UPDATE: Besides pulling the seat out it wasn't actually that hard, the stubborn clips went easily once I got my hands on a proper prying tool
And this is the result:
2 out of 3 screws missing, the remaining one is loose af, hopefully that explains those weird noises.
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When the backrest cushion in my car pushes again the climate unit I can hear a fan brushing against something:



After pulling out the seat and removing the back cover I noticed the curved goose neck has a crack in it, and I suspect that's what also happened to the fan housing - and now the housing tends to get in contact with the fan itself.



This is where I am stuck, or hesitating I might say, at the step 2; the thing doesn't want to come off and I am wondering if the clips are to be destroyed when pulling them out...?


My other question would be, which one is the proper way when putting it all back together?
A) B)
I suspect B) because that duct thing is pretty much an intake for the climate unit...?


The root cause of my issue is probably described in Technical Service Bulletin JTB00180: "Climate Controlled Front Seat Squab Blower Motor Noisy/Jammed" (although the TSB refers to the squab, not the backrest),
but I wasn't able to find the contents of said TSB. (I even made a futile attempt by asking here: https://www.tsbsearch.com/Jaguar/JTB00180)

 

for future reference: A/C, Interior - Seat Blower Motor Is Noisy — 2008 Jaguar XJ (X350) V8-4.2L SC Service Manual | Operation CHARM