| Character Profile | List of appearances |
Jack "JJ" Osborne II is the son of Suzanne Ashworth and Darren Osborne, and twin of Frankie Osborne. the half-brother of Josh, Rhys and Hannah Ashworth, Oscar and Morgan Osborne the adoptive half-brother of Phoenix Hathaway and Darren Osborne Jr. He is named after his paternal grandfather Jack Osborne.
Biography[]
2011: Birth and Move to Spain[]
Following an affair in 2010, Darren first learned of Suzanne's pregnancy following her sudden return from Spain in January 2011. A heavily pregnant Suzanne ended up going into labour during the grand opening of Look Sharpe and gave birth in the spa, assisted by Darren as his fiancée Nancy Hayton watched on. Eventually agreeing to give the twins the surname 'Osborne', not wanting to use her marital name 'Ashworth' nor maiden name 'Dick', Suzanne intended to name the twins Cheryl and Simon after the X Factor hosts.
Darren registered the births, but took a disliking to the names Suzanne had chosen. The pair eventually agreed to name them Jack and Francine after Darren's father Jack and step-grandmother Frankie. However, Darren's jealous ex-girlfriend, newly widowed millionaire Cindy Cunningham, offered Suzanne £100,000 to leave the village with the twins. Suzanne initially rejected but realised Darren wasn't ready to be a father and returned to Spain when Cindy (now wanting to hurt Darren) agreed to her counter-offer of £200,000.
Suzanne returned to the village in December 2012 for her son Rhys Ashworth's funeral. She asked Darren to visit to twins but Nancy - now Darren's wife - declined on his behalf. Darren later visited the twins and Suzanne in Spain in February 2014.
2024: Return[]
Jack - now going by "JJ" - returned to Hollyoaks with Francine (now "Frankie") and their half-sister Hannah Ashworth in January 2024. The pair were enrolled at Hollyoaks High School and caused trouble at the memorial for year 11 student Ella Richardson (who had been fatally run over a few days earlier), where Hannah introduced them to a shocked Darren.
Despite Darren wanting to make up for lost time, JJ and Frankie decide to use his cab office business as a way to get him to back off from them so he can invest in a potential professional career as a cab driver, but eventually, JJ and Frankie decide to give their father the benefit of the doubt. Over the coming weeks, JJ spends more time with Darren, as they both like football and JJ wants to pursue a career as a professional footballer. Suzanne returns, demanding that Hannah give her the twins back, but it is revealed that Suzanne is struggling with alcohol and has had to enter a rehabilitation programme, which has cost Hannah money and she is now in a massive debt. Hannah gives in and leaves the twins with Darren and after an altercation with Carter Shepherd, Hannah leaves the village with a bag of money to pay off her increasing debts. Suzanne is talked round by Darren to let the twins live with him and she later moves out to stay in a B&B.
Due to an incident involving his twin sister, Francine and their grandfather, Jack; Jack is arrested on suspicion of sexual assault against Frankie, causing JJ to become angry and overprotective of Frankie. Frankie states that Jack inappropriately touched her when they were dancing, but Jack denies the allegations and only danced with her the way a loving grandfather would dance with his granddaughter. Due to lack of evidence, Jack is released without charge, but he is not welcomed back by Frankie, which causes him to move out temporarily. Jack reminds Frankie however, that despite what she said about him, he will still support her when she is ready to talk. It is revealed that a similar incident happened with Frankie back in Manchester, involving Suzanne's ex-boyfriend, Paul; however, like Jack, Paul was innocent and no charges were pressed against him. After Jack returns home, prior to the reluctance of Frankie, she takes her frustration out on JJ by mocking him and calling him a narcissistic knucklehead for getting into the football trials at school. JJ is revealed as the main culprit behind Frankie's ordeal, as she endured several years of sibling sexual abuse from him, as he would coerce her into playing a game called School Discos, where he would get Frankie to dance with him in an inappropriate way. JJ brings back all the traumatic memories for Frankie, as he proceeds to assault her, but the two are interrupted by a noise in the next room, so he walks out after saying he looks forward to playing School Discos with her again, leaving Frankie distraught.
