Jack Anthony Holden is a
fictional character
In fiction, a character (or speaker, in poetry) is a person or other being in a narrative (such as a novel, play, radio or television series, music, film, or video game). The character may be entirely fictional or based on a real-life person, ...
from the Australian
soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
Home and Away
''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...
'', played by
Paul O'Brien. He made his first on-screen appearance on 5 August 2005. Jack was a
police officer
A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...
. The Holden family — Jack, his father
Tony
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
and his brother
Lucas
Lucas or LUCAS may refer to:
People
* Lucas (surname)
* Lucas (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* Luca Family Singers, also known as "lucas ligner en torsk"
* ''Lucas'' (album) (2007), an album by Skeletons and the Kings of All Cities
* ''L ...
arrived in
Summer Bay
Summer Bay is the fictional coastal town featured in the Australian soap opera, '' Home and Away''. Palm Beach, the most Northern beach of Sydney, is used for the show's exterior scenes in order to depict the Bay. Between 2010 and 2014, the ...
in 2005. In November 2008, the season finale, Jack was accidentally shot in the chest at a construction site by fellow police officer,
Angelo Rosetta
Angelo Rosetta is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Luke Jacobz. He made his debut during the episode broadcast on 8 July 2008. He has been central to many notable storylines including sh ...
. In the first episode of the 2009 season, it was revealed that Jack had died after
paramedic
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
s failed to revive him at the scene. Paul O'Brien decided to leave the series in 2008 and Jack made his last appearance in the second episode into 2009.
Character development
Most of Jack's storylines were central to his on-off relationship with
Martha MacKenzie
Martha MacKenzie (also Stewart and Holden) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Jodi Gordon. Martha made her first on-screen appearance on 8 September 1988. She was originally played ...
(
Jodi Gordon
Jodi Lee Gordon (previously Anasta; born 1 February 1985) is an Australian actress and model. From 2005 to 2010 she portrayed Martha MacKenzie in ''Home and Away''. Gordon won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Female Talent in 2006. Gordon c ...
). Viewers saw the couple go through marriage, divorce, a second marriage and Martha being widowed. Martha and Jack's first marriage is cut short because they argue to much, Martha leaves Jack. They start to lead separate lives, but Jack is there for Martha after she has an abortion, Martha who is feeling low at this point kisses him, Jack's girlfriend
Sam Tolhurst
Samantha Holden (previously Deeks and Tolhurst) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Jessica Chapnik. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 October 2006.
Character developm ...
(
Jessica Chapnik
Jessica Chapnik Kahn is an Argentine Australian singer-songwriter, actress and writer. Her solo music is released under the moniker Appleonia. She is also known for her role as Sam Tolhurst/Holden in the Australian television drama ''Home and Aw ...
) sees this.
Of the situation during an interview with
Yahoo
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
, O'Brien stated: "I think Jack felt like "Oh this is nice, but I've moved on, I've finally moved on and found someone, but deep down he still wants Martha."
O'Brien added that he believes Jack was always in love with Martha, even whilst with he was in a relationship with Sam. Both O'Brien and Gordon agreed that when Jack and Martha first broke up it was a bad time for Jack, as his life was spiraling out of control, he needed her, but she left him when he needed her the most.
They later become friends in an unlikely turn of events, O'Brien believed it hard to understand how Jack could be so forgiving towards her.
Whilst the characters were separated on-screen, they had gained a fan base on the Internet that believed Jack should be with Martha and wanted the pair to reunite.
Gordon herself backed the pairing, stating that she believed they should be together and perfect for each other. Whilst interviewed she said: "I actually love Jack and Martha together, I'm a sucker for romance so, I want want them to be together
..I want them to continue on,
..the timing is not right, they are not mature enough. Jack's in a relationship with someone else as Martha is, there just seems to be things getting in the way of them getting back together all the time."
Gordon also hoped for a happy ever after type ending for the two characters if they were to ever leave the serial commenting: "If I had it my way, and I got to write the scripts then I'd make it happily ever after, Martha and Jack riding off into the sunset."
Gordon has spoken of her understanding from the audiences point of view, that together Jack and Martha are "the ultimate couple".
She also reiterated her belief that it would be to tough at the time of Martha's downward spiral for them to work together, but if Martha is to get through her troubles and have a happy ending, that it would be with Jack.
On-screen Jack and Martha later reconcile, he helps her through her hard times. Gordon believed that their relationship was at its strongest peak whilst she had breast cancer.
During an interview with
What's on TV
''What's on TV'' is a weekly television listings magazine published by Future PLC.
Overview
''What's on TV'' is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and compe ...
Gordon spoke of the state of their relationship stating: "Martha and Jack have been through more than most and right now their relationship is as solid as it could be. But she's taking a big chance not being honest about her pregnancy."
Storylines
Jack arrives with his father, Tony and brother, Lucas in Summer Bay. It is quickly revealed Jack is responsible for the death of a teenage girl in a shootout. The girl's father, Harry Chambers (Rodney Dobsen) arrives in town holding Jack responsible for his daughter's death.
