Jared Jones is a former student at Waterloo Road High School. He is smart and athletic and was immediately popular with the girls in his year.[1]
He also has hearing loss, but Jared has never let this define him or get in the way of what he wants to do. Beneath his bravado, Jared feels insecure, and over time, this insecurity will begin to show.[1]
Series 14[]
In Series 14 Episode 5, Jared first appears as one of the St Jude's School for the Deaf pupils joining Waterloo Road following the closure of St Jude's. Waterloo Road run a buddy scheme to help the deaf pupils settle in as they communicate better one-to-one, and Jared is partnered with Libby Guthrie. He tells her that he started learning to sign when he began to lose his hearing a year earlier.
Libby and Jared immediately take a shining to each other and are soon in a relationship, but their relationship quickly hits the rocks after Jared laughs along with some girls when they mock the fact that Libby is in Amy Spratt's new school choir. To make it up to her, Jared later joins the choir himself, and they make up.
Series 15[]
At first, Jared seems to act like a gentleman and caring towards Libby, however as the series goes on, his façade begins to drop as he displays symptoms of domestic abuse and becomes more possessive of her. After footage of him gaslighting Libby is revealed to Amy Spratt, an ex-girlfriend of his named Chanelle trespasses into school grounds and threatens to tell Libby everything about his manipulative nature. Despite Amy insisting she should leave, Chanelle punches Jared in the face.
Libby and Jared's relationship becomes more toxic as he isolates her from her father and sister, grabs her by the hair and locks her in his cavaran, ultimately knocking her to the ground, leaving her with a cut and bruised eyebrow. Eventually, Libby pretends to get a drink for Jared, but instead she takes his key and runs off home, leaving him locked up in his own caravan.
After Libby dumps him and blocks him from her contact list, Jared storms out of his class and sets off the fire alarm, before trapping both himself and Libby in the library. Despite threatening to use her personal attack alarm, Jared yanks it out of Libby's hand, restraining her. Desperate to rekindle his toxic relationship, he places his hand over Libby's mouth to shut her up, but she bites him and he smashes the glass angrily before beating her up, unaware that audio of the entire incident is being recorded on Libby's phone. Later, he faces an angry mob of students, feebly attempting to save face. When it fails, he tries to run, but is stopped by Mike Rutherford. After that, he is seen being taken away by the police and excluded for domestic abuse and unauthorised use of a fire alarm. It was later mentioned in Series 16 that Jared was found guilty of assaulting Libby but hadn't been sentenced yet, which will hopefully be covered in Series 17.
Trivia[]
Jared is the third character in Waterloo Road history to deal with some form of hearing loss, the first is Imogen Stewart, and the second is Luca Smith.
Quotes[]
- "It's a bit retro, mate." (first line)
- Jared: "I'm so sorry. I was such a-"
- Libby: "How do you sign 'idiot'?"
- Jared: "You really need to believe in what you're doing. If you wanna make it as an actor, you need to get tougher. Can't be getting over-emotional every time someone gives you a bit of direction."
- Libby: "I'm not. Aleena said that..."
- Jared: "Aleena's a bimbo. Stop valuing her opinion over mine."
- Libby: "No, I'm not. I swear."
- Jared: "If you think Aleena's so great, why don't you put your false eyelashes back on and paint your face like a clown?"
- Libby: "They'll come looking for us."
- Jared: "Good. Then you can tell them that all this stuff that's been happening between us has been some...some stupid misunderstanding. (Libby tries to escape, but Jared restrains her) Just listen. Libby, just...just listen to me! Just...what I'm asking for is one more chance."
- Libby: "Please let go of me."
- Jared: "Oh, I'll never let you go. Don't you understand? (Libby gets out her phone and presses record) I'm nothing without you."
- Libby: "Then you're nothing! It's over!"
- Jared: "No! Don't say that. It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks. We don't need them, we can make this work, we just need each other. (Libby breaks free and pulls out her PA alarm) Seriously?!"
- Libby: "Get away from me or I will use this!" (Jared snatches the alarm and tosses it aside)
- Jared: "You really think anyone's gonna come rescue you?! (Libby tries to run again, but Jared pins her down) Stop, just...Libby! (He pins her to the wall) Nobody will love you like I did."
- Libby: (crying in fear) "It didn't feel like love; it felt like prison! When people see I'm happy they'll know what you are!"
- Jared: "Stop!" (He puts his hand over Libby's mouth)
- Libby: "HELP ME!"
- Jared: "LIBBY, SHUT UP! (Libby bites Jared who screams in pain and punches the glass, causing Libby to cower) Now look what you made me do! I told you not to block me out of your life!"
- "NO! PUT ME DOWN! LET GO! I didn't do owt! Mate, I'm sorry. She made me do it. She made me do it. I didn't...I barely touched her." (final line)