Jessie Celestine Renfrew is the aunt of Dolly Skilbeck. Jessie arrived in Beckindale in May 1978 at the request of her sister Phyllis Acaster to go through with the plans for the wedding. She and Dolly continuously argued about the wedding, and Jessie irritated Matt Skilbeck with her comments. Eventually Dolly snapped at Jessie and says that she's having nothing other than a white wedding. Annie Sugden was forced to step in when the argument turned personal.
When Phyllis ended up losing interest in the wedding, Jessie and Dolly ended up getting along more. Jessie suggested an afternoon wedding with a reception in the Village Hall, which the others liked the sound of. She also suggests that Dolly wears an oyster satin dress and Dolly is thrilled with the idea. When Phyllis is needed, she becomes unreliable and uncooperative, and Jessie decided to return to Darlington to have it out with her.
When Sam Pearson's great-great-grandmother Hannah Elizabeth Gough's skull was found, Jessie confronts him and makes him see it in a positive light, cheering him up. That night, she returned to Darlington. She returned later in June 1978 for Dolly and Matt's wedding, and informed Dolly that Phyllis had disappeared, but Phyllis later turned up, revealing that she had married Leonard Purwick.
Jessie later returned for a late Christmas in January 1979. When it began raining, Jessie rushed outside to get her washing in and got soaked in the process. A few hours later, Jessie fell ill, but was still desperate to return home. However, not long later, a neighbour found Jessie collapsed on the kitchen floor and she was rushed to hospital. She was later informed that she had a problem with her heart.
Dolly visited Jessie later in November 1981. Jessie also returned to Beckindale in May 1983 for the christening of Samuel Skilbeck, also catching Joe and a married Barbara Peters together.
List of appearances[]
1978[]
- Tue 16th May
- Thu 18th May
- Tue 23rd May
- Thu 25th May
- Tue 30th May
- Thu 8th Jun
- Thu 22nd Jun
- Tue 27th Jun
- Thu 29th Jun