Sandra Marvin
“Jessie gets drawn in and doesn’t pull away when Al kisses her!”
Troubled Jessie makes the mother of all mistakes this week – when she snogs her ex-husband, Al! The former head teacher is in a right state after losing her job, and with her marriage to Marlon hanging by a thread. The crisis then deepens when manipulative Al stirs the pot between the bickering couple and makes things 10 times worse. However, matters
grow serious when Al kisses Jessie not once, but twice...
“The first time, Jessie gets drawn in and doesn’t pull away immediately when Al kisses her,” explains Sandra Marvin, who plays her. “Yet soon after she’s like, ‘What the hell are you doing?’ and is fuming and confused. It’s just a reflection of how low she is, and how things between her and Marlon have gone wrong. The second time, it’s about reminiscing and Al knowing what buttons to push. It’s not that she wants to be with Al at all.”
What Jessie does want is a new job, and she’s finding it very hard to cope with the collapse of her career. So, when Al reveals he’s set up a job interview for her with a school in Dubai, Jessie can’t deny it’s a boost. Does she really intend to move abroad?
“Initially, Jessie’s excited because it’s a reputable school that wants to speak to her,” says Sandra. “But I don’t think she intends to go all the way with it. It was more of an ego boost for her as she’s feeling a bit down and on the floor about her abilities and her relationship.”
The problem is that Jessie doesn’t mention the job interview to Marlon, so when Al casually drops it into the conversation to wind him up, the neurotic chef goes nuts. He rushes home and finds Jessie
Jessie and Al have a lot of history and were together for 20 years”
mid-interview on the phone – and soon there are fireworks.
“Marlon’s furious because obviously Al’s implied that she’s taken this huge move that will be seeing her leave the country completely,” shares Sandra. “Marlon feels as though she’s doing something behind his back – and not just with anyone, but with Al. So, he’s highly offended by what she’s done, and again, it makes him question their marriage.”
It seems as if Marlon has reason to worry, when things get heated at the village football match the next day. After some drama between Marlon and Al during the game, the conniving charmer gets chatting to Jessie in the pavilion and that’s when sparks fly.
“Remember, Jessie and Al have a lot of history – they were together almost 20 years, and this is probably the first time they’ve sat down and had a laugh without an air around it all. Al sees this as an chance to take things a bit too far.”
That doesn’t explain why, back at Tall Trees, Jessie snogs Al for a second time and is caught red-handed by returning Mandy Dingle. Will Jessie come clean to Marlon before Mandy mouths off?