James and Leonie

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  • #5073
    KosmoKosmo
    Participant

    On DTD 173 someone asked for the history of these two – so here we go:

    May 2005
    James is in Ambridge because he was sacked from his last job. He gets money out of Lilian for a new investment but Matt is not happy about her having given James money to “go away”.

    July 2009
    James is visiting Lilian and before he returns to London he gives Matt a verbal blast for getting into trouble (this is just before Matt went to prison) and tells him to leave Lilian alone.

    April 2011
    James arrives to reveal he has a new girlfriend. Leonie arrives in the village and has a new boyfriend (J) and will meet him in the Bull at lunchtime. Interestingly James is taking his new girlfriend there for lunch. And of course we had all guessed what was going on – they met on a double date in London.

    August 2011
    This was the photo / book story line. Initially it was merely going around recording villagers at work. Not much co-operation. (I honestly expected that the BBC would produce something pre-Xmas that year – but it never happened).

    November 2011
    Leonie and James arrive with the former in a foul mood and the relationship falling apart. Leonie wants to research another chapter of the wretched book at Bridge Farm.

    April 2012
    The book has now become an aerial survey and the couple were arguing most of the (Easter) weekend! It had mutated to an aerial shot as the photographs were generally not great, if I remember correctly.

    October 2012
    James has had a serious accident and is laid up for some time. Paul joins her at the hospital. She insists that James gets better at the Dower House. James expects Matt to run round after him – so Matt tells him what’s what. Lilian borrows the Bull bell for James to ring but Brenda confiscates it. Leonie eventually turns up concerned because no-one had told her about “poor James” and there is a dramatic reconciliation! During this time James and Matt grow closer – they watch golf videos and Matt leaves him some cognac (well into December now). Lilian is pursuing Paul. Lilian takes James back to London so that she can see Paul, about a week before Xmas.

    December 2013
    It turns out Leonie has turned up out of the blue. She is unhappy with James, he spoils everything and she never sees her friends anymore. He never takes anything seriously. She is in floods of tears and is clearly settling in for the long haul. Lynda doesn’t see why she can’t go and see with her friends but Robert is having nothing of it. Leonie does tell Lynda later that her concerns with James are that he is just still a big kid and she is 39 years old and she doesn’t want to be on her own. But on the other hand he does make her laugh. She just needs time to think. And then in the middle of the conversation, James rings Lynda. Meanwhile Lilian knows Leonie has gone missing. Eventually Leonie insists on sharing some news: she’s pregnant. James doesn’t know yet but Leonie is not sure there is any point in telling him. James arrives on Boxing Day but Leonie tries to avoid him. Shortly after James is told and although he does not feel he is a natural father he will try for the good of the baby.

    • This topic was modified 6 years, 9 months ago by KosmoKosmo.
    #5075

    Thank you for this history. The Matt/ James dynamic as compared to the Justin/James dynamic is an interesting aspect of this story line.

    #5080
    Miss Mid-CityMiss Mid-City
    Participant

    Kosmo has demonstrated encyclopaedic knowledge (as ever!) of the James and Leonie relationship. I had no recollection – and cared even less – that they had been together for 6 years or so. I found their contribution to last week’s episode(s) irrelevant.

    Like a lot of characters, to me they seem entirely unnecessary and one dimensional.

    #5086
    KosmoKosmo
    Participant

    To be fair my recollections of events in this case was helped by http://www.lowfield.co.uk where the Google search engine pointed me in the right direction (somehow I cannot get the same results from the BBC website).

    I cannot disagree entirely with Miss Mid City (well whoever disagrees with a pretty woman?) but, as with the characterisation of Will which I have discussed elsewhere, the lesser characters are used to provide some sort of irritation or annnoyance to the main action and serve as a reminder of their existence on the planet and to enable some diversity. However these lesser players are always written “one way” and unlike those we hear regularly have less chance to appear heroic, kindly, positive or dynamic (or any show any redeeming features) because the period they spend in range of the microphones is so limited.

    What I did note is that James always seems to be given money to go away and leave Ambridge alone. How old is he?

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