| Kelly Watson | |||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Katrina Hobbs | ||||||||||
| Duration | 1995–1997 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | 28 August 1995 | ||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 April 1997 | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||
| Introduced by | John Holmes | ||||||||||
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Kelly Watson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away portrayed by Katrina Hobbs. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 28 August 1995 and departed on 25 April 1997.
Hobbs is from New Zealand, where she worked with actor Craig McLachlan on a film. He convinced her to work overseas and she soon moved to Australia. Only a short number of weeks later she secured the role of Kelly. [1] She officially joined Home and Away in August 1995. To prepare for the role Hobbs followed doctors around Sydney's St. Vincent hospital and took notes. [2] In an interview with Daniel Dasey from The Sydney Morning Herald , Hobbs told of how her fellow cast members labelled her "Doctor Death", following the death of Shane Parrish (Dieter Brummer). [2]
Producers paired Kelly with Travis Nash (Nic Testoni) for a relationship storyline. Hobbs believed that Kelly and Travis were a good match. She told a reporter from Inside Soap that "Kelly's a real go-getter and has tremendous drive, which I love. While Travis is relaxed, quiet and into nature – plus he's gorgeous! They're great together." [1]
Writers created an HIV scare story for the doctor which played out following an accident at work. [1] Kelly cuts herself when she is treating an HIV positive patient. She has to take a test for the virus and is forced to wait for the results. The story highlighted prejudice that exists around the condition as Kelly hoped her friends would support her, but she falls victim to the "small-town prejudice" in Summer Bay. [1] Hobbs said "it's a terrible time for Kelly, not only does she face closed minds but she has to dump her boyfriend too." [1] Kelly fears that staying with Travis could lead to him contracting HIV too. The actress added "she feels that for Travis' sake she should back off. She doesn't want to risk infecting him if the test results are positive." [1]
The story was challenging for Hobbs because she had two friends who died from AIDS as a result of HIV. She recalled that it was heartbreaking but credited the story with a "terrific response" from viewers in the Australian outback, where she believed attitudes towards the illness were changing. [1]
Hobbs decided to leave Home and Away in 1997. [3] Hobbs admitted that while she was sad about leaving, she wanted to move on and get into feature films. She also planned to take some of her character's attributes and apply them to her own life. [4] In Kelly's final storyline, she decides not to go through with her wedding to Travis, as she knows that he does not want to move to the city. Instead she leaves alone for a new job. [4]
Kelly is first seen at Northern Districts Hospital seen treating Nelson McFarlane (Laurence Bruels), who has been badly burned in the recent bushfire. She meets Steven Matheson (Adam Willits) who is visiting Nelson and there seems to be a spark between the pair of them. When Kelly decides to move to Summer Bay to be nearer work, She and Steven rent Travis' house. Travis returns from Canada and moves in, much to Kelly's chagrin. There is visible tension between Kelly and Travis and this leads to the destruction of a tape exonerating Steven, who has been accused of murdering his nemesis Brian "Dodge" Forbes (Kelly Dingwall). Dodge kidnaps Kelly in order to lure Steven into a final showdown and leaves her tied up in the boot of his car. Travis rescues Kelly and finds her severely dehydrated. Kelly and Travis soon become close and begin a relationship. Kelly's sister Rachel (Tasma Walton) visits and is involved in a car crash that ends up killing her boyfriend, Rick (Andrew Rododera) and blames Kelly for not doing enough to save him.
While taking blood from a patient, Kelly's is pricked by a needle and is horrified to learn that the patient is HIV-positive and may be infected. News travels around town and Ailsa Stewart (Judy Nunn), although supportive, refuses to let Kelly treat her son Duncan (Lewis Devaney) when he suffers a cut. Ken Treloar (Stan Zemanek) the host of a talk show on local radio begins targeting Ailsa over her treatment of Kelly, but Kelly rings in to defend her. The tests arrive back and Kelly is relieved when they are negative. Kelly finds herself the target of a hate campaign perpetrated by Debbie Salter (Kim Lewis), a woman obsessed with Travis, who plants a funnel web spider in Kelly's bed, possibly intending to kill her. Kelly and Travis then take out a restraining order against Debbie.
Kelly later finds herself in the unexpected position of mother figure when Stephanie Mboto (Fleur Beaupert) the younger sister of Travis' late girlfriend arrives in Summer Bay. After Steven is fired from teaching after his relationship with Selina Roberts (Tempany Deckert) is exposed, Kelly offers support but he turns on her and Travis and launches a verbal outburst that leads to Travis punching him and evicting him. When Ailsa's husband, Alf (Ray Meagher) undergoes an emergency bypass operation and suffers complications, Kelly is forced to operate on him in theatre after the operating doctor James McLaren (Grant Dodwell) leaves to play a round of golf. She keeps Alf alive until McLaren returns. Ailsa is annoyed and threatens to sue should anything go wrong with Alf's surgery until Pippa Ross (Debra Lawrence) points out that Kelly should never have been put in that situation.
Kelly's parents Murray (Ron Graham) and Carol (Rona Coleman) arrive, much to her shock and announce they are divorcing. Murray stays for a while and Travis asks him for Kelly's hand in marriage. Travis then proposes directly and she accepts but Kelly feels that living in a country town like Summer Bay is not for her and she decides to take a job in the city. Travis agrees to go with her but Kelly realises that city life is not for Travis and leaves alone after leaving a note for Travis saying she still loves him.
