Gordon and Barbara lasted a good few years longer, and their marriage survived his heart-attacks, her brain tumour, the reappearance of her "dead" first husband, his love for an escort called Liz, whom Wayne had hired to pretend to be his girlfriend, and financial ruin on more than one occasion.
However, following a car accident that left her badly scarred, Barbara decided she couldn't face Gordon and left him.
David and Beryl did share one more night of passion. They were reunited by their concern for Kevin, who was feared dead in the Middle East. Kevin emerged, deaf but alive, and their night of "comforting" each other resulted nine months later in the birth of another son, Robert. Robert was at the centre of one of the longest running storylines of later years, when he was kidnapped by David's illegitimate, scheming daughter, Leigh. She passed him off as her own and gave him away to a childrens home. It was over a year before Beryl got her son back.
The foundations of the show were rocked by the departure of actress Rowena Wallace, who had had enough of the demands of playing the increasingly deranged Patricia. Patricia was plagued by wealthy businessman Roger Carlyle, who held her responsible (erroneously) for his son's death, and wanted revenge. She found a good friend and ally in David, and the couple finally married before she was smuggled out of the country for a new life in Rio. A year later another actress was recast in the part. Belinda Giblin was a good deal shorter and slimmer than Rowena Wallace, although the two did share some facial similarities. No problem for the producers - Pat had been badly beaten in Rio and had plastic surgery. This gave her the chance to return to Australia under a new name, Alison Carr, to clear her name for Luke Carlyle's murder.
In the year of her absence, a number of actresses attempted to take over the role of the show's bitch character. Karen Fox was a wealthy and neurotic businesswoman who married Wayne Hamilton, but was accidentally killed by Gordon's mistress, Liz. Caroline Morrell was Stephen's first wife, and while often a schemer, had a softer, almost comical, side to her than either Karen or Patricia. In fact, her evil plots ended up backfiring on her on more than one occasion.
continues >> |
