| Dorothy Burke | |||||||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Maggie Dence | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1990–1993 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 7 March 1990 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 3 February 1993 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Ray Kolle | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Don Battye | ||||||||||||||||
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Dorothy Burke is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours , played by Maggie Dence. She made her first on-screen appearance on 7 March 1990. The character departed on 3 February 1993, to live in the Australian countryside.
During an interview with a writer from The Soap Show, Dence revealed the role of Dorothy came along unexpectedly and she had not thought about going into a show like Neighbours again. [1] The actress was appearing in a theatre production when she was approached by a representative from Grundy, the production company behind the show. [2] Dence stated that she was glad she accepted the role and added "It took quite a long time to find my feet but again there were some terrific people to work with. The writers were good to me." [1]
"Many of the neighbours found Dorothy, the Erinsborough High School principal rather prickly. She had severe looks and sharp features and usually wore black, giving her a witch-like appearance. But in truth Dorothy was just a little eccentric. She was well travelled, could speak many languages and clearly had a past that would shock most of her students." [3]
— The official Neighbours website on Dorothy
Dence said that viewers initially expected Dorothy to be a Mrs Mangel type character, which she thought was inevitable. [1] She explained "I think it's one of those things when you go on a very established show, the writers need a period to see what your best bits are and then they pick it up and go with that." [1] Dence said that she was happy with Dorothy's storylines being a mixture of comedy and drama, and she shared some great moments with Sue Jones (Pam Willis), Anne Charleston (Madge Bishop) and Anne Haddy (Helen Daniels). [1] Dence also loved working with the younger cast members when Dorothy took care of their characters. [1] Dence told writer Ian Morrison that she played Dorothy with a "school-marmly authority", but she was nothing like her in real life. [2]
The character's home was an example of "the character-driven interior". [4] The walls and sideboards were adorned with tribal masks, kilims, terracotta pots, Buddha and Oriental statues. [4] Set designer Scott Bird said the house was designed to "give the impression that she was a classically educated traveller. The artefacts act as flags for the audience, to flesh out the character." [4] Andrew Anastasios of The Age thought the interior decoration was ahead of its time. [4]
In October 1992, it was announced that Dence would be leaving Neighbours and would film her final scenes in November. [5] In early 1993, Dorothy meets Tom Merrick (Robert Essex), a school inspector who comes to evaluate Erinsborough High. [6] Dorothy expects Tom to be old and "stuffy" and he expects her to be a "dope-smoking hippy", but they are both surprised by each other. [6] Dorothy learns Tom is an honest and imaginative man, who uses his free time to have adventures. A writer for Inside Soap said "Like Dorothy, Tom was also a bit of a radical in his student days and it's clear to all the neighbours that these two are soulmates." [6] Dorothy and Tom become good friends and their relationship later turns romantic. Tom announces he is moving to Erinsborough, which causes Dorothy to back off. [6] She tells Helen Daniels that she is scared of a physical relationship with Tom after her mastectomy. Helen encourages Dorothy to tell Tom how she feels and the couple move in together. [6] However, Tom's department transfers him to a rural town and Inside Soap said Dorothy faced a choice of a lifetime. She eventually decides to leave Erinsborough to be with Tom. [6]
Dorothy was born in Adelaide in 1934, the elder of two children to Clarrie (Frederick Parslow) and Stella McLachlan. When Stella developed Alzheimer disease, Dorothy was forced to take care of her, while Clarrie, an alcoholic left the family to explore the Outback. After graduating University, Dorothy began her teaching career at a girls' school as a history teacher and eventually became principal. Dorothy later married accountant Colin Burke (Robert Alexander), but he was later arrested for fraud and jailed. Dorothy, mortified, preferred to let people think she was a widow rather than married to a fraudster. After this ordeal, Dorothy travelled for several years with her friend, Winnie and later returned to Australia.
Dorothy brings her car to Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) to be serviced. Several weeks later, Dorothy moves into Number 30 Ramsay Street and becomes the principal of Erinsborough High, much to her nephew, Ryan McLachlan's (Richard Norton) displeasure. Dorothy's neighbours initially think she is stuck up at first but she soon forms strong friendships with Jim and his former mother-in-law, Helen Daniels.
