Juley Smith

Name: Juley Smith
First Appeared: 29th July 2002
Last Appeared: 27th July 2006
Played by: Joseph Kpobie

Juley Smith first sauntered into Walford in July 2002 as the wayward brother of Gus Smith. From the get-go, Juley proved to be a handful, getting involved in all sorts of mischief including firearm possession and stealing charity money. This not-so-squeaky-clean behaviour led to his departure in April 2005, but like any good soap character, Juley made a dramatic return in September 2005. A trip to France with Gus, Minty Peterson, Garry Hobbs, and Mickey Miller revealed that Juley hadn’t changed his stripes, as Mickey’s dad, Mike Swann, quickly exposed him as a con-man. Nevertheless, Juley came back to Walford, promising to turn over a new leaf.

Romance was in the air for Juley when he started dating Ruby Allen in November 2005. Their relationship quickly heated up, despite the disapproving eye of Ruby’s father, Johnny Allen. Things took a near-fatal turn when Johnny ambushed Juley with a pair of kitchen scissors, but Dennis Rickman intervened just in time. It later came to light that Juley was actually working for Phil Mitchell, who was paying him to be with Ruby just to get under Johnny’s skin. Despite the initial deception, Juley genuinely fell for Ruby and even had her move in with him.

As Juley’s feelings for Ruby deepened, he tried to break free from Phil’s scheme, but Phil ordered him to return all the money he had been paid. Juley had already spent some of it on his brother Gus’s fund to bail out their dog, Wellard, who was in trouble for biting Ian Beale. Gus discovered the truth and forced Juley to confess. In January 2006, under pressure from Phil and fearing for his life, Juley ended his relationship with Ruby in the harshest way possible. Once Johnny found out about Phil’s involvement, he threatened to kill Juley if he ever went near Ruby again. When Ruby returned to Walford after Johnny’s arrest, Juley tried to talk to her but was beaten up by Johnny’s henchman, Jake Moon.

Things went from bad to worse for Juley in July 2006 when he mugged Ruby, hitting her and stealing £2000 intended for her holiday. Ruby found him in Scarlet nightclub, and after a scuffle, Juley ran off with the money. The next day, Gus found the cash in Juley’s room and tried to return it, but Jake Moon caught him. Jake demanded that Gus bring Juley to the club or face police action. Faced with no other choice, Gus warned Juley about Jake’s plan. In a heartfelt moment, the brothers hugged before Juley escaped out the back door, leaving Walford for good.