Julie Matthews is a fictional character from the British soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Julie Buckfield. The character debuted on-screen during the first episode of Hollyoaks, which was broadcast on 23 October 1995. Buckfield originally auditioned for the role of Louise Taylor, but the role of Julie was created and given to her instead. Julie is portrayed as a student and she is characterised as a "goody two shoes" and a stereotypical "girl next door". Writers created her a relationship storyline with Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard). They endure an on-off relationship but is later developed into a wedding storyline.
In 1997, Buckfield left Hollyoaks and her departure storyline featured Julie jilting Tony on their wedding day. She reprised the role in 2002 and writers transformed Julie's good girl persona into a archetypical soap bitch with conniving tendencies. Julie becomes Tony's business partner in acquiring the local café, Deva. Writers also developed a rivalry between Julie and Tony's girlfriend, Izzy Cornwell (Elize du Toit). Julie begins sabotaging their relationship and scheming against Izzy. Julie was written out of the series again in November 2002, with her fleeing Hollyoaks after she has conned Tony. Buckfield was unsure whether Julie could return because of the characterisation changes but she returned again in 2007. Julie returns for Tony's thirtieth birthday which creates problems for Tony's relationship with Jacqui McQueen (Claire Cooper). In 2018, Buckfield reprised the role once again for a new storyline featuring Tony. The character has been well received by critics of the genre for her wedding storyline.
Casting and characterisation Buckfield's agent informed her that auditions were being held for Hollyoaks and she decided to try out for a role. Buckfield was unaware about which character she was auditioning for. Only vague information was provided but her agent compared the show to the US television series Baywatch. Buckfield arrived at the audition wearing "a Wonder-Bra, a little top and Capri pants." When she arrived, she learned the part would be a school girl, so she changed into a T-shirt and jeans. She later recalled "I was just told that she was a school girl, very young and very girly. And that was it!"
Buckfield initially read for the part of Louise Taylor. Buckfield progressed to further auditions in which she was placed with different actors. Julie was created after the initial auditions and awarded to Buckfield. She believed she was "lucky" to be a part of the Hollyoaks cast, adding it was "what I've been working towards my whole life." Buckfield made her first appearance as Julie in the Hollyoaks debut episode, which was broadcast on 23 October 1995. Julie only briefly appeared in the episode. Buckfield told Neil Mattocks on his podcast that her family watched the episode and joked "oh is that it, oh is that all you done."
Julie is initially characterised as a "goody two shoes image" type character, with a "girl next door" image. In her later appearances writers portrayed her as a soap "bitch". She was also portrayed as "devious and deceitful". A writer from the official Hollyoaks website described Julie as having a "fearsome no-nonsense attitude" and also branded her "conniving" character.
Development Relationship with Tony Hutchinson Writers paired Julie in a relationship storyline with Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard), which was developed during the first month of Hollyoaks episodes. In the book, Phil Redmond's Hollyoaks: The Official Companion, it is described as a "love at first sight" story.Evans 2002, p.16. Buckfield stated that the process of developing their romance was "bizarre" because she was friends with Pickard before joining Hollyoaks. She told a writer from the show's official website that "it feels like your brother really. It feels like your best mate. But we got over that. And it was good fun." She told Anne Adams from Evening Herald that Julie and Tony's relationship is supposed to be "light-hearted" and she viewed them as "a bit of a comedy couple." Buckfield also added dislike of Julie constantly referring to Tony as her "honeybunny" in their scenes.
The characters become engaged during the April 1996 episodes.Evans 2002, p.17. Writers made the relationship between Julie and Tony problematic after they become engaged. In one scene, the pair argue and Julie throws her engagement ring at Tony. The scene occurs following Jude Cunningham (Davinia Taylor) and Ruth Osborne (Terri Dwyer) giving Tony a make-over, which makes Julie have a "jealous fit" and end their engagement.Evans 2002, p.20. Buckfield told Adams that the pair could reunite following their break-up. She likened Julie's experience to her own, adding "she is just like I was at 16 falling head over heels with a first love."
Tony goes to Scotland determined to reconcile with her but is shocked to find her with another man. Tony goes to Ibiza and catches public lice after having sex. He and Julie reconcile, but he tries to avoid her questions about the holiday.Evans 2002, p.21. Writers continued their on/off relationship with Tony breaking-up with Julie after witnessing her kiss her motorcycle instructor, Bruce. Tony then moves on by dating Marilyn (Vanessa Robinson). Julie continued sharing scenes with Tony via the video shop they both work at. Writers featured the bickering duo dividing the video shop in half to continue working alongside each other. When Tony breaks-up with Marilyn, he resumes his relationship with Julie and they become engaged again.Evans 2002, p.28.
Wedding and departure Buckfield left the series in 1997. Julie's exit storyline featured her and Tony arranging a marriage, only for Julie to stand him up at the altar. The wedding episode was broadcast on 11 August 1997. Pickard told Steven Murphy from Inside Soap that "Tony has a lot of nerves about the whole thing". He reasoned that Julie's parents has taken over the wedding plans which make him "feel a bit threatened". He also described the wedding plans as transforming Julie into "a complete superbitch" and it was "understandable" he was unsure about marrying her.
