| Lucy Robinson | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Melissa Bell as Lucy Robinson (2005) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Kylie Flinker (1985–87) Sasha Close (1987–89) Melissa Bell (1991–92, 1993, 1995, 2005) |
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| Created by | Reg Watson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Reg Watson (1985) Don Battye (1991) Ian Bradley (1993) Bill Searle (1995) Ric Pellizzeri (2005) |
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| Duration | 1985–89, 1991–92, 1993, 1995, 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 18 March 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 5 August 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | New York | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Student at Erinsborugh Primary (1985–86) Student at Erinsborough High (1987–88, 1991) Student at Arlingwood College (1988–91) Model (1992–95) Businesswoman |
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Lucy Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Melissa Bell. She had previously been portrayed by Kylie Flinker and Sasha Close. She was created by producer Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' original characters. Lucy was a prominent figure during the early 90's of Neighbours, with Bell playing her on and off for five years. Portrayed originally as being clever, a recast was implemented to fit the character's transformation and she became the stereotype of a ditzy blonde female. She has been involved in storylines including battling a brain tumor, coping with blindness, incest, modeling and an addiction to drugs, alcohol and spending. She has also been positively and negatively received by critics for her 'busty blonde' image whilst played by Bell.
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Lucy was created by Reg Watson as a young child, to help the serial appeal to all ages.[1] She was originally played by Kylie Flinker until 1987 when she quit in order to concentrate on her school work;[2] the role was recast with Sasha Close playing her. Close said she was very lucky to get the part, with Lucy's storylining leading to departure for the character, Close agreed to film on a recurring basis until she was in her final year of school.[3] In 1991 Lucy was recast once more after producers decided Lucy would feature in the show on a permanent basis,[2] with Melissa Bell taking over.[4] In 1992 Bell quit her role as Lucy in order to host a chat show,[5] of her exit she revealed she was sad to leave but the producers decided to leave the door open for her to return in the future,[5] already having agreed to return to filming in 1993 for a three-episode stint especially for the 2000th episode of Neighbours.[5] Bell kept her promise and Lucy appeared again in 1993, and again in 1995.
In 2005 Neighbours was celebrating its 20th anniversary; Bell along with numerous other past cast members had been asked to return.[6] Her return was later confirmed and it was stated that she would re-appear towards the end of 2005.[7] Bell has stated that producers approached her with a proposal to return six months prior to filming.[8] During an interview with media reporting website Digital Spy, Bell was asked what it was like playing Lucy after two previous actresses had taken the role;[9] she replied: "It was really easy because I took over the character when she left boarding school and was grown up. I started when I was 18, and looked at old tapes to see her character and her relationships."[9] In another interview Bell said: "I love Lucy so much. She is so me. I played Lucy at such a young age; only 18 years old. So playing her at 32 was wonderful for me, as she had changed so much over the years.[8]
Whilst Lucy was young she is described as being an innocent child who never does any wrong.[1] In her teenage years she was described as giving her father plenty of reasons to worry, going from dead-end job to the next and being incredibly flirtatious.[1] During the character's return in 2005, whilst an interviewed by Digital Spy,[9] Bell spoke about how Lucy has grown up and learned from her mistake, changing from a rebellious young woman into a clever business woman[9] and stated: "I started in 1990 and I've come back many times, the last about eight years ago. Now I'd describe Lucy as a centered woman with her life together, very focused on her business. But she probably yearns for a family and for love. Just growing up does that to people. She's grown from her early twenties to her late twenties, and she's very different to when she was at earlier stages of her life."[9] She also made light of the fact that Lucy has Robinson qualities and can be a bit ruthless at times.[9]
Lucy's mum Anne died in 1975 giving birth to her and she was raised by Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) and her beloved grandmother Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy). From the show's inception in 1985, Lucy was originated and played by Kylie Flinker. During this period, Lucy was a mischievous, yet intelligent little girl, who had great fun with her brothers, loved her gran and dad, and played with her dog Basil. She got into much strife. Lucy was the flower-girl at older brother Paul Robinson's (Stefan Dennis) wedding to Terry Inglis (Maxine Klibingaitis). Lucy went to find Basil after he went exploring in late 1986, and she fell down a drain with him and was trapped for many days. She was eventually found, but was left temporarily blinded by the incident. Lucy's good friend Bradley Townsend departed to go to Europe with his mother Andrea and her new partner, Jack Lassiter. Lucy promised to go and visit him. In early 1987, everyone was at the beach and Basil fell into the water and drowned when the tide took him. Lucy was devastated by the incident but Scott Robsinson (Jason Donovan) friend Mike Young (Guy Pearce) who had failed to save Basil tried to cheer her up by getting her a new puppy, Bouncer, which Lucy adored.
