Julie Martin (Neighbours)
| Julie Martin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Julie Mullins as Julie Martin (1992) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by |
Vikki Blanche (1985) Julie Mullins (1992–94) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985, 1992–94 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 18 March 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 3 October 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Reg Watson | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
Reg Watson (1985) Don Battye (1992) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation |
Bank teller Secretary Newsagent Used car salesperson Student | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Vikki Blanche as Julie Martin (1985) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Julie Martin (née Robinson) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Originally played by Vikki Blanche, she made her first screen appearance during the show's first episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. The character departed in the same year. When she returned in 1992, Julie Mullins took over the role. Julie married Philip Martin and became his children's stepmother. Julie and Philip also had a daughter, Hannah. Julie's storylines have included struggling to befriend her stepson, her crumbling marriage and the discovery that she is a product of rape. Julie was portrayed as a busy body and gossip.
Characterisation
Julie is described as being unable to keep her nose out of other people's business.[1] She has a "brusque and pompous manner" which annoyed those around her. In her later years Julie had become more obnoxious than she previously had been.[1] She was branded unbearable in Neighbours' anniversary book The first ten years. As a mother Julie was embarrassing, she humiliated her children with her antics.[1] Her persona meant she found it hard to hold a job because she was never suited to anything she tried. She firewalled herself with these traits, as she genuinely had a good heart but refused to show it.[1] The anniversary book describes this as the reason she was disliked by almost everyone she encountered.[1]
Storylines
Julie worked at the local bank. She later had an affair with the bank manager Philip Martin (Christopher Milne), who was married at the time and had two children, Debbie (Mandy Storvik) and Michael Martin (Samuel Hammington). At the end of 1985 they left Erinsborough and married, and Julie then had a daughter, Hannah Martin (Rebecca Ritters), off-screen.
In 1992 Julie returned to Erinsborough with her family and her life proved quite eventful. After a murder attempt on her by Michael (now played by Troy Beckwith), she found out that Jim Robinson was not her real father; she was in fact a result of a rape. Then Jim died of a heart attack and Julie and Rosemary Daniels (Joy Chambers) discovered his body on the kitchen floor of his home.
Then Julie's marriage to Philip (now played by Ian Rawlings) slowly began crumbling. In 1994, she was found at the foot of the stairs at a murder mystery weekend, after falling from a tower. Julie subsequently died in hospital. There was some doubt as to whether she had been pushed from the tower by Philip; his daughter Debbie (now played by Marnie Reece-Wilmore) eventually overcame a mental block to recall that Julie had accidentally fallen from the tower during a drunken rage.
Reception
A writer for the BBC's Neighbours website said Julie's most notable moment was "Falling from a roof and dying during a murder mystery weekend."[2] Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture gave Julie a 3.5 out of 5 for her contribution to Neighbours, during a feature called "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons".[3] Deller said "Julie stepped into the busybody role vacated by Hilary and Mrs Mangel, whilst Philip became the proto-Steve Parker good guy. Julie made a lot of enemies, not least Michael, and she died by falling from a tower at a murder mystery event".[3]
Andrew Mercado in his book Super Aussie soaps was critical of Julie upon her return with a husband stating: "She was no less annoying when she had been single"[4] He also noted Julie's change in character as her last year in the serial progressed, stating she became unhinged.[4] Joking about her death scenes he also stated "Given her incessant whining, it was almost a relief to viewers".[4]
In 1994, Julie was seen dressing up in a school uniform to turn on Philip, who had become impotent. The scene was attacked by the Broadcasting Standards Council for being "too kinky" for children to watch.[5] Anthony Cowdy of British newspaper The Independent said "Julie Martin, is such an accomplished blamer that she would be beaten up daily if she were a schoolgirl."[6]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Monroe, Josephine (1996). Neighbours: the first 10 years. Michael Joseph LTD (Penguin Group). pp. 104, 105. ISBN 0-7181-4212-8.
- ↑ "Character: Julie Martin". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 October 2003. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Deller, Ruth (23 July 2009). "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons". Lowculture. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Mercado, Andrew (2004). Super Aussie soaps: behind the scenes of Australia's best loved TV shows. Pluto Press Australia. pp. 220, 221. ISBN 1-86403-191-3. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ↑ Simon, Jane (13 October 1996). 's+the+show+that+brought...-a061154021 "101 Neighbours Facts To Oz-Tonish you!". The People (Trinity Mirror). Retrieved 3 May 2011.
- ↑ Cowdy, Anthony (6 June 1995). "Dear Neighbours". The Independent (Independent Print Ltd). Retrieved 3 January 2010.
External links
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