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Features > Here's To You, Mrs Robinson! by Conor

Seven wedding ceremonies, four wives, five children, countless flings. Meet Ramsay Street's resident lothario and the only man who can give Ross from Friends a run for his money, Paul Robinson. A man who has entertained the idea of marriage more times than your average gold digger (Izzy Hoyland, take note) and seemed genetically predisposed to falling for every female in the nearby vicinity, available or not. Yes, you're nobody unless Paul Robinson has had a crack at you - poor old Susan and arch-enemy Janelle being some of the few who have escaped Paul's roving eye since his return in 2004. However, after the diagnosis of a brain tumour in 2007, Paul turned over a new leaf and is back to his charming, romantic best. But poor Paul seems destined to be unlucky-in-love, with a whopping number of failed marriages and relationships. Yet despite his numerous dalliances, particularly in 2005 and 2006, it isn't just any old woman that he proposes marriage to, however hard that may be to believe. Join us as we pay tribute to that special club of Ramsay Street women, past and present and future - Mrs. Paul Robinson.

Terry Inglis
Ah, Paul and Terry. He was the lovable airline steward and she was the plucky plumber. It couldn't go wrong. Well... it did. They got married after a whirlwind romance, barely a month long, in fact. Sadly, Paul and Terry knew very little about each other and ultimately it would lead to the demise of their relationship. For Terry had a murky past and was in possession of a single item that would ruined their newly wedded bliss. Having a cassette tape of former lover, Charles Durham boasting of his crimes, led to the man himself hunting Terry down and after he almost killed Daphne is a case of mistaken identity, Terry had to fight back and during a violent confrontation, she shot him dead. Would Paul help his beloved cover up her crime and escape punishment? Umm, no. Upon trying to call the police, Terry took a shot at him too. An abrupt end, allegedly designed to send-off Neighbours on a high-note in it's dying days on Channel Seven, but one that would forever change the character of Paul Robinson. That single incident shaped the character of Paul from then on in, creating the very man we know today. Terry was arguably Paul's most significant wife and whilst his character moved onward and upward, Terry was later arrested and tragically committed suicide in prison. Thus far, the only Neighbours regular to do so. Their marriage lasted from 1985 until 1986, but even without Terry's gun-toting antics, it was unlikely that it would have gone the distance. For another woman was on the horizon and was soon to be one half of Neighbours' most-loved pairings...

Gail Lewis
Neighbours would never be the same again, after the strong, passionate Gail Lewis waltzed into town. The life of Paul Robinson too, would never be the same. The character even had her own specially supplied wardrobe, for crying out loud! Yes, the clothes still looked atrocious but it was the 80s, everyone looked atrocious - at least Gail had designer gear. Despite following on from the mother of all disastrous marriages (at least until wedding no. 4), Gail's relationship with Paul actually pre-dated that of Terry's. They met whilst both working for an airline back in 1985, and the pair had a whirlwind romance (Yes, another one) but it wasn't to be. Having quit the airline, it was unlikely that Paul would ever see Gail again. Well, they say that the course of true love never runs smooth and fastforward to 1987, Gail applied for a job at the Daniels Corporation. The sexual chemistry soon began to sizzle, but both were reluctant to act upon it, yet they ended up walking down the aisle (well, the lounge room carpet at number 22), not for love but for a business agreement. Who says that romance is dead? It took a while for the pair to admit their love for each other, in fact, it was when Rosemary Daniels offered her a job in New York, that Paul finally admitted his feelings. At long last, Paul and Gail became a real couple, renewing their vows on Valentine's Day 1988. However, it soon went awry. Struggling to have children, it was expensive IVF treatment that eventually led to pregnancy and because of the costly process, Paul started working increasingly hard and becoming further detached from Gail. But the worst was yet to come - when Gail's adoptive father, Rob, died in a car crash, Gail blamed Paul, who had an argument with him prior to the accident. But it was when Paul left the wake to work at the office that Gail decided enough was enough, packed up her selection of snazzy outfits and left him heartbroken. She started a new life in Tasmania, where she gave birth to Paul's children, triplets, Robert, Cameron and Lucinda and after another failed marriage for each of them, she returned in 2006, to be at the bedside of Robert, as he lay in a pretend coma having set up brother Cameron, for crimes he didn't commit. Confusing as their situation was, it didn't take long for the old chemistry to resurface and after Robert's identity swap was revealed, Paul and Gail indulged in a fake wedding ceremony (their third) in a bid to lure their psychotic son out of hiding. As you do. But their rekindled romance was shattered when Paul slept with another woman, leaving Gail heartbroken again. Paul's insane antics were recently revealed to be the cause of that classic soap opera known as a brain tumour and in mid-2007, he awoke from his operation remembering nothing since the late 1980s. But fate seemed to be against Paul and Gail once again, as she decided that she couldn't be with Paul and pretend that the last 20 years had not happened, walking out of his life again. But with daughter Elle still living on Ramsay St, one wonders just how long Gail will stay away?