Over the next few weeks, JJ continues to manipulate and torment Frankie through her abuse. He tries to assault her on one occasion and Frankie retaliates by slamming his foot into her bedroom door to stop him from re-entering. JJ is given physiotherapy to treat his injured foot, as he is awaiting the next few sessions of football trials to make it to the first match of the season. JJ tries to kiss her a second time a few days later and she throws her laptop on JJ's foot, making his existing injury worse and he is given a boot and crutches to wear for the next few months, rather than weeks. JJ soon discovers that Frankie has been self harming and she begs him to leave her alone, as she cries saying that she does not want to play School Discos anymore. JJ reluctantly agrees and tells Frankie he will leave her alone, on the condition that she doesn't hurt herself again. Frankie enjoys an evening with her friends from dance troupe and proceeds to go home, but JJ turns up after hearing that his football team are losing and he blames this on his sister for injuring him, yelling, "You did this to me!". Frankie tries to apologise, but JJ says that he does not want her pity, as it will not make anything better for him. He then throws her to the ground in the park and rapes her. Afterwards, he tells Frankie not to make a drama out of the assault and walks away, as Frankie hysterically cries alone in the park. The next day, JJ tells Frankie that what happened was just a game and she was too drunk to remember things. Frankie insists she will tell everyone what JJ did to her, but he convinces her that nobody will believe her because he is the only one who understands her "twisted mind". After JJ mentions Darren getting a vasectomy, Frankie realizes that JJ did not use contraception when he raped her, and she confides in Lucas Hay for help getting a morning after pill. After Frankie panics and runs out of the nurse's office, Lucas manages to get her the emergency contraceptive pill.
Darren tries to get Frankie to open up to him about whatever is going on after he finds the box for the emergency contraceptive pill in Frankie's room. Darren is able to gather that Frankie was assaulted, but incorrectly assumes it was Lucas and he confronts him, which JJ witnesses and tells Frankie about the next day. JJ convinces Frankie to tell Darren that she had consensual sex with Lucas. Darren soon apologizes to Lucas for the way he reacted and he accepts his apology, but ends his friendship with Frankie after she blackmailed him by threatening to tell everyone, including his family, that he is the one who got her into self harming and that he does it too. JJ tries to cheer Frankie up by buying her a dress for her dance recital, but Frankie is disgusted with the gift and throws it on her bed.
Over time JJ becomes more dangerous, controlling, manipulative and abusive towards Frankie, raping her two more times in the month of May, as well as hitting her with his football boot when she threatened to expose him. JJ gets Frankie to lie and say Nancy is the one caused her injury by promising her he will never touch her again as long as she sticks to his story. When Oscar discovers there is a video of JJ hitting Frankie, JJ begins threatening him as well. Oscar asks Frankie is he should be scared of JJ and she tells him he should be. When Freddie's daughter Lexi has to stay with the Osborne family, Frankie is terrified that JJ will harm her. So despite Frankie having a chance to move away and escape JJ's abuse, she stays to protect Lexi from him.
On the day of his football signing, Frankie is left feeling uncomfortable when JJ tries to pull her towards him to be in the photograph with the family, which is witnessed by Darren. Then in the changing room, JJ attempts to assault Frankie, breaking his promise to her once again. She manages to fight him off and lock herself in the cubicle, signing "help" to Oscar out the window. Darren and Oscar come in, but JJ tells them the lock was stiff and that was why Frankie was upset. Later at The Dog, Frankie finally tells Darren that JJ has been abusing her for months and he is disgusted, but assures Frankie that he believes her which is what she feared would never happen. JJ asks Darren for a lift to a party to celebrate his signing and Darren reluctantly agrees, asking Cindy Cunningham to keep an eye on Frankie. Darren confronts JJ about the abuse and he denies it. When JJ lets slip that he raped Frankie, Darren is even more disgusted with his son. He reveals the abuse to Suzanne when she returns home and she rages at Frankie and calls her a liar. She and JJ leave the Osborne house while Darren takes care of Frankie, who is terrified of JJ. JJ and Suzanne find temporary accommodation with Pearl Anderson, who realises that something is wrong with Frankie when she is cornered by JJ at The Dog In The Pond. Frankie leaves the pub but Pearl goes after her. She tells Frankie about her story of how her younger sister, Ruby was abused by their older brother, Carl. And as she tells Frankie all of this, she realises that the same thing has happened to Frankie. Frankie finds comfort in both Pearl and her grandfather, Jack Osborne. As Pearl takes Frankie back to the pub, she confronts Suzanne and JJ, telling them to leave her house and find somewhere else to live. Suzanne blurts out in front of the pub about JJ's abuse towards Frankie, leaving her daughter feeling humiliated and disgusted. And then outside the pub when JJ is angry with Suzanne for blurting that out, he also mentions the abuse and is overheard by Robbie and Freddie, resulting in Robbie trying to attack JJ.
