Jean Chambers

Jean was the maternal aunt of Marilyn Chambers, who took a young Marilyn into her own care after she’d been placed into an orphanage.

When Jean phoned Marilyn asking if she’d like a visit from her, she was ecstatic, and couldn’t wait to see her. Marilyn frantically cleaned the house to her aunt’s standard, and was worried what she’d think when she arrived. Upon her arrival, Marilyn took her to the diner, where she immediately put Bobby offside by making commentary about taking her niece out of the orphanage. It became clear that Jean was a very picky lady, being unhappy with the sleeping arrangements and the dinner that Bobby made.

She further showed off her manipulative side when she broke Marilyn’s favourite vase, and immediately put the blame onto a nearby Sam. After Marilyn refused to give in to Jean’s demands, she faked a back injury in order to get the ground floor bedroom, forcing Sam to share Bobby’s room. This caused a further rift between the pair. After Bobby and Jean had a fight, Marilyn asked Bobby to move out, but quickly had a change of mind, infuriating Jean. She and Nick soon began clashing also, but when Jean met Donald, she was immediately enamoured.

As the end of Jean’s original planned stay neared, she pushed Marilyn to let her move in, stating she couldn’t continue living with her flatmate Daphne. Marilyn protested, pushing her to contact Daphne. When she did, it ended abruptly with Jean hanging up and pretending to cry to pull on Marilyn’s kind nature. Marilyn decided to let her stay, forcing Bobby to leave again.

To cement her place in Marilyn’s house, Jean faked another back injury. After Jean spilt tea on herself, she jumped up and rushed into the kitchen to clean herself up just as Marilyn walked in. Shocked, Marilyn confronted her, calling her out for being a liar. Despite Marilyn’s anger, Jean tried to talk her niece around, explaining she was frightened about her future. Marilyn considered her options and asked Jean to leave.

Jean packed her bags, and prepared to move out. When Bobby returned with her belongings, ready to move back in, she was confronted with Jean about to leave. In front of Donald and Bobby, Jean chided Marilyn, calling her selfish like her mother. When Marilyn berated her for saying such an awful thing about her late mother, Jean revealed that Heather hadn’t actually died. She had simply given her up, as she was unmarried and couldn’t be bothered with her.

Asked why she had only just told Marilyn this now, Jean remarked that Marilyn clearly didn’t need protecting any longer, before walking out.