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James Patrick "Jamie" Maguire (born 1982) is the oldest son of Patrick (Paddy) Maguire and Katherine (Mimi) Rose Joy Murphy Maguire. He currently runs the Maguire family interests in drug dealing and other crime as well as the pub, The Jockey, where he is co-licensee with his wife Karen. He first appeared in Series 4 after serving a ten-year prison sentence for manslaughter. He started as a reformed character seeking a separate path from his families business in crime. However after his parents' marriage began to fall apart due to his father's heroin addiction and the death of his sister Mandy, Jamie was forced to take the reins of the family business, a job he excelled at. Now more ruthless than his father before him, Jamie runs the Maguire's interests alone, though his mother still holds a lot of sway. Jamie also spent a brief period as a male escort working for Michelle Critchall when he and his wife were struggling to pay their bills and Jamie was fighting going back to crime. Jamie has shown an occasional tendency to sleep walk, as seen more often early on in his relationship with his now wife, Karen. In Series 8 we learn that Jamie has a fear of clowns after one died at his birthday party when he was a child. 

Karen & The Jockey[]

Jamie's name initially brings fear and terror to the residents of Chatsworth due to the crimes he committed. Upon being released from jail, the first person he meets is Karen Jackson, who he catches having sex with a delivery driver outside The Jockey and watches with amusement. Unaware of his reputation, she frequently decries him as a pervert and treats him with contempt.

Much to his parents' confusion, he rejects their offer of accommodation and a job with them and goes looking for a proper job by himself. He inquires at The Jockey, where landlady Jez is terrified of him and gives him a job and accommodation instantly, assuming that Jamie is looking to extort protection money or set up a front in the pub. However, it becomes apparent that Jamie is not interested in a life of crime anymore and just wants to live and work normally.

After Karen catches him sleepwalking into her bedroom, the two begin to harmlessly flirt, until Jamie randomly asks her to marry him. Karen runs off and locks herself in the toilet in a flood of tears, assuming it to be a sick joke, but Jamie pleads his seriousness, telling her that he knows what he wants after ten years in jail. In time, they become engaged.

In the last episode of Series 4, Jamie revealed that he had admitted his guilt in order to get parole so that he could hunt down his father's three former cellmates, who were planning to muscle in on Paddy's territory and dispose of him. His new reformed life was a sham to cover his murders of these three men. Karen assumed that his courtship of her was part of this pretence, but Jamie claimed that he really loved her. They get married and throw a huge wedding party at The Jockey. After Carol, who took over from Jez as landlady, disappears with two months of takings, Karen and Jamie become de-facto bosses of the pub, although Karen is the sole legal landlady.

Jamie's old cellmate Mark appears one day in The Jockey after recently being freed, where it is revealed that he put himself at risk to save Jamie from being almost killed by a gang in prison. The criminally-active Mark is dismayed to see Jamie's new, honest way-of-life and casually reminds Jamie that he owes him. Jamie acknowledges this but still refuses to get involved in any criminal activity with Mark, who pulls a gun on him and forces him to be his getaway driver from a bank robbery. After crashing the bike and being arrested, he almost faces another ten years in jail, but is freed after his family trap Mark and beat him into confessing.

Jamie starts playing casual football with the local football team in Series 6, where he meets captain Joe Pritchard. During this time, his relationship with Karen hits rock bottom, especially after Karen suffers a miscarriage that neither of them were aware of. When Karen refuses to allow Jamie to be joint licensee of the pub, Jamie starts being stubborn around Karen and refusing to help her do menial tasks, driving them further apart. After he attempts to sabotage Karen's application for a wedding license, Karen loses it and throws glasses at him in a fit of rage before kicking him out of the pub.

He returns home to his family and lives there while his and Karen's relationship is on the rocks, but cannot help feeling as if he's failed by doing so.

Return to the Business[]

While cooking dinner with Mandy, she accidentally spills hot water over her abdomen, revealing harsh bruising all over her body. Jamie confronts Joe at The Jockey, who vaguely admits to it, but Karen wills them to take it outside. As soon as they step outside, Jamie drops Joe instantly and violently beats him into a coma in front of a baying crowd. Mimi immediately volunteers to confess to the beating in order to keep Jamie out of jail.

Realizing the sacrifice Mimi has made for him, and in light of Paddy's worsening condition and Shane and Micky's incompetence, Jamie is reluctantly forced to begin working for his family again. He demonstrates supreme ability in intimidation and business-thinking, just like his father, running rings around the attempts of his younger brothers. After catching Paddy shooting up heroin in the bathroom, he formally takes control over the business. And eliminates the Maguires' competition by locking the Dudnic brothers in a shed before setting fire to it.

Series 8[]

After seeking marriage counselling, Karen returns to the Jockey, although with some tension between Karen and Jamie. Karen also discovers that the Jockey has been signed over to Jamie. Tensions later ease and the couple are properly reunited.

Karen later demands that the license for the Jockey be signed over to her again, with Jamie and Karen later becoming joint licensees.

Series 9 & 10[]

Jamie begins an affair with Gloria Meak, an affair which is later discovered by Karen, who takes revenge by faking a kidnapping before making Jamie sign everything over to her. At the end of Series 10 Jamie manages to use the death of Ruby Hepburn to convince Karen that they work best when running things together.

Series 11[]

Mimi realises that Paddy Maguire is not Jamie's biological father, a fact that Jamie discovers. When searching for his biological father, Jamie meets his half-brother Kassi Blanco.

After Kassi runs into trouble with the police, Jamie helps Kassi and his family move to the Chatsworth estate. Kassi is eventually arrested by the police and sent to prison, making Jamie promise to look after his wife and children who remain at the Chatsworth estate.

Notes[]

  • Jamie is an occasional sleep-walker, which was first witnessed by his future wife, Karen Jackson, in Episode 402.
  • Jamie is the only Maguire son to call Mimi "mum". Shane, Mandy and Mickey all refer to her as "mam".
  • In 2013, Aaron McCusker (Jamie Maguire) guest-stars in the Eighth Season of Showtime's Dexter.

Gallery[]

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