Christina Alessi
The arduous task of following on from Gail fell on the shoulders of Christina Alessi. Much like Terry, Christina too, had a past involvement with the law. Having witnessed a murder, she and twin sister Caroline were placed in witness protection and assumed the identity of 'Linda Giles'. With hilarious consequences. After many a mix-up, Paul eventually sussed out that Linda Giles was in fact, double the woman he thought she was. You'd think Paul would learn from this and have become pretty adept at telling twins apart. It may have been useful, when 16 years later nutty son Robert pulled the switcheroo act with comatose brother Cameron. Apparently not. No matter, after the murderer tracking the twins had been imprisoned, Linda became Christina and Caroline once more and both woman fought for the attention of Mr. Robinson. But once Caroline had set her sights on Paul's father, then Adam Willis and after Christina had battled off scheming gold digger, Isabella Lopez, the pair were able to admit their feelings. After a whirlwind romance and quick engagement (Sensing a theme here?) the couple were married. Not long after, Chrissie feel pregnant and gave birth to a son, Andrew. But trouble was ahead. Paul suffered a nervous breakdown and to make matters worse, slept with twin sister, Caroline. You wouldn't catch Mary-kate and Ashley Olsen involved in such a torrid mess, that's for damn sure. After much begging, Paul and Christina were reunited and left to start afresh managing a hotel in Hawaii. However, once again, it all went awry. Returning a year later, Paul embroiled his brother-in-law Phil in a fraud scandal. Feeling guilty, he left a letter of confession and fled to Brazil with his wife and son. He later handed himself in to the police and when Paul returned in 2004, he was a single man once again, his marriage presumably breaking-up somewhere along the line. No real details about the marriage collapse have emerged, but according to Paul, Christina and Andrew are living in Sydney.

Lyn Scully
By his 2004 return, Paul had already knocked-up an impressive five wedding ceremonies with his three wives. Single again, just who would be next? At times it seemed like fiery Liljana Bishop could be Mrs. Robinson IV, but her love for her husband proved to be too much and they were reunited, dying in a plane crash not long after. Then it seemed like Paul would be taking resident minx Isabelle Hoyland up the aisle, but the call of rock stardom came to Natalie Bassingthwaighte and Izzy hightailed it out of Erinsborough, pregnant with another man's child. And in between that, there was his sham wedding to Gail and many flings including trying to blackmail Sister Mary Catherine for sex. So, needless to say, viewers were shocked when Paul set up home with Catholic, mother of five, housewife (or fishwife?) turned power-dressing businesswoman, Lyn Scully. It all started when Lyn became Paul Robinson's personal assistant and over the course of a few months, became closer to Paul. But after being persuaded by Izzy to set up Lyn for copyright infringement, after it looked like he could lose all he owned, Lyn inexplicably hopped into bed with him. Was it sheer magnetism? Was it the Lynx effect? Your guess is as good as mine, but Lyn was more than happy to become Paul's latest squeeze. After the death of his son, Lyn was even more thrilled when Paul turned over a new leaf, reforming his bad behaviour and proposing to her. Sadly it was not to last as Paul became increasingly attracted to beautiful Rosetta Cammeniti and they kissed in the wine cellar of Lassiter's, not long before the wedding. The wedding day arrived and after a little hiccup during the vows, Paul married Lyn - only to dump her a matter of hours later, citing the fact that he couldn't be trusted to remain faithful. Not only was it Paul's shortest marriage, but one of the shortest in Neighbours' history. Lyn left on their honeymoon and deciding not to return to Ramsay St, settled in Shelley Bay.

Fifth time lucky?
After his disastrous marriage with Lyn, Paul tried his best to woo Rosetta, but she quickly realised that Frazer Yeats was her true love, whilst Paul's raunchy antics with Pepper, sickened both her and viewers alike. Then in mid 2007, Paul was diagnosed with a brain tumour and suddenly all his insane behaviour finally made sense. And after a near reconciliation with Gail, Rebecca Napier re-entered his life. You see, she and Paul has a weekend of passion whilst he worked for the airline and one must wonder if the man has any control whatsoever. Rebecca even believed that she had become pregnant with Paul's child, but when she rang to tell him, she mistook his sister Julie for his wife and vowed not to ruin his marriage. As it turned out, Oliver was not Paul's son, but romance was soon brewing between Rebecca and Paul and and she has recently set up home with him at No. 22. She is certainly different from Paul's most recent partners, not having the nagging flakiness of Lyn, the scheming deviousness of Izzy, nor the downright obscurity of his relationship with Pepper. Rebecca is a classy, confident, dependable but emotionally scarred woman. Intensely loyal to her sons and having experienced a long-running relationship with her abusive ex, will she be able to accept Paul's more ruthless qualities? Could she finally be the one to make Paul commit and have a long, successful marriage? In Neighbours, nothing is ever that easy. Mind you, Rebecca Robinson does have a nice ring to it...

Will Paul make it down the aisle again? Will lovely Rebecca Napier be the next in line? Will he finally have a marriage that will last? I do not know. But we're in no rush. Given Paul's track record it would be nice to see his relationship develop properly before he makes that commitment. Stefan Dennis himself has said that he thinks Paul and Rebecca will make a good partnership. Though he hopes that the relationship will be strung out for a long time before marriage, rather than "Just becoming another wedding." Lord knows he doesn't need many more of those. And who am I to argue with the man himself? Whether it be a few years from now, no doubt Paul will remarry and we salute the women who are brave enough to take him on. So, here's to you Mrs. Robinson, whoever she may be, may you finally prove to be a lasting love for one of Ramsay Street's most unlucky in love characters.

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