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> Golden Couples: Imogen and Daniel
by Carol Ann Wood
We all love a Neighbours wedding, and there have been a fair few over the years.
Unfortunately,
many of them have had disastrous or tragic consequences. However, with Daniel and Imogen’s
nuptials being arranged in the aftermath of the Lassiter’s explosion, we knew that this union would
not only go ahead, but that we would be waving the pair off, tissues at the ready, to their exciting
new life in America. Granted it was rushed, to the point of being somewhat unrealistic: just how
quickly can you arrange a marriage licence, book (and then re-arrange) a celebrant, and flights and
visas to the States? However, as this was a happy event after much sadness, we were ready to
suspend disbelief. Besides, we already knew that both Ariel Kaplan (Imogen) and Tim Phillipps
(Daniel) were to be leaving the show, so why not make it a joyous exit, with scenes reminiscent of
Daniel’s young parents Scott and Charlene so many years before.
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Daniel and Imogen’s path to marriage has been typical of the Neighbours young: rocky, fraught
with tension and, at one point, included the ubiquitous love-triangle. As soon as the nephew of Paul
Robinson arrived on Ramsay Street as a carefree hippy, we saw Imogen’s eyes flicker. Initially, with
anger, over misunderstandings involving camping permits and a vintage dress, but that’s Imogen for you. She’s a strongminded
girl who likes to feel that she’s in control of situations. Beneath her apparent dislike of
Daniel was an instant attraction that she was trying to keep at bay.
Career-orientated Imogen is the opposite of best friend Amber in so many ways. Although both might
have romantic notions of love, Imogen always kept hers in check and was not about to settle for
anything less than the real thing. Including taking things to ‘the next level’. We saw a hint of love to
come when, after the tornado – 2014’s disaster – Imogen and Daniel rescued a baby wombat whom
they named Erin. (Yes, we did all get the name-play!) Daniel had a fear of wombats and managed to
overcome it with Imogen’s help. They also bonded over academic texts. Daniel might have been a
hippy back then, but like Imogen, he is a deep thinker, whereas Amber is less scholastic. Daniel and
Imogen have a shared love of nature and of eco causes. (There were much in-joking text messages
between them about ducks.) Daniel admired Imogen’s strong belief in justice and her unwillingness
to be anything less than her own woman. It was only a matter of time …
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As we know, though, it was Amber who first caught Daniel’s eye. Sensing that she was unhappy
with the then-nonchalant Josh, twin brother of Imogen, he befriended her and took an interest in her
ambitions as a photographer. We watched as Imogen struggled with her feelings for Daniel, her
idealistic notions of love shattered as her parent’s marriage fell apart, and sensing her pain as the
complexities of the Willis and Turner clans grew ever deeper. I felt very sad on Imogen’s behalf
when, after discovering that her best friend was cheating on Josh with Daniel, she still kept her
feelings for him to herself. And it must have hurt her to see her friend openly dating the man she
loved. She later had to watch as Amber and Daniel planned their wedding, and in order to distract
herself from the pain, she set about being chief wedding planner, in true Imogen style - she
definitely inherited her mother’s organisational skills!
Of course, Daniel and Amber’s wedding was a non-event, because of Erinsborough’s notorious
well. Imogen and Daniel just happened to be the latest characters trapped therein, in the pursuit of a
family ring that Daniel learnt was down there. Imogen had already been barred from the wedding,
having been confronted by Amber, after her true feelings for Daniel had been uncovered by Paul
Robinson. Imogen insisted that she would never have stood in her friends’ way, which was
obviously the truth but, once down the well, and fearing they might not get out alive, she asked
Daniel if he could ever feel the same about her as she did about him. No, he said. Liar, we thought!
And even though Daniel and Amber eventually reunited when Amber realised that her fiancé had
not eloped with Imogen after all, you could tell that this was not how things would end. After
Amber’s ‘comforting’ from ex, Josh, on what would have been her wedding night, there was a
pregnancy. Josh and Daniel had come to an uneasy truce after Amber had left the former for the
latter, but this new situation only fired up the animosity again. Daniel was delighted when told
about the pregnancy. He had no reason, at that point, to suspect that the baby wasn’t his. But in true
soap style, despite Imogen counselling Amber against telling Daniel of her night with Josh, she
blurted out the truth. A paternity test ensued. It was pretty easy for fans to guess ‘Who’s the daddy?’
For Amber and Daniel’s relationship, it was to be downhill thereafter. Daniel was insistent that he
wanted to play a role in the baby’s life, despite not being the biological father. Josh was excited
about being a dad, and thought that there might be a chance of reconciliation with Amber. Stress
mounted as the unborn baby was found to have a life-threatening condition which needed surgery,
either in vitro, at great expense, in America, or after birth. Of course, Josh was on the side of Amber
who wanted to go to America to give the baby what she thought was the best chance. Daniel didn’t.
Clearly, Daniel and Amber’s hearts were not in this relationship any more, and Daniel bowed out
without much fight. It wasn’t long before he and Imogen finally got their act together and he
acknowledged his true feelings for the feisty law student. Imogen worried that dating him might
have a detrimental affect on her friendship with Amber, but Amber was fully focused on her baby,
and went around in a sort of daze. She didn’t even react adversely to her mother Lauren shacking up
with Brad Willis so soon after her father, Matt’s, death. Daniel and Imogen were given the green
light.
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I have always felt that Imogen was a better match for Daniel than Amber, although other fans are
entitled to their own opinions. For me, Daniel and Imogen are intellectually and emotionally
matched. He might have started out as a hippy with no particular career goal, but since then, he has
realised that he needs to have more of an aim in life. He has learnt from Imogen that you don’t have
to compromise your ethics for ambition, and that you can have a career and still be an honest-living
person. This is in contrast to Paul, of course, and there were moments that we felt alarm for Daniel,
and worried that he was becoming a younger version of his uncle. Being with Imogen has ensured
that this will not happen.
