Jacqui's 'weird' Christmas tradition

Jacqui Purvis, Luke Van Os, Matt Evans and Kirsty Marillier get into the festive spirit

It has been a whirlwind year for Home and Away’s Jacqui Purvis, with her character Felicity Newman being the centre of multiple high-stakes storylines on the soap. Her character has been targetted by bikie thugs and will be trapped in a potentially fatal car crash when the show returns in January.

Once the show has finished shooting for the year, the star is looking forward to celebrating Christmas with her family and friends in Melbourne, where she's from. In a chat with Yahoo Lifestyle, the star calls out the worst present she has ever received, reveals her ‘weird’ Christmas tradition and spills on what a Summer Bay Christmas special would look like.

The star also tells us that the big meal to kickstart the festivities off is a fancy breakfast — something that she thinks is a bit strange.

“We’ll do presents and we do this tradition that we have brioche French toast with these poached pears,” she laughs. “It’s weird, I don’t know why, it’s not even very Christmassy.”

Her family just stumbled across the recipe in a book and the tradition stuck. She’s also looking forward to catching up with her best friend, who she considers her “second family”.

the teenage actors of Home and Away are eager to celebrate their accomplishments and those of their fictional characters after a demanding year at work.

As Felicity, Jacqui Purvis has had to deal with some of the most difficult plots this season, but she claims to have matured both on and off screen. The icing on her fantastic 2023 was that she co-produced and starred in her own short film.

It’s been a massive year for me and I’ve had many highlights,” she tells TV WEEK. “I also had to make a really big personal decision recently, and I was so scared of making the wrong decision that I put off making it. But I had to come to terms with the fact that I actually might make the wrong decision – and that’s OK.”

It’s been a big year too for co-star and musician Matt, who plays Theo. He has another single, “As Good As It Gets”, coming out in 2024.

“Balancing my schedule has been tough, but rewarding,” Matt says. “The grind doesn’t stop, but that’s how I like it. Singing on H&A [as a member of band Lyrik] sparked my love for music again.”

He’s ridiculously funny in real life,” she says of the screen veteran. “We got on like a house on fire.”

Ready to unwind over the break, Matt is heading home to Perth, where he says a certain incident lives on forever.

“Falling in the pool fully clothed has definitely happened!” he says, laughing.

Melbourne-born Luke says his family gathering has an open-door policy. “Everyone is welcome – usually a lot of people who don’t have families to share the day with anymore,” he says.

Regarding peculiar Christmas presents, he can recall one specific instance.
“My mother gave me an actual bowling pin one year, and I have no idea why. Though not enough to warrant the gift, I enjoy bowling. I have no idea how or what to utilize it for. Door stopper, please?”

For Kirsty, who was born in South Africa, this year will include “cocktails, trifle, and a food coma”. Her beloved family custom, however, is significantly more active.

“The Marillier volleyball tournament in the pool!” she exclaims.