Jean was the sister of Sylvia Goodwin and the aunt of Roy Cropper. Living in Hastings, Sylvia went to stay with her in August 2013 when she had fallen sick, giving Sylvia the opportunity to take a break after Roy's wife Hayley had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
Fiz Stape contacted Jean in February 2014 in order to get hold of Roy, due a problem at the cafe. However, she discovered that he wasn't there, as he had claimed, and that Jean hadn't spoken to him in six months. It was also revealed that Sylvia was away in Tenerife.
Jean was in contact again in January 2016 and subsequently left a message with Cathy Matthews, asking Roy to get in touch with her regarding Sylvia. After a few days of putting this off, Roy eventually phoned Jean and learned that his mother had broken both wrists while line dancing. Although Roy's relationship with Sylvia had been strained ever since she took off after Hayley's diagnosis, he decided to do the right thing and booked an impromptu trip to Hastings.