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Guest Character Profiles > Britney Barnes Montana Cox

When Nicolette Stone disappeared from Erinsborough, heavily pregnant with a child she'd planned to co-parent with married couple Aaron Brennan and David Tanaka, she had met another pregnant woman during her last antenatal class - Britney Barnes. Britney had arrived in Erinsborough to tell David's brother, Leo, that, following their brief, tumultuous relationship in New York, she was pregnant with his child, and, with Nicolette and Britney wrongly believing that Leo had slept with Nic's girlfriend, Chloe Brennan, she persuaded Britney that there was no point in either of them staying. They went to Canberra together, where Britney soon gave birth to a daughter, Abigail. Not long after, Nicolette also gave birth, to a little girl named Isla. With Britney suffering from post-natal depression and struggling to bond with her daughter, Nicolette came up with a plan, when David's father Paul tracked her down. Nicolette agreed to hand over baby Isla for one million dollars, but actually ended up giving him baby Abigail. Nicolette then gave the money to Britney, who soon regretted her decision and ended up going to Erinsborough. After spending a few days watching David and Aaron with the baby they believed to be Isla, she snatched back her daughter from their car one evening.

When Britney was tracked down, insisting that she was the baby's mum, Nicolette returned to Erinsborough and explained everything, leaving Leo stunned that he was a father, while David and Aaron struggled to comprehend that they'd been raising someone else's child. Britney apologised to Leo for the way she'd handled things, admitting that giving the baby away was the biggest mistake she'd ever made, but reminding him that he'd constantly rejected any of her attempts to talk to him after their relationship ended and that, the last time they'd spoken, he'd falsely led her to believe that he was moving on with Chloe. As they attempted to find a way forward, Britney and Leo agreed to try to be friends for Abigail's sake, though with her agreeing to pay Paul back his million dollars, as well as struggling to bond with her baby, the tension built up. When Leo then tried to arrange a nannying agency to help Britney, she took offence at the implication that she couldn't cope and was upset that he'd been telling the nanny agency about her problems. As a fight broke out and Leo stormed off to work, Britney confided in Leo's stepmother Terese Willis that, if the arguments were going to continue, she might be better off raising Abigail on her own. As the arguments only continued, Terese then offered to look after Abigail while Leo and Britney went for a walk to talk things through rather than constantly sniping at each other. As Leo tried to persuade Britney to stay in Erinsborough and accept the support of his friends and family, Terese was forced to go into work, leaving baby Abigail with David and Aaron, aware that Britney would be unhappy about it. When Britney returned home and found them, she was furious and threw them out of the house, telling Leo that she would never be able to bond with Abigail when they were around.

Knowing that Aaron and David would always see Abigail as their daughter if they were living just across the street, Britney suggested that she, Leo and the baby could go back to New York. Whilst Leo understood Britney's reasons for wanting a fresh start, and didn't want to lose contact with his daughter by disagreeing with her, he suggested that Wollongong, where her parents lived, might be a better compromise. Britney agreed and she, Abigail and Leo then headed off to New South Wales.

With Leo making regular trips to Erinsborough for work, he'd planned to fly down to Wollongong for Christmas with Britney and Abigail, but David suggested that maybe Britney might like to join them in Erinsborough instead. Leo was surprised when Britney happily agreed to the idea and when she arrived, everyone was happy to see how much more relaxed she was, enjoying her time as a mum. As Nicolette noticed the way Britney was looking at Leo, she wasn't surprised when Britney then decided to stick around for a few weeks and stay with him at Paul's penthouse. She admitted to Nicolette that her time with Leo in Wollongong had reignited her feelings for him and she had realised that it hadn't all been bad times and arguments between them, but she'd come back to Erinsborough to see if she could also get along easily with his family. As she made fresh starts with Aaron, David and Paul, Britney began to think seriously about a future as a family with Leo and Abigail. Unsure of whether Leo felt the same way, Britney started helping him out at the vineyard, suggesting a ladies' lunch to find investors in Leo's new gin and helping to promote it on social media, hopeful that it would remind Leo of what a great team they used to be.

With Britney still struggling to tell Leo about her feelings, Nicolette pushed her to be honest with Leo, but this proved to be easier said than done, as she struggled to find the right moment without any interruptions. As she was beginning to worry that maybe Leo didn't see any chemistry between them any more, Britney was happy when he invited her to join him at Kyle Canning and Roxy Willis's wedding, taking this as a positive sign for their future and deciding that a wedding might be the perfect place to tell him how she felt. As the wedding day arrived, Nicolette accidentally told Leo about Britney's feelings towards him, finally giving him the push to track her down and tell her that he felt the same way. The happy couple kissed, but the happiness was only set to last for a few hours as a storm hit Erinsborough, causing a power pylon to come crashing down on the Flamingo Bar, where many of the wedding guests were partying. Britney was killed as she tried to protect her baby daughter, and her friends in Erinsborough came together for a memorial service, also attended by Britney's parents, who took half of her ashes back to Wollongong, where another memorial service was held and the ashes were scattered on her favourite beach.

Episodes Featured
8699, 8702, 8703, 8704, 8705, 8706, 8707, 8710, 8711, 8750, 8751, 8754, 8757, 8759, 8760, 8761, 8763, 8764

Biography by Steve

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