Scott Robinson (Neighbours)

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Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson.jpg
Jason Donovan as Scott Robinson (1989)
Neighbours character
Portrayed byDarius Perkins (1985)
Jason Donovan (1986–1989)
Duration1985–1989
First appearance18 March 1985
Last appearance18 May 1989
Created byReg Watson
Introduced byReg Watson
ClassificationFormer; regular
Profile
OccupationStudent
Paper boy
Journalist
HomeBrisbane
First Scott Robinson.jpg
Darius Perkins as Scott Robinson (1985)

Scott Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, originally played by Darius Perkins, and then later by Jason Donovan. He made his debut screen appearance during the show's first episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. He appeared in 559 episodes.[1]

Casting[]

Darius Perkins played the role of Scott from the show's first episode. Producers had concerns over Perkins' reliability and after a series of rows they decided to recast the role of Scott when production moved to Network Ten.[2][3] Perkins made his final appearance as Scott in episode 170 broadcast on 8 November 1985. Jason Donovan then 19, was given the role following his graduation from school.[4] He had initially been offered the role of Danny Ramsay, but he turned it down.[5] Donovan made his first appearance in episode 188 broadcast 12 February 1986. Scott became the serial's new "pin-up" character and Donovan's image and popularity in the role set the high standard for casting directors, which they felt they had to meet each time they were introducing a "stud" type character.[6]

On 7 March 1989, a reporter for The Canberra Times confirmed that Donovan would leave Neighbours the following month to pursue a singing career.[7] Donovan signed a new contract with Network Ten that allowed him to leave the show earlier than his original contract stipulated.[7] Donovan stated, "They have been great and afforded me many opportunities. My contract allows me to return to Neighbours, so I'm still going to leave my options open."[7] The network's publicity director, Brian Walsh, commented that Neighbours would continue to be a success after Donovan's departure and thanked him for being part of the cast.[7]

In 2009, Donovan revealed that he had been asked to return to the show for the 25th anniversary celebrations. He could not return due to work commitments, but he said that he was "very proud" of having been in Neighbours.[8] Donovan was invited to return for the 30th anniversary celebrations in 2015, but he declined the offer, adding "it's just not something I want to do".[9] However, he agreed to take part in the documentary special Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015.[10][11]

Storylines[]

Scott lives on Ramsay Street with his father Jim (Alan Dale), grandmother Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy) and his siblings Paul (Stefan Dennis), Julie (Vikki Blanche) and Lucy (Kylie Flinker). Scott's mother died giving birth to Lucy. Scott becomes close friends with his neighbour Danny Ramsay (David Clencie). Scott falls for his classmate Kim Taylor (Jenny Young) but her mother, teacher Marcia (Maureen Edwards) disapproves. When Danny and Eddie Sherwin (Darren Boyd) doctor a recorded conversation between Scott and Kim to make sound more sexual than it really it is, Marcia forces Eddie to play the tape in class which humiliates Kim. Despite Scott protesting his innocence, The Taylors forbid him to see Kim and threaten to call the police. Scott and Kim then run away and hide out in an abandoned monastery. Scott returns home but Kim runs away. Scott later tracks down Kim who is pregnant and helps her reconcile with Marcia. Scott and Danny witness their neighbour Carol Brown (Merrin Canning) being mugged and try to go to her aid but she accuse them of attacking her prompting the boys to flee and hide out on Mrs. Forbes' (Gwen Plumb) farm where they work for her tending to her land. They eventually return home. Scott and Danny then squabble over Wendy Gibson (Kylie Foster) but eventually patch up their friendship.

When Scott is late back from a school trip, Jim and Helen worry and further grief comes when the police find a body of a 16-year-old boy in the river, with Scott's wallet. Jim goes to identify the body and is relieved it is not Scott. Scott (now Donovan) phones from a country hospital and explains he ran away from the school trip after being accused of rape and tried to hitch a lift but was mugged in the process. Soon after, Scott notices someone breaking into Number 24, the house next door to his. On challenging the intruder, he receives a punch for his troubles. Madge Mitchell (Anne Charleston) arrives on the scene to discover it is her daughter Charlene (Kylie Minogue), who has not seen Scott since they were children.

Scott befriends Mike Young (Guy Pearce). Scott and Charlene begin dating and go through teething problems. Scott proposes and Charlene accepts. Jim and Madge are against the engagement. Helen acts as a mediator and points out that Jim and Anne were roughly Scott and Charlene's age when they got married. Scott and Charlene marry and soon move into Number 24 together. Their marriage's first test comes when Jane Harris (Annie Jones) starts to help Scott with his HSC retakes, they become close and kiss. Charlene wants nothing to do with either of them upon finding out. Jane eventually convinces Charlene to give Scott another chance. Scott and Charlene's marriage undergoes another test when Steve Fisher (Michael Pope) begins giving Charlene driving lessons and attempts to make advances on her, but Scott and Charlene reconcile towards their first anniversary.

Charlene is offered a mechanic apprenticeship in Brisbane and is forced to make the difficult choice of leaving Erinsborough and the couple share an emotional farewell. Scott stays on at Number 24, but visits her frequently. Scott fights off the affections of Sylvie Latham (Christine Harris) and Poppy Skourous (Lenita Vangellis), before moving to Brisbane for good. Scott and Charlene later have two children, a son Daniel (Tim Phillipps) and daughter named Madison (Sarah Ellen).

Reception[]

Scott during his wedding episode of Neighbours, a notable storyline for the character.

