Jimmy came and went for a couple of years as a sporadic character while the Corkhill family were introduced. His first big storyline involved an insurance 'job' on Billy's house. For a year or so, Billy had been in dire financial straits, and Jimmy talked him into what he thought was a surefire winner. So on a day when Billy's son Rod (Jason Hope) graduated from Police college, Jimmy did the insurance job (in daylight) - and totally trashed the Collins' house in the process for good measure, to make it look a bit more convincing to the police and the insurance company. However, once Billy returned from the graduation later that day, he was mortified at the amount of damage Jimmy had done to his house, and for a while it put a strain on their relationship.