on 26 July 2005.
Unwin originally auditioned for a separate role in the show but was unsuccessful. Producers decided to create the role of Jesse specifically for Unwin to portray.[1] Jesse's original stint in the series lasted from 1996 until 2000, when the character was written out of the show following Jesse being sent to prison for burning down the local bait shop. He returned to the show in 2002.[2]
Development
Daughter
A few months after his introduction, it emerged that Jesse has a young daughter, Rachel (Kelly Glaister).[3] She and her mother Kylie Burton (Roslyn Oades) arrive in Summer Bay following the death of Kylie's father, who was supporting the family. Kylie asks Jesse to find them some money quickly, which tempts him to steal.[3] Unwin explained that Jesse was not present when his daughter was born, as Kylie's father took her to Queensland to have the baby. He said, "now Jesse wants to be responsible for Rachel. He wants to give her a decent life."[3] Jesse wants to be the perfect father, but he struggles to resist returning to his criminal past. Unwin commented that his character had "been down that road so many times", especially in the Bay, and he had gotten away with it so far.[3]
Relationships with Selina Cook and Gypsy Nash
Jesse has a long-term relationship with Selina Cook (Tempany Deckert). Selina's best friend Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright), develops feelings for Jesse and kisses him. Selina breaks up with Jesse over the kiss and Chloe assumes that she is free to enter a relationship with him.[4] Wright told a reporter from Inside Soap that Chloe is not being spiteful and "genuinely has an attraction" to Jesse. She added "it's like anyone in love, you just cant help it."[4] Jesse is more interested in getting back together with Selina, which makes Chloe jealous. Wright and Unwin had been long-term friends and he had lobbied the show's writers with the idea of Jesse and Chloe cheating on Selina. With his story idea coming together on-screen, Wright added that "Ben loves all this".[4]
Producers later paired Jesse with Gypsy Nash (Kimberley Cooper). Cooper explained that Gypsy once had a crush on Jesse, but it died down and she had a long-term relationship with Will Smith (Zac Drayson).[5] A week after Gypsy and Will break up, Gypsy shares a "passionate" kiss with Jesse. Will sees the couple together, and Cooper said Gypsy does feel guilty about him, but "her attraction to Jesse is just too much for her to resist."[5] The couple face some opposition to their relationship because of the age gap between them.[5] Cooper wanted the pair to overcome their issues, as she enjoyed working with Unwin, who was one of her good friends.[5]
Relationship with Leah Patterson-Baker
Writers paired Jesse with Leah Patterson-Baker (Ada Nicodemou), who has been widowed following the supposed death of her husband Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten).[6] Their relationship struggles because Leah is religious and finds it difficult to move on from Vinnie. Leah makes a decision to move their relationship forward by allowing him to stay the night at her house in a separate room. Unwin told Jason Herbison from Inside Soap that "it's a huge breakthrough because Jesse wanted to get closer to Leah for so long. Leah is very religious and even though they don't sleep together, it's a big deal because she has a man in the house."[6]
Writers portrayed them as being in a turbulent relationship marred with problems and trust issues. Trust becomes an issue when Leah refuses to tell her parents about Jesse because he is an ex-convict.[7] While interviewed by Herbison, Nicodemou recounted that Jesse "was really hurt" that she kept their relationship a secret. He often concludes that Leah will not disclose their involvement because she is "ashamed" of him.[7] Nicodemou believed that Leah thought her parents would not be understanding about Jesse's incarceration and decided they were better off not knowing.[7] Leah eventually changes her mind but they discover the truth first. She described that as the moment "everything went haywire" for the two characters. Leah's family disapprove of Jesse but Leah defends Jesse.[7]
This changes when Jesse temporarily loses Leah's son VJ Patterson while visiting the local beach. He keeps it a secret but when Leah discovers the truth she ends their relationship. Nicodemou explained that Jesse's actions cause Leah to doubt their future. She added "the whole thing about telling her folks was a trust issue—now she finds out that she can't even trust Jesse with her son."[7] Leah arranges a meeting with Jesse and break up with him because "she can't give him what he needs". Jesse is "upset" and pleads with Leah to reconsider. The actress believed the couple tried to succeed to soon after Vinnie's death. She thought that Leah would be better off concentrating on getting closure regarding Vinnie.[7]
Following their break up, Leah begins to suspect that she is being followed and thinks Jesse may be stalking her.[7] Leah continues to worry after she hears someone in her home and finds some flowers. She accuses Jesse of stalking her and tells him to move on. He proves he is unaware of the flowers and Leah begins to suspect that Vinnie has faked his own death.[8]
Relationship with Josie Russell and self-destruction
Jesse's next relationship is with Josie Russell (Laurie Foell) and they become engaged. Josie has an affair with Brett Macklin (Gerry Sont) and the pair break up.[9] Jesse finds it difficult to deal with seeing Josie and Brett together and writers created a downward spiral story for him. Unwin told an Inside Soap reporter that "Jesse is at a stage where he doesn't give a damn about anyone or anything, he tried playing Mr Nice Guy, but look where that got him."[9]
Jesse rebounds from Josie by sleeping with Martha MacKenzie (Jodi Gordon) and continues to become angered when he sees Josie and Brett. Unwin explained that "all the hurt comes flooding back" each time he sees them. He sets fire to Brett's resort plans but the police cannot gather evidence to charge him. His behaviour forces Martha to disown him and he begins drinking heavily.[9] This sees Jesse "hit rock bottom" and he steals money from the till at his surf club business. When his business partners Hayley Smith (Bec Cartwright) and Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) try to sell his share to Beth Hunter (Clarissa House), he becomes violent.[9] He causes a scene in the surf club and elbows Hayley, who is pregnant, in the stomach. Unwin defended his character stating "Jesse feels awful because, on top of everything, he may have now done serious damage to her unborn baby."[9]
Departure
Unwin quit the serial in March 2005 to pursue work in America.[10] After Chloe was reintroduced into the series, writers revisited the romantic connection between her and Jesse. When Troy Peters (Christian Willis) arrives in Summer Bay and harasses Chloe, Jesse becomes protective of her. A Home and Away publicist revealed that "Jesse has a soft spot for Chloe, and viewers will find out whether she feels the same."[11]
Producers created a car crash stunt to celebrate the show's 4,000th episode. It was revealed that the episode was a "big milestone" and that a character would be killed off in the crash.[11] The story developed into a hit and run style crash, with Chloe being killed off and Jesse driving the responsible vehicle. This formed part of Jesse's departure from the series and Jesse is sent to prison after he confesses to causing Chloe's death.[12]