| Jade Mitchell | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Gemma Pranita | ||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2010–2012, 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 10 December 2010 | ||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 11 March 2019 | ||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Susan Bower (2010) Jason Herbison (2019) | ||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Jade Mitchell is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Gemma Pranita. Pranita's casting was announced on 7 September 2010 and she began filming her first scenes the day before. The actress was in Russia when she received a call from her agent about the audition for Neighbours. She returned to Australia and her agent managed to get her in on the last day. Pranita won the part of Jade and she was given a twelve-month contract with the show. She relocated to Melbourne for filming and she made her first screen appearance as Jade during the episode broadcast on 10 December 2010. In June 2012, Pranita announced her departure from Neighbours. She filmed her final scenes in August and departed on 29 October 2012.
Jade is the younger sister of Sonya Mitchell (Eve Morey). Prior to her arrival in Erinsborough, the sisters had been estranged for seven years. Pranita revealed that Jade was holding onto one of Sonya's darkest secrets and that she would have the potential to cause trouble for her. Jade was portrayed as "vivacious, confident" and "very opinionated". She is a feminist, with a fighting spirit. While Jade is flirtatious and a bit of a maneater, Pranita said she is "anti-relationships" and more interested in finding fun. Jade is a personal trainer and Pranita chose to take up an exercise routine for the role. Jade's early storylines focused on her attempts to mend her relationship with Sonya and bond with her nephew, Callum Jones (Morgan Baker), and Sonya's partner Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney).
Later storylines revolved around Jade's romantic relationships; she kissed Lucas Fitzgerald (Scott Major) shortly after her arrival, she had a one-night stand with Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor), and she later had an affair with Malcolm Kennedy (Benjamin McNair). Producers established a long-term relationship between Jade and her housemate Kyle Canning (Chris Milligan), which initially began as a friends with benefits arrangement. Further exploration of the character's background began when it emerged that Jade had been in an abusive relationship with Sonya's former boyfriend, Troy Miller (Dieter Brummer). The character departed for the United States to launch her business. Jade returned on 1 March 2019, after Pranita reprised the role for Sonya's exit storyline.