Following all the furore, A town meeting is held and it is revealed Jack had returned fire in self-defence and the locals believe him. Martha MacKenzie is often frosty towards Jack but he refuses to give up on her. They begins various contest against each other including a pool competition with a nudie run stipulation and a drinking contest. These games backfire when Martha exploits Jack's deathly fear of spiders and plants one in his room. Jack discovers it after coming out of the shower and falls and hits his head. He then rushed to hospital and is operated on but suffers temporary hearing loss. Upon finding out Martha is responsible, He is angry with her but later forgives her after she threatens to jump off a cliff after he jokingly suggests so.
Jack's colleague
Corey Henderson
''Home and Away'' is an Australian soap opera. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2005, by order of appearance. They were all introduced by the show's series producer Julie McGuaran. The 18th season of ''Home and Away'' ...
(Adam Saunders) takes an interest in Martha and she reciprocates, leading to Jack's jealousy. When Jack finds that Corey is poisoning
Irene Roberts (
Lynne McGranger
Lynne McGranger (born 29 January 1953) is an Australian actress and longest serving female cast member of a television soap opera in Australia, having starred as Irene Roberts on soap opera ''Home and Away'' for over 29 years. She joined the se ...
) he tries to warn Martha but she puts it down to his jealousy. Martha then agrees to move away with Corey to the city. Jack tries to stop them but they have already left. Martha figures out Jack is telling the truth and is rescued just in time. At Noah Smith's christening, Jack and Martha get back together. Jack and Martha begin talking about settling down and being a family and Jack fakes being cold on the marriage idea. However he gets a shock when it looks like Martha is the one having second thoughts and is further surprised when she proposes. Jack and Martha marry at St. James' Church with their friends and family present but the reception is ruined when
Eve Jacobsen
''Home and Away'' is an Australian soap opera. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in 2005, by order of appearance. They were all introduced by the show's series producer Julie McGuaran. The 18th season of ''Home and Away'' ...
(Emily Perry) the Summer Bay stalker causes an explosion which kills her,
Tracey Thompson
''Home and Away'' is an Australian soap opera. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the Australian soap opera '' Home and Away'' in 2006, by order of first a ...
(Sarah Enright) and
Elaine Armstrong (Julie Hudspeth) and leaves several other including Jack and Martha.
Rachel Armstrong
Rachel Marie Holden (also Armstrong and Hyde) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera '' Home and Away'', played by Amy Mathews. Rachel debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 16 January 2006. In 2010 Mathe ...
(
Amy Mathews
Amy Mathews (born 29 March 1979) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She is best known for her role as Rachel Armstrong in Australian soap opera ''Home and Away''.
Early life
Mathews was born in Melbourne, Victoria, but ha ...
) arranges for a group of burn victims to be airlifted to the city for surgery and Martha is among the casualties. The helicopter crashes, leaving the party missing for several weeks, presumed dead. They are eventually found by Rescue teams on their final attempt.
Following an argument not long after, Martha accuses Jack of not putting enough effort into the marriage and being at work too much and she moves out. They separate and when Jack is badly beaten, Martha donates blood to him but admits to
Alf Stewart
Alfred James "Alf" Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Ray Meagher. Alf was created as one of the show's eighteen original characters. Meagher originally auditioned for the role of Tom Fle ...
(
Ray Meagher
Raymond Francis Meagher (born 4 July 1944) is an Australian actor, who has appeared in Australian film and television since the mid-1970s. He is notable as the longest continuing performer in an Australian television role, portraying Alf Stewa ...
) she no longer loves Jack.
Ash Nader (
Ben Guerens
Ben Geurens (born 24 December 1979) is an Australian actor.
Biography
Geurens graduated from National Institute of Dramatic Art, NIDA in 2004. At drama school his credits include ''The Return (play), The Return'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Much Ad ...
), an old friend of Jack arrives and takes an interest in Martha and they become a couple. Jack finally realises his marriage is over and moves on with Sam, his physiotherapist and becomes close to her son Rory (Jack Rickard; Ed Wills). Shane Deeks (Mike Duncan), Sam's ex-husband arrives in Summer Bay and tries to snatch Rory. He is foiled by Jack but Sam and Rory leave. Jack's attentions are back on Martha when she enters a downward spiral after finding out Ash is married with children.
He is further shocked when attending Peter Baker's (
Nicholas Bishop
Nicholas Bishop (born 19 September 1973) is an English-born Australian actor. He is best known for his television roles as Detective Peter Baker on the soap opera ''Home and Away'' (2004–07) and as Peter Dunlop on the ABC medical drama ''Body ...
) stag night to find Martha working as a pole dancer. Jack then battles Cam Reynolds (Ashley Lyons), Martha's boss and boyfriend and tries to frame him for drug dealing but Cam twists the situation by framing Martha. Jack then destroys the evidence when Martha is arrested. Cam torches the club and Jack saves Martha.
Following death of Tony's partner,
Beth Hunter
Elizabeth Ann "Beth" Hunter (also Walters and Sutherland) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Clarissa House. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 2003 and departed o ...