In 1987, Lucy went on a trip to Europe for a few weeks to visit her friend Bradley. This storyline was to cover the departure of Flinker from the cast. When Lucy returned in May 1987, She had grown considerably and was now played by Close. Lucy had become a bit of a snob during her time in Europe but after no one came to her dinner party, she learned to be humble and soon fit back in. She was present at both Scott and Paul's weddings. Lucy's behavior became odd. She let go of Bouncer's leash while taking him for a walk, was dropped from the school netball team and began acting strangely at home, forgetting things and becoming clumsy. No one could work out what was wrong with her until one night Scott tried to wake her up but Lucy remained unconscious. After being taken to Hospital it was discovered that she had a massive brain tumor. Her family were devastated but remained hopeful as the doctors did a procedure and managed to save Lucy's life. She was able to return home but had to remain resting for several months due to trauma. At Christmas of that year, Lucy and Mike tried to sell the almost pure bred puppy spawn of Bouncer. On Valentine's Day 1988, Lucy was present at Jim's wedding to Lucy's much loved doctor, Beverly Marshall (Lisa Armytage). On the same day, Paul and Gail Robinson were married for the second time and Lucy met her new step-cousins Todd Landers (Kristian Schmid) and Katie Landers (Sally Jensen). In mid 1988, Lucy was sent off to the Alumwood boarding school where she stayed for 2 years, returning each school holidays.
In 1991, Lucy returned to Ramsay Street permanently, now played by Bell. Opon her return she was different than she was before she had departed. The high-level intellectual was gone, replaced by a stereotypical 1990s blond bimbo bombshell. Lucy's major storyline in 1991 was her incestuous relationship with half-brother Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett). Scenes showing their relationship were edited out and cut by the BBC in their UK airing.[10]
During this period, Lucy's relationship with life-long friend Emma Gordon came to an end when Lucy betrayed her in the race for a job. Lucy departed the cast again in late 1992 to pursue a modeling career in Europe. She returned briefly in September 1993 to celebrate the birthday of Helen. During this visit, Lucy revealed to her family that she had married her agent David.
Lucy wasn't seen again until early 1995 when Mark Gottlieb (Bruce Samazan) discovered her working in a local strip club. He coaxed her back to Ramsay St when he informed her of sister Julie's death the previous year. Lucy returned to her family but there was something amiss. Local kids Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) and Lucy's niece, young Hannah Martin (Rebecca Ritters) discovered a pornography magazine which featured Lucy as the centrefold. Lucy tearfully confessed to her Gran, Helen that she had a serious drug and alcohol problem and that she had divorced David. Helen told her she was only disappointed that she hadn't come for help earlier. Lucy eventually departed Ramsay St again to work for Rosemary Daniels (Joy Chambers) her aunt, in New York.
In 2005, Neighbours celebrated its 20th Anniversary. To celebrate the achievement, Stefan Dennis returned as Paul. After several months of storylines, Paul was injured and had to have his leg amputated. In the aftermath, Lucy returned to Australia briefly to be with Paul. Lucy was now an interesting hybrid of her previous incarnations. While still played by Bell, Lucy seemed to have regained some of the intelligence she lost in the 1990s, and was now a successful business woman, like her brother. She soon returned to America.
In 1993 during a debate on female exploitation, at the Oxford Union with feminists who opposed their argument, Pete Gowers publicly criticized Bell and her character for exploiting their 'assets', stating: "The only character in Neighbours to have a surfboard named after her – because she's good for a ride, but not much else."[11]
In 2008 daily British newspaper The Times profiled 15 top Neighbours moments according to them.[4] On the list Lucy Robinson was noted, they were critical of the character stating that whilst played by Flinker she looked like any ordinary girl, played by Close she was just a 'butch' version of the character.[4] They compared this with Bell's portrayal, stating that she changed the character positively into the 'blonde, busty, saucy Lucy',[4] they also slated her portrayal branding her acting as poor and ruining the character,[4] but added that the positive attribute was she looked like all the other 'blondes' suddenly invading Aussie soaps around the time of the 1990s.[4]
Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture gave Lucy a 3.5 out of 5 for her contribution to Neighbours, in a feature called "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons".[10] Deller said "Lucy’s dramatic tenure(s) involved being one of the first of many Ramsay Street residents to fall down a drain and to experience temporary blindness (although she combined the two mishaps), getting sent away to boarding school, engaging in a spot of incest, modelling, marrying a rich older man and having a drugs problem".[10]
In 2010, to celebrate Neighbours' 25th anniversary Sky, a British satellite broadcasting company profiled 25 characters of which they believed were the most memorable in the series history.[12] Lucy is in the list and describing her life in the show they state: "Janine Butcher, Tracy Barlow – you can't have a soap without an oft-recast daughter who swings between 'in control competent woman' and 'nutcase'. Lucy is Neighbours entrant to the list: early on she was an adorable tyke with her puppy Bouncer; then she returned with drug and alcohol problems and a job as a stripper; and finally she became a businesswoman in the Rosemary Daniels mould for subsequent visits".[12]
Media company Virgin Media praised the character stating: "Melissa became a household name as Ramsay Street's Lucy Robinson. Viewers loved her character's close relationship with grandma, Helen Daniels, and her wayward teenage antics."[13]
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