Jacqui Purvis, who played Felicity Newman on Home and Away, shot to fame in 2021 when she moved to Summer Bay. A number of dramatic storylines involving the firecracker character quickly developed, including her being kidnapped, discovering her boyfriend Tane Parata (Ethan Browne) stabbed, and her life now hanging in the balance following a car accident.
Fans have been speculating about whether Jacqui’s character will return the following year or if she intends to follow a string of exits from the show this year. In a chat with Yahoo Lifestyle, she shares how long she wants to stay on the show, reveals she would love a ‘dramatic exit’ and tells us why it was ‘weird’ to play a bride.
The promos for next year’s season return have shown Felicity in a life-threatening situation, with the character being trapped inside a car that goes up in flames. Jacqui can’t tease if Felicity makes it out alive, but she does say that if she could choose the way she left the show, she would pick a “dramatic death”.
“[I’d want to be] killed off. I want a really dramatic death, like a really, intense, gory, like everyone’s crying [death],” she tells us.
When pushed to answer how long she plans on staying in Summer Bay, Jacqui skirts around the answer, presumably so she doesn’t spoil any storylines coming up.
“Who knows? I mean, you get offered this role, this experience and as an actor, it’s incredible. You’re acting every day, which is an actor’s dream. And having a consistent job is very rare in this industry,” she explains.
The star adds that it’s such a privilege to be able to do something that ‘she loves’ each day.
“But to know if I’m going to stay on, I have no idea, we’ll have to see where everyone feels in the future,” she spills.
Jacqui describes a “very odd” experience.
Given that Jacqui has never been married before, she finds it unusual to prepare for a wedding. Felicity and Tane’s wedding was the focus of the Home and Away season finale.
She says it was interesting to get a “practise run” to see what she might like in the future because she helped choose the wedding dress.
Because it’s such an important point in someone’s life and she has never been married before, she says, “It felt cool, but also incredibly bizarre.” I felt as though I had nothing to connect with. I don’t have any references at my disposal. Therefore, I was attempting to determine how you would behave in a wedding.
She explains, “But on the other hand, I guess Felicity has never been married, so you kinda just use that in your own experience.”
The celebrity says it was “really weird” and comparable to a traditional wedding in that there were numerous dress fittings prior to the big day.
It’s such a significant moment, she concludes.
