Shane Ramsay

Shane Ramsay
Neighbours character
Portrayed by	Peter O'Brien
Duration	1985–87
First appearance	18 March 1985
Last appearance	3 March 1987
Created by	Reg Watson
Introduced by	Reg Watson
Classification	Former, regular
Profile
Occupation	Gardener Chauffeur
Home	Queensland
Family Father Max Ramsay Mother Maria Ramsay Half brothers Danny Ramsay Half sisters Jill Ramsay Grandfathers Dan Ramsay Franco Rossi Grandmothers Edna Ramsay Anna Rossi Sr. Uncles Tom Ramsay Aunts Madge Ramsay Anna Rossi Nephews Harry Ramsay Nieces Kate Ramsay Sophie Ramsay First cousins Henry Ramsay Charlene Robinson

Shane Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Peter O'Brien. He made his first appearance on-screen in the first Neighbours episode on 18 March 1985. Shane is the son of Max and Maria Ramsay. His storylines included training to be an Olympic swimmer, being injured in two car accidents and his relationship with Daphne Lawrence. Shane departed on 3 March 1987.

Casting

Peter O'Brien auditioned for the role of Shane Ramsay twice in 1984 and following the cancellation of medical series Starting Out, he was cast as the older Ramsay brother.^[1][2] O'Brien made his debut in Neighbours' first episode. Shane was one of Reg Watson's original Neighbours characters.^[3] The role of Shane made O'Brien a household name in his home country of Australia and overseas.^[4] Stefan Dennis originally auditioned for the role of Shane, but he was later cast as Paul Robinson instead.^[5] In the video The Official Neighbours Special: The First Ten Years, released in 1995, O'Brien said that he was working in England at the time when he received the role of Shane and he was not expecting Neighbours to last more than two years.^[6]

O'Brien decided to leave Neighbours in 1986 as he had had enough of the show.^[2] The Grundy Organisation tried to convince O'Brien to stay, fearing that the show would suffer from his departure, but O'Brien was determined to move on.^[2]

Characterisation

Shane was described by Network Ten as a "very together guy, despite being deprived of a normal childhood because of his father's obsession with his diving training".^[2] They also added that Shane had independence and an "inner strength".^[2] O'Brien described the character of Shane as "a bit of a misfit".^[6]

Storylines

Shane Ramsay was born shortly after his parents moved to Ramsay Street and Shane became best friends with his next door neighbour, Paul Robinson. Shane enjoyed swimming and Max entered him into an Under-12s swimming team in the hope that Shane would make it to the Olympics one day. To Max's dismay, Shane's training regime was regularly interrupted by girls wanting to get a glimpse of him in his Speedos. Shane was only interested in casual relationships until he saw Daphne Lawrence. Shane asked her out to dinner and she agreed, they then began a relationship. Max was not happy that Shane was seeing Daphne and he was annoyed when she moved in with Des Clarke as a lodger. Shane was in a car accident with his younger brother Danny and he was forced to give up any hope of taking part in the Olympics. Shane wanted to become an air steward like Paul, but the back injury from the accident meant he couldn't do the job. He then became a chauffeur for wealthy businesswoman, Linda Fielding.

Daphne ended the relationship with Shane when she realised she was in love with Des. Shane then started dating plumber, Terry Inglis. Terry told Shane that ex-husband was a bank robber and the man who crashed into Shane's car and caused his injury. Terry's ex turned up in Ramsay Street and threatened her and Max, but Shane alerted the police. Terry later got engaged to Paul and Shane began seeing Daphne again. Shane asked Daphne to move in with him, but Daphne realised that she still loved Des and they became engaged. Shane was sacked from his job when he used a limousine to take Daphne to the church on her wedding day and it was stolen by thief. He then formed a gardening service with Clive Gibbons. Shane became worried when their first client, Beth Travers began showering him with gifts after he slept with her. Shane was shocked when Beth locked him in her wine cellar. Beth later let him out and apologised.

When Daphne became single again, after Des jilted her at the altar, Shane was determined to win her back. Shane proposed to her, and she accepted. Shane became paranoid when Daphne went out to dinner with Des one evening. He waited for them to arrive home and began accusing them of cheating on him together. Daphne asked him to leave and handed back her engagement ring. Shane became low and lost his self-confidence. Mike Young asked Shane to coach him when he joined the school diving team and Shane even dived himself for the first time since the accident. Shane then chose to enrol in a business class and change his life.

When Max left Erinsborough for a reunion with Maria, Shane's uncle Tom, aunt Madge and her daughter Charlene moved in. Shane was involved in another car accident, which resulted in the death of Tom's friend, Jean Richards. Shane was charged with the manslaughter of Jean, but the charges were later dropped. Madge's son, Henry moved in and tensions arose between him and Shane. Shane began to question what was left for him in Erinsborough and he eventually decided to leave. He left on his motorbike to travel around Australia.

Reception

For his portrayal of Shane Ramsay, O'Brien won the 'Most Popular New Talent' award at the 1986 Logie Awards^[7] The following year, O'Brien won the 'Most Popular Actor' award.^[8]

Virgin Media branded the character as a retro soap hunk in a special feature reported on their website, stating: "Shane Ramsay in Neighbours possibly had the best mullet ever seen in soap history. But he was kind and was like an older brother but with the advantages of not being related."^[9] They also branded O'Brien as one of Neighbours most popular cast members in the history of the series for his portrayal of Shane.^[10] Lorna Cooper of MSN TV listed Shane as one of Soap Opera's "forgotten characters" and also brands him as Neighbours' "first major hunk".^[11]

Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture gave Shane a 3.5 out of 5 for his contribution to Neighbours, during a feature called "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons".^[12] Deller said "The mullet-tastic Shane was the 'housewife's choice' back in the 80s, something that has served actor Peter O'Brien well over the years".^[12] She added "He was in love with Daphne (and for a while the actors playing them had a romance in real-life) and was heartbroken when she ended up with Des Clarke".^[12]

Telecommunications network Orange profiled past Neighbours characters, in this feature they joke about Shane's most memorable stating: "Being involved in a dramatic car crash, which shattered the talented diver’s dream of competing in the Olympics. Worse still, it meant soap fans never got to see Shane in his Speedos again. Sigh…"^[13]

In her book "Soap opera", Dorothy Hobson describes Shane and his family as "more working class than other characters", also stating: "They had working-class jobs but were not represented as cloth cap wearing or dowdy, they were bright and modern and representative of a vibrant and working population."^[14] Andrew Mercado in his book Super Aussie Soaps brands the Ramsay family as being the backbone of the serial during the early years.^[15]

References