For her portrayal of Kelly, Hobbs received a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 1996. [5] A viewer wrote into The Daily Mirror and asked "wouldn't it be nice if our GPs were like Kelly from Home And Away? Everytime the hospital appears, there she is, whatever the department. And anyone sick gets a home visit." [6] An Inside Soap reporter stated "tall, dark and smart, she's the dishiest doc on the box, setting pulses racing all over Summer Bay! Men are ready to duel at dawn over who's going to win her heart, and blood pressure is rising to dangerous levels!" [1]
Duncan Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 14 June 1989. He was initially portrayed by Allana Ellis, with actor Lewis Devaney taking over the role from 1990 to 1998. Brendan McKensy assumed the role in 1998 until Duncan's departure in 2001. McKensy later reprised the role in 2004 and 2005 and made his last appearance on 13 July 2005. The character was reintroduced on 19 July 2016, with Benedict Wall cast in the role. Duncan is the son of Ailsa and Alf Stewart. His 2016 reappearance marked the first time in 27 years that he, Alf and his half-sister Roo Stewart had been on-screen together. During his time in Summer Bay, Duncan befriends Tori Morgan, becoming a love rival for Nate Cooper.
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Steven Matheson is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Adam Willits. Steven was created by Alan Bateman as one of the serial's original characters and he first appeared in the pilot episode. Willits received the role after being one of over three hundred actors to audition for the roles of the serial's foster children. He was a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991 and again between 1995 and 1996. He has continued to make guest appearances in from 1997 until 2008.
Shane Parrish is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Dieter Brummer. He made his first on-screen appearance on 28 May 1992 and he departed on 13 March 1996.
Justine Welles is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Bree Desborough. She made her first on-screen appearance on 5 June 1997 and departed on 7 April 2000.
Rebecca Nash is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away. The character was played by actress Jane Hall in 1989, Danielle Carter in 1994, and Belinda Emmett from 1996 to 1999. Megan Connolly temporarily played the character in 1998, while Belinda Emmett received treatment for cancer.
Travis Nash is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by actor Nic Testoni. He made his first appearance on 10 April 1995 and departed on 11 August 1999.
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Celia Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away played by Fiona Spence. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 26 January 1988. The character is portrayed as a gossiping busybody and spinster who occupies her time with the Presbyterian church. In her early appearances, she formed an alliance with Donald Fisher and, though she has conservative views, she is not malicious. After one year as Celia, Spence hoped that she would find romance and change her attire. Producers decided to implement change and added smart outfits to the character's wardrobe. Spence decided to leave the series in 1990 and Celia departed the same year. She has since reprised the role on four occasions. After carrying out missionary work in Africa she returned to Summer Bay in 2000, 2002 and 2005. In 2012, it was announced that Spence had agreed to return once again. Originally heralded as the chance for Celia to reconnect with her on-screen brother, Alf Stewart, it was later revealed that she was hiding a shameful secret.
Emma Jackson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Dannii Minogue. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 22 September 1989. She departed on 22 August 1990. Emma was described as a teen punk and a tomboy.
Simon Fitzgerald is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Richard Norton. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 September 1991. Norton was cast in the show after appearing in fellow soap opera Neighbours just a few months prior. Simon is characterised as a "joker" who enjoys playing pranks on his friends. Simon was introduced alongside his criminal father Bill Fitzgerald, who soon abandoned him. Writers paired Simon with Sophie Simpson for his first relationship story, although she is pregnant with another man's child. Producers decided to write Norton out of the show after one year, which shocked Norton. This led him to accuse the show's production of promoting other cast members better in storylines. Simon departed during the episode broadcast on 24 July 1992.
Thomas "Tom" Nash is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Graeme Squires. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 February 1998. Tom was introduced to Home and Away along with his family. Zac Drayson was originally cast in the role, but when the producers thought he would be more suitable for Will Smith, Squires received the part. The actor decided to leave Home and Away in early 2000 after two years and he made his screen exit on 16 May 2000. Squires returned to film the show's 3,000th episode special in 2001.
Shauna Bradley is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Kylie Watson. The actress received an audition for Home And Away in February 1999, but decided not to attend it as she did not think she would be successful. However, her agent persuaded her to go and she won the role of Shauna. As the part was her first acting job, Watson's agent booked her onto some acting classes and she began filming her first scenes in June. Watson made her first appearance as Shauna during the episode broadcast on 16 August 1999, Watson decided to leave Home and Away in 2001 and filmed her final scenes in June 2001, Shauna's final scenes aired on 5 October 2001. Watson returned for a brief stint in early 2002 and made her final appearance on 18 July 2002.
Lachlan "Lachie" Fraser is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Richard Grieve. He made his screen debut on 19 March 1997 and last appeared on 27 November 1998. He joined the show after previously appearing in rival soap opera Neighbours. Lachlan is introduced as a new doctor working at Summer Bay's local hospital. Grieve had to research the profession and received help from an on-set medical advisor. Lachlan is characterised as a sweet and gentle person who is brilliant at medicine.