Dorothy finds herself in a feud with Kerry Bishop (Linda Hartley) and her husband Joe Mangel (Mark Little) over a boundary dispute and matters are not helped when Dorothy's niece, Tiffany (Amber Kilpatrick) complains about Kerry mistreating her. Dorothy threatens to report Kerry to the Department of Childcare Services but Tiffany later confesses that she lied.
Dorothy runs for local council against Madge Bishop which causes friction between the two. She wins and is able to prevent the school from closure, but this puts Helen temporarily offside when she refuses a proposal from her to fund an arts programme. Clarrie reappears in Dorothy's life and it is evident that she has not forgiven him for walking out while her mother was dying and things are uneasy between father and daughter. Dorothy's patience with her father is soon tested when she goes away for the weekend and he lets Ryan hold a party. When it appears that Clarrie has shoved Helen during an argument, Dorothy orders him to leave but soon discovers the truth. Clarrie agrees to attend Alcoholics Anonymous and they part on better terms.
When Ryan finds a letter from Colin, he begins to suspect that his uncle is in jail rather than dead. After being confronted, Dorothy tells Ryan the truth about Colin and swears him to secrecy about his imprisonment. Colin is later released and arrives in Erinsborough, keen to make amends, but Dorothy refuses to hear him out at first. Eventually, she softens and agrees to give him another chance. Dorothy discovers that Colin has been cheating on her with Helen's adoptive daughter, Rosemary (Joy Chambers), and throws him out. Colin pleads for Dorothy's forgiveness, but he is escorted from the street by Jim and Joe. Dorothy discovers a lump in her breast and it is found to be cancerous. Pam Willis, the only person she tells, offers her support.
When Joe leaves for England with his new wife, Melanie Pearson (Lucinda Cowden), Dorothy agrees to let his son, Toby (Ben Guerens), live with her. Dorothy also becomes fond of Toby's dog, Bouncer. They are soon joined by Phoebe Bright (Simone Robertson) after her father, Arthur (Barry Hill), dies. Toby and Phoebe both call Dorothy "Mim", a contraction of her middle name, Miriam. After Phoebe falls pregnant to her boyfriend, Todd Landers (Kristian Schmid), and decides to have an abortion, Dorothy supports her. When Todd is killed after being hit by a van while racing to the clinic, Phoebe decides to keep the baby.
Tom Merrick, a school inspector, arrives in Erinsborough and Dorothy is instantly taken with him, but denies her feelings as she is afraid of getting hurt again. After some thought, Dorothy agrees to give the relationship a chance. When she learns Tom will be principal at Toby's new school in the country near where Joe and Melanie have settled, Dorothy agrees to leave with Tom and bids farewell to Erinsborough and leaves Number 30 in the hands of Phoebe and her new husband Stephen Gottlieb (Lochie Daddo).
A writer for the BBC said Dorothy's most notable moment was "When Dorothy and Jim Robinson got drunk and ended up spending the night together after passing out". [7] In January 1994, Ben Thompson from The Independent observed "The void left by feisty head-teacher Dorothy Burke's departure has yet to be filled". [8] Dorothy was placed at number twenty-five on the Huffpost's "35 greatest Neighbours characters of all time" feature. Journalist Adam Beresford described her well travelled and "quite the Renaissance woman" who was "forthright and no nonsense". [9]
Madge Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was the main matriarch of the Ramsay family. An earthy character, Madge arrived on Ramsay Street with her marriage in tatters, her son in prison, and her daughter a runaway teen; she rolled up her sleeves and got a job in The Waterhole to support the family as a single mother. She departed on 27 November 1992, before making a return on 7 November 1996. Madge died on 6 April 2001 from terminal pancreatic cancer. Charleston reprised the role for the show's 30th anniversary celebrations and returned on 4 March 2015. She returned for the final episode of Neighbours that aired on 28 July 2022.
Joe Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Little. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 8 August 1988. Little later departed the serial and Joe left in 1991. In 2005 Little agreed to reprise the role as part of Neighbours' twentieth anniversary celebrations and remained for four months. Joe's storylines included his bad relationship with his mother, being widowed, life as a single parent and a custody battle to keep his child. Joe is deemed a stereotype Australian man and a likable rogue character. Little returned to Neighbours in 2022 to celebrate the show's final episode.
Todd Landers is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Kristian Schmid. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 15 February 1988. Todd was introduced along with his younger sister Katie Landers. They were given an instant connection to the show through their aunt, Beverly Marshall. After choosing to leave the serial in 1991, Schmid suggested to the producers that his character should be killed off, and Todd died in the episode broadcast on 13 July 1992. He reappeared as a spirit in the following episode.