In the story, Tony's friend Kurt Benson (Jeremy Edwards) tries to convince Tony to not marry Julie and Jambo Bolton (Will Mellor) bets that the wedding will not happen. Tony decides he wants to marry Julie after all. When Julie makes it half-way down the aisle, she announces that she does not want to marry Tony and flees the church. The wedding took two days to film and received a "big budget". Pickard likened the experience as being on a movie set. Filming took place during warm weather, which he believed was great for the episode but not for the cast dressed in wedding attire. Buckfield enjoyed filming the wedding storyline because she did not think she would marry in real life. The scenes feature a grand wedding scenario with a horse and carriage Julie was stylised in a "great big meringue dress", which Buckfield felt suited Julie more than herself. She recalled that filming scenes in a wedding dress made her feel "really special". Pickard described Julie's appearance as "this full meringue dress floating down the aisle towards me."
Buckfield believed that Julie's departure scenes were memorable. She added "everyone remembers how I left Hollyoaks the first time around. I went out with a bang." Following her departure, the actress did not rule out a future returned, noting "it's been left open I haven't been killed off." She added that she missed working on the show. In October 2020, the episode featuring Julie and Tony's wedding was rebroadcast on E4 as part of Hollyoaks Favourites classic episodes.
Business scam and Izzy Cornwell feud Buckfield reprised the role in 2002 in a guest role and Julie returned during the episode broadcast on 12 August 2002. Producers asked Buckfield to return and she accepted because she loved Liverpool and had "such a good time" during her first stint. Buckfield revealed that the filming schedule was busier than that of her original stint, since the show broadcast more episodes per week. She described returning to filming as a "shock" that she had to adjust to. Writers transformed Julie's "goody two shoes image" and made her more a of archetypical bitch. Buckfield told a BBC reporter that Julie was originally portrayed as "very girl next door" but upon her return she is "a bit of a bitch". Her return storyline sees Julie swindling Tony out of his money. She enjoyed Julie's characterisation changes, adding "it was something I could really get my teeth into." Viewers responded well to the changes and Buckfield received "positive letters from it". In her return, Julie teams up with Tony in a bid to take over the local café, Deva and transform it into a restaurant. They compete with Gordon Cunningham (Bernard Latham), who is keen to add the business to his portfolio. A writer from the show's official website stated "the combination of Julie's fearsome no-nonsense attitude and Tony's nose for business has already made for a potent mix." Julie later manages to win the auction sale of Deva.
Another of Julie main aims is to ruin Tony's relationship with his girlfriend, Izzy Cornwell (Elize du Toit). Julie and Tony begin spending more time together and they become business partners. Izzy tries to be accepting and du Toit told David Hollingsworth from Soaplife that Tony reassures Izzy that she does not need to worry about his friendship. She noted that Izzy is worried about their relationship because Tony previously loved Julie enough to want to marry her. Izzy is also self-conscious about being perceived as "jealous and possessive" and does not want to be "a total psychopath" so remains calm. Tony believes Julie and Izzy could be potential friends, but du Toit believed that he is "being silly" because "it's perfectly obvious how different they are" and "Izzy doesn't trust her." Izzy later sees Julie and Tony in a compromising situation and she begins to wonder if Tony still has romantic feelings towards Julie. du Toit added that Tony just thinks Julie being around again is "great" because they can reminisce on old times together. du Toit concluded that Izzy would not allow Julie to snare Tony away from her and would ultimately "win".
Writers continued to play Julie and Izzy against each other, creating a rivalry between the pair. Julie begins to manipulate Tony, suggesting Izzy and Ben Davies' (Marcus Patric) friendship is more than platonic. Julie then sabotages Tony and Izzy's date plans. Izzy begins to monitor the situation more closely and worries she will lose Tony to Julie. du Toit told an Inside Soap reporter that "Izzy definitely feels a bit threatened because Julie and Tony used to be engaged." She added that Tony just carries on "pretending that there's absolutely nothing wrong with the situation" and fails to understand Izzy's worries. Izzy confides her worries about Julie with Ellie Hunter (Sarah Baxendale), who encourages Izzy to challenge Julie. du Toit explained that Izzy realises Julie is "devious and deceitful" and Ellie convinces Izzy that "it's war, and she shouldn't let Julie win." Izzy decides to dress up in a classy suit to impress Tony. Julie retaliates by "going for the obvious low-cut top, short skirt and high heels." Everyone prefers Julie's outfit and Izzy's plan "unfortunately" backfires. A Hollyoaks reporter added that "the battle of wits and whimsy between Izzy and Julie has become steadily more intense over the last couple of weeks." They noted that there was much spite between the two, and Tony is "helplessly trying to referee the spats." Izzy then decides to heighten the rivalry by enlisting the help of Kristian Hargreaves (Max Brown). She convinces Kristian to move into the flat share and use him to make Tony jealous. du Toit added that Izzy's plan fails because "Tony sees straight through her and isn't jealous at all... Typical!"