Suzanne starts to doubt JJ's side of the story, especially when Frankie confronts her about a time when she saw Frankie terrified when she tried to clean her bedding after wetting the bed. Jack realises that Suzanne does believe Frankie but she doesn't want to admit it because both her and JJ are her children. With encouragement from Jack, Suzanne visits Frankie at the McQueens' house and tells her daughter about what she remembers. She said that she came into Frankie's room one night and saw her and JJ under Frankie's covers. JJ lied by saying that Frankie was hiding from Suzanne because she was scared and Suzanne told JJ to go back to his own room to sleep. Suzanne finally realises that what Frankie has been saying all along is true and is disgusted with her son for putting her daughter through that traumatic ordeal. Frankie asks Suzanne if she really does believe her and before Suzanne can answer, Cleo McQueen crashes Dave Williams' motorbike into the window of the house, which crushes Suzanne to death. Suzanne regains consciousness for a few seconds and tells Frankie that she does believe her and that she loves her. Frankie is distraught when her mother dies in her arms and she is taken to the hospital where she is comforted by her family, who wait for news on Jack and his condition as he was also injured in the motorbike accident. JJ is brought to the hospital by Nancy, who did not know that Suzanne had already died in the accident. A reluctant Darren tells JJ that Suzanne is dead and he breaks down, begging for a hug from his dad, who refuses to comfort his son, so Nancy comforts him instead, much to the annoyance of Darren. Tony Hutchinson breaks the news to Darren that although Jack is alive but unconscious, the doctors don't think he will survive from the injuries he sustained in the accident.
One year later, JJ has been living in seclusion in a foster home, after he returns to Hollyoaks face trial for what he did to Frankie, Jack tries to convince him to be honest and tell the truth no matter what consequences he faces, which JJ reluctantly says he will do. Unfortunately an unexpected turn occurs, on the day of the trial JJ collapses and at the hospital Darren tells him that he has been diagnosed with leukaemia.
Later, after finding out that his chemotherapy has not worked, he leaves a note for his family and escapes the hospital. He collapses outside of Price Slice in front of Nancy and Mercedes after leaving a note there for Frankie. He is then diagnosed with pneumonia. Frankie decides to confront JJ about why he abused her, and he admits that he did it to hurt her because of jealousy. Later that day, he flatlines. He does survive this, but the stress of seeing JJ almost die couple with the guilt of Frankie having been abused right under his nose, Darren has a breakdown and vanishes. They find that only a bone marrow donation will save JJ, and the only match is Frankie. Frankie decides to do the donation, not to save JJ's life for his sake, but rather to make sure she is able to see justice in a courtroom when JJ faces trial. JJ does record a full confession on a phone he gives to Frankie. The transplant works, meaning JJ is going to live, and he is well enough that a trial date is set.
Appendices[]
Residences[]
| Address | Duration |
|---|---|
| 5 Oakdale Drive, Flat 1 | 2011 to 17th March 2011 |
| Spain | 17th March 2011 to 18th January 2024 |
| 17 Basswood Road | 18th January 2024 to 16th August 2024 |
| 5 Oakdale Drive, Flat 3 | 16th August 2024 to 5th September 2024 |
| Unknown B&B | 5th September to 9th September 2024 |
Employment History[]
| Job | Duration |
|---|---|
| Hollyoaks High School student | Since 18th January 2024 |
Notes[]
- JJ was aged up by two years in 2024, being referenced as 15 in April 2024.
- Because the show introduced the first ever time jump in September 2024, it now focuses on the autumn of 2025, making JJ now 16 years old.
Background Information[]
- Ryan Mulvey's casting as JJ was announced in November 2023, alongside the casting of Isabelle Smith as Frankie Osborne, and Suzanne Hall reprising the role of Suzanne Ashworth.
Introduction Sequence[]
2024: He is seen celebrating Jack’s birthday along with Darren, Frankie, Nancy and Tony.
Quotes[]
| “ | Sir, who do I speak to about getting a trial for the footie team? | ” |
— First line, to Carter Shepherd.
| ||