Michael Martin is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Troy Beckwith. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 8 October 1985. The character was originally played by Samuel Hammington. Beckwith took over the role in 1992. Michael departed on 26 June 1998.
Hannah Martin is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Rebecca Ritters. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 July 1992. Hannah is the only child of Philip and Julie Martin and the younger sister to Michael and Debbie. The Martin family were written out in 1999 and Hannah departed on 20 October 1999. In 2005, Ritters reprised her role for a brief cameo in the show's 20th anniversary episode.
Toby Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Geurens. He made his first on-screen appearance on 10 November 1988. Toby was originally played by Finn Greentree-Keane from 1988 until 1990. He departed on 2 February 1993.
Jane Harris is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Annie Jones. She debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 31 July 1986 and was created by writer Ray Kolle. Jones originally auditioned for the role of Charlene Mitchell, but she was not successful. This prompted Jones to telephone the producers for two months asking for a role in the show until eventually she was cast. In 1989, Jones decided to quit the serial in order to pursue other projects and the character departed on 9 September the same year. In 2005, Jones was one of many ex-cast members who agreed to return to the serial, marking the 20th anniversary of Neighbours. On-screen she was featured making a cameo in Annalise Hartman's documentary about Ramsay Street. Jones reprised the role again in 2018 for two guest stints starting on 6 April and 26 November 2018. She returned on 10 February 2020 as part of the serial's 35th anniversary celebrations, before returning to the regular cast from 8 July 2020. Her final appearance aired on 28 July 2022 in the Neighbours finale.
Melanie Pearson is a fictional character from Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Lucinda Cowden. The actress was initially signed to the soap on a recurring basis for a few weeks. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 30 July 1987. The character departed on 24 October 1991. In 2005, Cowden reprised her role for Neighbours' 20th anniversary celebrations. She reprised the role again on a recurring basis from 8 January 2021, then later as a regular from 22 September 2021. Melanie appeared in the last episode of Neighbours, which sees her get married to Toadie Rebecchi.
Rick Alessi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Dan Falzon. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 8 June 1992. Rick and his family were introduced to the show following several cast departures. The character remained on-screen until 9 March 1995.
Rosemary Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Joy Chambers. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 February 1986 and appeared intermittently. Rosemary is the adoptive daughter of Helen Daniels and the sister of Anne Robinson. Rosemary was the first character to discover Jim Robinson's body, following his death. Rosemary has been portrayed as a tough businesswoman who runs the Daniels Corporation. Chambers reprised the role in 2005 and returned for several episodes to help celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. Rosemary returned in 2010 for four episodes to celebrate the 25th anniversary. She made the first of her appearances on 6 July 2010 and the last on 20 August 2010.
Katie Landers is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Sally Jensen. She made her first on screen appearance on 15 February 1988. Katie is the niece of Beverly Marshall and sister to Todd Landers. During her time in the show, she became close friends with Toby Mangel. Katie departed on 6 September 1989.
Ryan McLachlan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Richard Norton. He made his first screen appearance on 15 February 1990 and remained on the show until 21 March 1991.
Tiffany "Lochy" McLachlan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Amber Kilpatrick. She made her first on-screen appearance on 23 October 1989. Tiffany is described as being a little terror and always getting into mischief. She becomes friends with Toby Mangel and manages to get him into trouble too. Tiffany's storylines often saw her tomboyish and mischievous sides come out. She attacks a family of Magpies after being dive bombed by one, she lies to her aunt that Kerry Bishop is mistreating her, she almost drowns after going to the beach and convinces Joe Mangel that he has been cursed. Tiffany departed on 21 June 1990 after deciding to join her parents in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.
Josh Anderson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jeremy Angerson. He first appeared on-screen in the episode airing on 5 February 1990. He arrives in Erinsborough following his father's relocation to the area. Producers hired Angerson because they were increasing the size of the male cast. Josh is characterised as academically bright and good at chemistry. During his tenure Josh helped to form the show's group of teenage characters consisting of himself, Todd Landers, Melissa Jarrett and Cody Willis. Josh departed the series during the episode broadcast on 14 April 1992.
Bouncer is a Labrador Retriever featured on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years. He was played by Bouncer throughout his duration on the show and he was trained by Luke Hura.