It was Imogen who pulled Daniel back to base recently. Her attentions had wandered towards
Tyler’s hot bod, as Daniel worked long hours at Lassiter’s. The revelation that his girlfriend was
attracted to a mechanic with a man-bun caused Daniel to insist that he and Imogen have a break for
a while, even though Imogen argued that she hadn’t acted on her attraction and that Tyler hadn’t
encouraged it. Daniel wasn’t sure of Imogen’s feelings any more. But after knowing that Josh died
in order to save him, Daniel recognised the truth: Josh knew his sister was most definitely in love,
and had even gone to the hotel prior to the blast, to reiterate the fact to Daniel. Daniel had been
rather horrible to Josh, and yet, Josh bore no grudge, only wanting his twin sister’s happiness. Life
is sometimes cut cruelly short; there was a strong need for viewers to see happiness to come out of
such profound sorrow. Imogen had not only lost her brother but her beloved Pop, Doug. Her eulogy
at Josh’s funeral was heartbreaking, and whilst she wasn’t the only family member to suffer such
pain, the loss of a twin was expressed with brutal honesty. Well done to the writers for making this
point.
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So what else was there to do for Daniel but to propose, when Imogen was offered the chance of an
internship in America? Daniel is currently under the impression that his uncle Paul may have been
responsible for the hotel explosion, and he knows how difficult this is for Imogen and her family to
deal with. He understands that she needs to get away from Erinsborough, and that it would be good
for him too. So, we snivelled as Daniel discarded a post-explosion crutch and went down on one
knee at Lassiter’s lake. (Where else?)
We laughed as Scott and Charlene sent Daniel’s sister Madison to check on Daniel’s state of mind
before he tied the knot. We saw her attempt to climb in through an open window just as her mother
had done before her, only this time it was her brother, not a future husband, on the receiving end of
a smack in the face when he mistook her for a burglar. Yes, writers, it amused those of us old
enough to remember the first time. Predictable, but a nice touch. Madison Robinson (you wonder
whether Charlene named her when under the influence of gas and air, it’s such a mouthful) was
there and gone in the blink of an eye, but I get the impression she will be back at some point. We
need a new Robinson. Her brother has not only departed, but chosen to take Imogen’s surname,
Willis. His choice, we’re told, but one of which we knew feminist Imogen would wholeheartedly
approve!
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Whilst we can understand the bride and groom not wanting to cause any fuss after two
bereavements, a wedding was just what was needed to galvanise everyone and give the family
something to smile about. Thankfully, Daniel and Imogen’s hastily planned original ceremony was
put on hold following Brad and Terese’s frantic dash to the registry office – with Terese clad in
nightdress, dressing-gown and slippers – once they got wind of it. We were happy that Amy and co
transformed chez Willis into a reception room – complete with fine tableware and a few hundred
cupcakes in less time than a TV makeover programme – for the two families to witness the
ceremony. Miraculously, Terese still had her wedding dress stashed in the spare wardrobe, in
pristine condition (well, you can’t imagine Terese spilling the jam from a Lamington down it) and
looking more 2016 than anything I remember from 1995. Equally miraculously, the dress fitted
Imogen perfectly, unless we are to assume that the women of Ramsay Street had her safety-pinned,
stitched, and vow-ready in minutes. We were relieved that Terese was able to play her role as
mother of the bride in her finery, rather than her recent daytime attire of nightdress and slippers –
probably concealing a wine-glass in her dressing-gown pocket. But, like I said, we’ll suspend
disbelief, and Imogen looked beautiful. Of course the pair had learnt their vows off-by-heart in one
day, and of course Susan had no essays to mark that afternoon and was free to be the celebrant.
Sorted in minutes, in true Erinsborough style!
As this article is a tribute to Daniel and Imogen as a couple, it’s not possible to look in depth at both
characters’ noteworthy moments. However, the comic episode when Imogen, mistaking alcohol for
fizzy pop, became drunk at the dinner table, stands out. Terese wondered: ‘Imogen! What has got
into you?’ And the frantic baking marathon, when she developed a bit of a crush on the recently-bereaved
Mark Brennan, left us unconvinced that she was cut out to be a domestic goddess. But
what she may have lacked in expertise, she certainly made up for with enthusiasm! We’ve seen her
extreme vulnerability when she developed an eating disorder, leading us to realise that she wasn’t
quite as self-assured as she made out. But she’s matured a lot since then and, as with her late twin,
she arrived as an adolescent but has left as a grown-up.
And as for Daniel, he’s definitely changed a great deal during his Ramsay Street stay. He frustrated
many of us at the start: admirably idealistic, but so laid-back he was horizontal. Whilst we felt that
his presence was good for his uncle Paul, who had a lot to learn about putting family before fortune,
we could see that Daniel needed to go through a process of self-evaluation and change, too. He
alluded to a time when he was shorter-tempered and troubled, which presumably had led him to
move towards his hippy existence with ex-girlfriend, oddball brainwasher, Rain. But perhaps he had
gone too far down the route of day dream believer, and it was just a phase of his life which wasn’t
meant to last forever.
I’m going to miss both Imogen and Daniel, and want to wish Ariel and Tim the best of luck in their
respective careers. We are losing two more prominent and popular characters. Coming so soon after
saying goodbye to Doug and Josh, it’s rather hard to take. But, for now, it’s enough to know that the
newlyweds are alive and, for once, they got their happy ending, a rarity in soap land. Let’s hope
they follow in the footsteps of Scott and Charlene. Here’s to the next generation of Willis-Robinsons.
This article originally appeared on Carol's blog, Levelling The Playing Field.
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