Jack O'Donovan is Liam's older brother. He was a minor character in Tracy Beaker Returns and The Dumping Ground and a major one in Liam's Story.
Background[]
Jack grew up in care, having been abandoned for some reason by his mother. Jack soon joined the police and eventually became a Detective Sergeant. Once, he was able to find his mother who revealed to him that Jack had a younger brother called Liam who was also a care kid but it's unknown if Jack tried to search for his sibling.
Tracy Beaker Returns[]
In Jack's area, a film piracy ring was operating and he was sent undercover as a DVD seller to stop them. He sold some DVDs to a boy who Jack didn't know was actually Liam who soon found out the DVDs were pirated. But when Jack refused to give him a refund, Liam destroyed his stall in retaliation which led to Jack and one of the sellers chasing after him until Liam accidentally knocked into a woman who believed Liam was mugging her. Once Liam was sent to court, a reporter who is a friend of Jack informed him about Liam but his superiors refused to let him get involved or Jack being undercover would've been exposed. Liam, meanwhile, had a tag placed on him as punishment for the “mugging”. He soon wrote Liam a letter revealing himself as Liam's brother, but Frank (Liam's best friend in care) and Tracy (a care worker at Liam's care home) went to see Jack since Liam didn’t believe it was true. When Liam went to confront his brother for his own apparent misdeeds, he ended up being arrested for breaking his curfew. However, Jack was able to get the charges against Liam dropped so he wouldn't have to be tagged or sent to prison. He soon went to visit Liam, where he revealed what was going on and what he had done for Liam. He also offered to have Liam live with him, which Liam accepted.
Liam's Story[]
Jack is friends with Dave, a lecturer on a plumbing course and convinced him to allow Liam on the course. Unfortunately, Jack became dismayed at how disinterested Liam was in it all (whilst ignoring Liam's true passion for music). When Liam gained a crush on a girl at college called Poppy who was an aspiring singer, Liam ended up causing further disappointment for Jack and Dave due to his attempts to support her in her career (especially after Liam ended up borrowing a mini bus which became clamped). While Jack was driving Liam to college one day, he noticed a speeding car which he chased down. The driver was revealed to be football player David Mason and that he had been drink-driving (though Jack told Liam to not say anything about what he saw).
Liam soon tried to get Jack to pay him £200 (which was really because he wanted a recording studio for Poppy to sing a song Liam had written for her), but Jack was astonished at what Liam was asking him. Soon enough, after Liam returned home once, Jack ended up getting a phone call; David Mason's drink-driving had ended up in the news and Jack being the one who caught him had been sentenced to a disciplinary at work (though Jack attempted to state that he was not the one who reported it). Knowing Liam was the only one who could've reported it, Jack became extremely angry at him since he tried to do so much for Liam who barely appeared to appreciate Jack's efforts. Liam then left with a note apologising for what he did.
The Dumping Ground[]
When the police station where Jack works at was informed that Johnny (one of the care kids Liam knew) had tried to stop a woman from being mugged, Jack came to Ashdene Ridge (the new care home where Mike and the rest of the kids had moved to) to take a witness statement from Johnny. When Johnny told Jack he had tried to stop the mugger himself, Jack told him that he could've put himself in danger (as well as that he didn't know the woman he tried to help was a sergeant-major when Johnny informed him that she was) and told him to be more careful (which Johnny couldn't help but get annoyed over).
Despite still being angry at Liam, Jack sent him a text asking him where he was so that he knew Liam was alright. The next day, Frank went to see Jack; he had seen Liam again, but he wasn't telling Frank the truth about what was going on (to which Jack told him). The next day, Frank invited Jack to Ashdene Ridge to see Liam perform a song he had written apologising for everything. Jack was impressed and the two made things right, with Jack in turn apologising for not taking Liam's dreams seriously.
Personality[]
Jack loves his brother and had always tried to do his best for Liam, but this involved getting Liam onto a course that he had no interest in while also ignoring Liam’s true passion for music. Even when Liam realised what he had done was wrong and tried to apologise for it, Jack barely listened to his “excuses” but still cared for him. Once he realised how good Liam was, Jack made up for not listening to him.
Appearances[]
- Tracy Beaker Returns: Series 3
- Big Brother (first Appearance)
- The Dumping Ground: Series 2
- Liam's Story
- G.I. Johnny
- Face the Music (last appearance)
- The Dumping Ground: Series 5
- #SaveTheDG (indirectly mentioned)