Jade Sutherland - Character Development

Character Development

Jade is introduced into the series as part of the new Sutherland family who move from the city to live in Summer Bay. Jade was Garven's first role on television. Garven said that working on Home and Away was a fun experience and that she had developed a good working relationship with those who play her on-screen family.

Jade is portrayed as the "quieter" and "dreamy" of the Sutherland sisters, a keen book reader who likes to help out those less fortunate than herself. Jade is prone to illness and is a long sufferer of asthma. Jade's family see her as "fragile" and "vulnerable" and feel the need to treat her with care. The serial's official website describe her as being "stronger that many people realise" despite her fragile nature. Jade has also learnt to play on her weakness to get her own way in life. Jade is strong willed in knowing what she wants from life and does not like being told to do something she does not agree with. Garven described Jade stating that "she is a nice person and a very sweet girl. She can be a little flighty and she always talks too much. She tends to babble on but genuinely cares for people."

Jade and her twin sister Kirsty Sutherland (Christie Hayes) claim to share a "telepathic" connection in which they know when one another are in trouble. The theme was a prominent feature throughout Jade and Kirsty's tenure. However, producers later implemented a storyline in which Jade discovers that she is not related to the Sutherlands. The revelation that she was mixed up with another baby after birth conflicted their ideas of a telepathic connection between twins.

Jade enters into a relationship with the character of Nick Smith and (Chris Egan) who plays Nick said that he and Garven had "a lot of fun together" portraying their relationship. In one storyline Jade and Nick attempt to appear on a reality television series titled "The Dorm", which radio host Garth Russell plays the director, who Jade attempts to impress.