For his portrayal of Scott, Donovan won Most Popular New Talent at the 1987 Logie Awards.[12] A year later, he won the Logie for Most Popular Actor and was nominated for a Gold Logie for "Most Popular Personality".[13] Donovan was again nominated for the Gold Logie for Most Popular Personality in his final year on Neighbours in 1989.

Scott and Charlene's wedding was seen by 20 million viewers in the United Kingdom and was voted the "Most Romantic TV Nuptials of all Time".[14][15] The wedding episode made the cover of TIME magazine Australia and Minogue and Donovan's promotional appearance at the Westfield Parramatta shopping centre caused a stampede among 4000 people.[16] In October 2006, Australia Post brought out five stamps celebrating fifty years of television. Network Ten's stamp featured both Minogue and Donovan as Charlene and Scott.[17] According to Andrew Mercado in his book " Super Aussie Soaps", Scott's romance with Charlene became hugely popular with Neighbours viewers in both the United Kingdom and Australia, helping the show to gain high ratings after an initial rocky start.[18]

Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture gave Scott a 3.5 out of 5 for his contribution to Neighbours, during a feature called "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons".[19] Deller said "One of the many Robinsons to undergo a hair and face transplant, Scott soon transformed from a dull brunette into Jason Donovan. An all-round nice guy, Scott was part of the first (and best) iconic Neighbours teen gangs, with Jane, Mike and Charlene.[19] She added that his relationship with Charlene was a "Romeo and Juliet style romance".[19]

In 2010, to celebrate Neighbours' 25th anniversary, satellite broadcasting company, Sky, profiled 25 most memorable characters from Neighbours.[20] Scott is in the list and describing him they state: "Scott Robinson is really only remembered these days for his teen romance, but his track record on the show could perhaps be better summarised in music. Early on, Scott formed a band with Mike 'Guy Pearce' Young. He eventually married Kylie and made Angry Anderson the soundtrack of people's memories of the eighties forever more."[20] British tabloid The Daily Mirror said Scott was "the boy next door".[21] In her book Soap opera, Dorothy Hobson praised Scott's on-screen relationship with Charlene, branding them positive, immense images for young people.[22] In 2011, Scott's wedding to Charlene was placed at number three in Channel 5's "Greatest TV Weddings" programme.[23] Sue Heath from The Northern Echo said that Scott's mullet "remains one of the great TV crimes of the century".[24] In 1998, writers from Inside Soap published an article about the top ten characters they wanted to return to soap. Scott was featured and they described him as "a clean-cut boy next door who won the nation's hearts when he married his sweetheart, Charlene."[25]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Neighbours: The Perfect Blend | Character Counts".
  2. ^ Richards, Holly (16 August 2010). "Neighbours: Where are they now?". The West Australian. West Australian Newspapers Limited. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  3. ^ Wallis, Neil; Hogan, Dave (1989). The Neighbours factfile. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 0-207-16382-0.
  4. ^ Mercado, Andrew (2004). Super Aussie soaps: behind the scenes of Australia's best loved TV shows. Pluto Press Australia. pp. 205–6. ISBN 1-86403-191-3.
  5. ^ Laws, Roz (29 August 2010). "7 things you never knew about Jason Donovan". Sunday Mercury. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  6. ^ Monroe, Josephine (1996). Neighbours: the first 10 years. Michael Joseph LTD (Penguin Group). p. 97. ISBN 0-7181-4212-8.
  7. ^ a b c d "Star to quit 'Neighbours'". The Canberra Times. 7 March 1989. p. 5. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
  8. ^ Simpson, Oli (10 November 2009). "'Neighbours' asked Jason Donovan to return". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi UK. Retrieved 27 January 2011.
  9. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (5 January 2015). "Jason Donovan: 'Neighbours return is not something I want to do'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2015.
  10. ^ Knox, David (28 February 2015). "Airdate: Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite". TV Tonight. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  11. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (4 March 2015). "Neighbours 30th anniversary schedule confirmed by Channel 5". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Gold Logie goes to Ray Martin". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 April 1987. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
  13. ^ "TV Week Logie Awards – 1988". TV Week. Ninemsn. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  14. ^ Hilton, Beth (15 October 2007). "Kylie and Jason: A History". Digital Spy. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  15. ^ "Is Kylie really so lucky, lucky, lucky?". Belfast Telegraph. Independent News and Media. 27 June 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  16. ^ Dunn, Emily; Coleman, Kerry (21 November 2007). "Rewind Kylie and Jason". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  17. ^ "Look at us – on a stamp!". The Age. The Age Company. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  18. ^ Andrew Mercado (2004). Super Aussie Soaps: Behind the Scenes of Australia's Best Loved TV Shows. Pluto Press Australia. ISBN 1-86403-191-3.
  19. ^ a b c Deller, Ruth (23 July 2009). "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons". Lowculture. Archived from the original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved 26 May 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Neighbours: 25 Top Characters". Sky. BSkyB. 2010. Archived from the original on 23 March 2010. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  21. ^ Jackson, Kate; Wallis, Sara (3 March 2007). "Whatever Happened To Alan's Neighbours?". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  22. ^ Hobson, Dorothy (2003). Soap opera. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 16. ISBN 0-7456-2655-6.
  23. ^ "Greatest TV Weddings". 2 March 2011. Channel 5. {{cite episode}}: Missing or empty |series= (help)
  24. ^ Heath, Sue (19 October 2005). "Neighbours (BBC 1)". The Northern Echo. (Newsquest). Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  25. ^ "10 stars we wish would come back". Inside Soap. (Attic Futura UK) (102): 28, 29. 30 May – 12 June 1998.
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