(Clarissa House), Jack supports Tony and Lucas. Jack is part of a crew that go missing on a boat in a storm and when the others return he is not with them prompting worry. However, Jack never boarded. Martha goes over to house to call off the divorce but finds a newly returned Sam and Rory. George Watson (Paul Barry) frames Jack for a bank robbery and shoots Colin Marshall (Nathan Page), the shooter and frames Jack then shoots Jack. Jack remains comatose for several days and when he awakes he realises it is Martha he loves, not Sam. When Rory overhears Martha suggesting Jack postpone the wedding, Sam gets angry and bans Martha from attending. Jack and Sam marry but when they return from their honeymoon, they discover escaped criminal Johnny Cooper is hiding out. Sam later kills Johnny by hitting him over the head with a baseball bat.
When Jack finds out about Sam's drug deals via a letter left by Johnny, he ends the marriage with her and he threatens to call the police. Sam tells him she is pregnant and he gives her 12 hours to leave town. His day is further exacerbated when he sees Martha on a date with Roman Harris (
Conrad Coleby
Conrad Julius Coleby (born Conrad Julius Taylor, 20 September 1979) is an Australian actor and photographer, whose roles have included Scott Zinenko on the medical drama '' All Saints'', for which he was nominated for a Logie Award, counsellor A ...
). Jack hands in the letter but Sam with one final act of revenge lets the police know about him tampering with the evidence from Martha's previous arrest. Jack leaves the bay for a while but is alarmed to discover Sam's body has been found washed up on the beach, leaving him a prime suspect in the murder.
Ross Buckton (David Downer) investigates the case and has a theory that Jack and Martha killed Sam because she was in the way of their relationship. Martha's great aunt
Morag Bellingham
Morag Buckton (also Stewart and Bellingham) QC is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Cornelia Frances. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 7 June 1988. She appeared u ...
(
Cornelia Frances
Cornelia Frances Zulver, OAM (7 April 1941 – 28 May 2018), credited professionally as Cornelia Frances, was an English-Australian actress. After starting her career in small cameos in films in her native England, she became best known for her ...
) submits the theory that Sam committed suicide and made it look like murder, which is revealed to be true and Jack and Martha are exonerated. Following Sam's funeral, Jack and Martha get closer and she breaks up with Roman and they reunite. Martha proposes again and Jack accepts. Martha soon finds she is pregnant but is unsure of the child's paternity and they have a test which proves Roman is the biological father. Jack is upset but wants to stay with Martha regardless. They marry in the hospital chapel, but Martha is suffering from breast cancer; she collapses several hours later and suffers a miscarriage. Martha recovers after extensive chemotherapy. After acting on a tip from
Belle Taylor
Belle Taylor is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Jessica Tovey. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 February 2006. Belle's storylines included finding her birth mother ...
(
Jessica Tovey
Jessica Tovey (born 10 November 1987) is an Australian actress. Tovey graduated from the Newtown High School of the Performing Arts and has made appearances for various drama companies. She is best known for her role of Belle Taylor on the long ...
), who works for the Coastal News, Jack investigates a development site where toxic waste is buried, causing a cancer cluster. He is upset and blames the developers for Martha's illness and is determined to bring them to justice. Jack visits the site at night and is shot in the chest by
Angelo Rosetta
Angelo Rosetta is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Home and Away'', played by Luke Jacobz. He made his debut during the episode broadcast on 8 July 2008. He has been central to many notable storylines including sh ...
(
Luke Jacobz
Luke Jacobz (born Luke Jacob Ashwood; 14 February 1981) is an Australian actor and television presenter.
Career
He appeared in a high school production of ''The Man of Steel'' in 1995. He came to public attention when he starred as Zac Croft f ...
). Tony arrives on the scene and tries to revive him but he is too late and Jack dies. He later reappears as a vision to a grief-stricken Martha.
Reception
O'Brien earned various awards nominations for his portrayal of Jack. In 2006, O'Brien won a
Logie Award
The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...
for "Most Popular New Male Talent". The 2007 and 2008 ceremonies saw O'Brien nominated for "Most Popular Actor". O'Brien was nominated for "Best Newcomer" and "Best Couple" along with co-star
Jodi Gordon
Jodi Lee Gordon (previously Anasta; born 1 February 1985) is an Australian actress and model. From 2005 to 2010 she portrayed Martha MacKenzie in ''Home and Away''. Gordon won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Female Talent in 2006. Gordon c ...
. At the 2007
''Inside Soap'' Awards, O'Brien and Gordon were nominated for "Best Storyline" for Jack and Martha's wedding day. The following year, O'Brien was nominated for "Best Actor", "Sexiest Male" and "Best Couple" with Gordon. At the first
Digital Spy Soap Awards
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
, O'Brien was nominated for "Best On-Screen Partnership" with Gordon.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holden, Jack
Home and Away characters
Fictional Australian police officers
Television characters introduced in 2005
Fictional police constables
Male characters in television