Jambo Bolton

Infobox soap character
series =Hollyoaks
name = Jambo Bolton



spouse =
first = 23 October 1995
last = 22 December 2004
parents = Janice Bolton (mother)
residence = Wales
creator = Phil Redmond
portrayer = Will Mellor

James "Jambo" Bolton was a fictional character on the long-running Channel 4 British television soap opera "Hollyoaks". He was played by actor Will Mellor from episode one in 1995 until 1998 and made a brief reappearance in 2004.

Character history

Jambo was an individualist, putting his unique stamp on anything that came his way, from his formula for salty vinegar and his devotion to Margaret the cow. Jambo had a penchant for climbing through windows, yet, as he argued, "Why walk round to the door when the window is right in front of you?". Jambo was good friends with Kurt Benson and Tony Hutchinson and, whilst they were often confused by his odd behaviour, the three formed a strong bond, providing one another with support and, very often, humour needed to get through their rather tumultuous lives.

Meanwhile, Kurt was soon paired off with Ruth Osborne and Tony was hopelessly in love with Julie Mathews. Jambo was often left on the sidelines, unlucky in love and unable to act on the feelings he had for Dawn Cunningham. After countless missed opportunities as well as Jambo’s brief relationship with Carol Groves’s sister, Anita and his stepmother Lisa, Dawn and Jambo finally admitted their feelings for each other. The other woman in Jambo’s life was his Bond Bug Beryl, whom he loved and cherished almost as much as Dawn! Tragically, Jambo's romance with Dawn was short-lived, as she was diagnosed with leukaemia. She eventually lost her battle against the disease, leaving Jambo devastated over the loss of the girl he wanted more than anything else in the world. Jambo never got over the death of Dawn and, although he tried to persevere with his new landscaping business, '‘Dig It!’, he decided that they were too many memories of Dawn in Hollyoaks and he wanted to move on.

However, Jambo certainly left the female population of Hollyoaks with a memory they would cherish, when he was the unwilling stripper at Jude’s opening night at the Parkers! The irrepressible Jambo finally bid farewell to Hollyoaks to begin a new life in Anglesey in 1998 but made one final visit to Hollyoaks to put flowers on Dawn’s grave and vowed never to return. We saw Jambo again when the gang went to a trip to Anglesey to visit him. As they left Jambo in Wales, it was clear that Hollyoaks would never be quite the same without him.

At Christmas 2004, Jambo reappeared as a vision to Tony Hutchinson in a unique take on A Christmas Carol. Tony later confirmed that it was just as vision, not a ghost, and that he had contacted Jambo in Wales who was very much alive.

Jambo hasn't been seen since, although in October 2007, Tina McQueen threw a surprise birthday party for her brother-in-law Tony. She invited all the people in his address book, including Jambo. Tony later told Izzy he had known about the party all along because Jambo had sent him a text saying, "Thanks for the invitation to your surprise birthday party, Tony, sorry I can't make it."

ee also

*List of past characters from Hollyoaks