Jacqui McQueen (also Malota and Ashworth) is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, played by Claire Cooper.

She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 26 September 2006 and was introduced by series producer Bryan Kirkwood as part of the McQueen family.

Many of Jacqui's early storylines revolved around her life of crime, marrying Aleksander Malota (Jon Lolis) to pay off debts and her wayward relationship with Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard), which became popular with viewers.

"[10] Cooper also hopes one day that the pair will reunite stating: "Jacqui needs to move on right now, but ultimately I'd prefer the story to come full circle and lead back to Tony.

"[13] In September 2010, it was announced that actor Darren Day had been cast as new character Danny Houston, described as a gangster who would "spell trouble for Jacqui".

[16] The storyline was described as "sinister" and would involve Danny and returnee Kathleen McQueen (Alison Burrows), as they rig a game of poker with dramatic consequences.

"[5] On-screen the storyline involves Kathleen blackmailing the McQueens for money, threatening to reveal their roles in Calvin's murder.

"[5] Although she knows the risks of crossing Danny, she tries to fix the poker game; of this Cooper comments that "It's pure desperation" on Jacqui's behalf.

Cooper defends Jacqui's actions stating that she is a "bright girl" and adding "She doesn't want to sleep with him and also she knows he's not going to drop Rhys in front of so many people.

She wonders whether she could die like this - all to protect her family…"[5] In December 2010, Channel 4 released a press statement which revealed Jacqui and Gilly Roach (Anthony Quinlan) would drunkenly cheat on Rhys together, after she finds out Rhys has slept with Cheryl Brady (Bronagh Waugh) and that the night's events would "change their lives forever".

[19] None of the cast members involved in the storyline knew if Jacqui had actually been raped,[20] of this Cooper states: 'They're telling the same story but are looking at it from different angles.

'[20] The storyline began to play out on-screen in February 2011, describing how it starts to develop and the effects it has on Gilly a spokesperson for the serial told Inside Soap: "Jacqui loves Rhys, so she's really hurt when she finds out about his infidelity.

"[21] The storyline later takes another turn when Gilly confronts Jacqui in the village with everyone watching, leading everyone to doubt if he did commit the act or not.

[22] It was later revealed that the details were left unclear because Lime Pictures had decided to leave the outcome of the rape trial into viewers.

[24] Chief executive of Lime Pictures, Carolyn Reynolds stated: "We wanted to open up the thorny issue of how hard it is to be a juror and whether the court room the best place to resolve some of these questions about rape.

Mercedes McQueen (Jennifer Metcalfe) finds the money to repay Davey but there is still not enough so Jacqui promises to do him a favour one day.

Jacqui tries to frame Gaz Bennett (Joel Goonan), but Kyle Ryder (Neil Toon) is later charged with the murder.

Shortly after Des proposes to her, Jacqui discovers that he was a racist from Michaela's boyfriend Zak Ramsey (Kent Riley).

Jacqui and Mercedes' father, William Alexander (Richard Graham), arrives in the village and asks for a kidney transplant.

On Christmas Day at the McQueens, which Tony and Cindy have both been invited to, Jacqui discovers items belonging to Rhys in the closet, including his mobile phone, which her family had been hiding from her.

When Mercedes gets held to ransom by Clare Devine (Gemma Bissix) and wants £200,000 Jacqui decides she must do whatever she can to help save her.

As he advances she manages to knock him to the floor but isn't quick enough as he gets up and grabs her but Tony comes to the rescue by smashing a monitor over his head.

Mercedes admits that at first the kidnapping was a scam to get back at Paul Browning (Joe Thompson) for supposedly cheating on her and apologizes to Jacqui.

Jacqui is last seen relaxing by the pool on a sun lounger drinking a cocktail with Mercedes whilst they talk and say their final goodbyes.

10 years later in December 2023, Jacqui returns when her sister Mercedes is in need of some support after cheating on her current fiancée, Felix Westwood (Richard Blackwood) with his best friend and local criminal, Warren Fox (Jamie Lomas).

After Mercedes leaves the church, Jacqui picks up a newspaper article about a murder in Alicante, Spain, hinting that she may have been involved.

[34] On Digital Spy's 2012 end of year reader poll, Cooper was nominated for "Best Female Soap Actor" and came third with 13.7% of the vote.

[36] Co-star Kieron Richardson branded Cooper the unsung hero of the cast claiming she deserves more recognition for her work and stated his favourite character is Jacqui.

"[41] Josie Ensor of WalesOnline spoke about Cooper stating: "feisty jailbird character Jacqui has made her infamous on and off screen.

"[42] Kris Green of Digital Spy branded Cooper as one of his favourite Hollyoaks actresses due to her portrayal of Jacqui.