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Guest Character Profiles > Prue Brown Penny Cook

Prudence 'Prue' Brown 2007-2008, 2010
Marital Status: Graham Brown
Children: Johnny, Frazer (né George), Paul, Pauline and Ringo
Family Tree: Brown

Raising three sons, Johnny, George and Paul, in the country town of Muttatang, Prue Brown’s life was shattered when, on Christmas Day 1985, Paul drowned in the family swimming pool, at the age of 13 months. The accident was witnessed by three-year-old George, who was too young to help, but his parents were still alarmed that he had simply stood by and watched Paul drown. In the years that followed, Prue and Graham Brown had two more children, a daughter named Pauline and another son, Ringo, but Paul’s tragic death had affected them deeply and they struggled to get close to any of their children, particularly George. Unable to cope with the atmosphere in his family, George left home as a teenager and changed his name to Frazer Yeats, taking up gambling to make ends meet and having little contact with his parents or siblings.

Meanwhile, Johnny got engaged to Rosetta, the eldest daughter of the influential Cammeniti family, but things didn’t last long between them, as Rosie was being pushed into the marriage by her parents, but had no genuine feelings for Johnny. Keeping up to date with family news, Frazer heard about Rosie leaving Johnny and moving to Ramsay Street, so he took a room in the same house as her and, eventually, the pair ended up together and engaged to be married. Frazer’s younger brother Ringo, who also struggled with his parents’ lack of emotion and went to boarding school, also ended up living with Rosie and Frazer. When Frazer was paralyzed in an accident, his specialist informed him that his physical wounds had healed and he was only unable to walk due to some kind of psychiatric problem. After visiting his grandparents’ graves and then finding a small memorial to Paul, he confronted Prue about the younger brother he didn’t remember. Prue refused to talk about what had happened and Frazer accused her of always turning her back whenever a situation required any emotional investment.

A few days later, Rosie and Frazer went to Muttatang, convinced that Paul’s death might hold the key to Frazer’s psychological problems. Prue finally opened up about everything, admitting that perhaps a part of her had blamed Frazer for all those years, but it hadn’t been intentional. Thankful that they could finally be open and honest with each other, mother and son agreed to try to be closer, before heading back to Erinsborough to explain everything to Ringo, who then went back to spend a few days with his mum. Three weeks later, Prue returned to Erinsborough, with Graham and Johnny, for Frazer’s wedding to Rosie, during which he managed to walk down the aisle, with a little assistance from his friends. Though the day was a huge success and managed to heal many of the rifts in the Brown family, it ended badly when several wedding guests, amongst them Ringo, were involved in a crash, and the youngest Brown son was left in a coma.

Prue made regular visits to the hospital, and was greatly relieved when Ringo woke up, but deeply disturbed when he told her that he was in love - with Rosie's sister, Carmella, several years his senior. Prue blamed Ringo's behaviour on Frazer, who she told to snap him out of it so that he could concentrate on his recovery. However, when Ringo then found out that Carmella had lied to him, claiming that she loved him when they were trapped together during the accident, he decided that he needed to get away and took up his mum's offer to move back home for a while. Frazer, worried about his brother's state of mind, decided to join them and Prue was delighted to have two of her children to fuss over, though all three were alarmed when news filtered down to them that Carmella was pregnant. Ringo broke down and admitted that he and Carmella had done nothing more than kiss, and, over the days that followed, he and Frazer had several breakthroughs, both with each other, and with their mum. A week later, Frazer was ready to get back home to his new bride and Prue insisted that he take Ringo with him, as he needed to stand on his own two feet and she knew that she was guilty of smothering him. And so, after reminding them to visit regularly, and finally agreeing to call 'George' Frazer from now on, she bid her two sons goodbye.

Some months later, Ringo's problems, and feelings that he had no control over his life, had manifested themselves into an eating disorder. When Frazer and Rosie found out about it, they struggled to deal with what was happening, particularly as Ringo refused to admit that he even had a problem, and Frazer started to doubt that anything was seriously wrong. However, after overhearing Ringo purging in the back garden, after forcing him to sit and eat a meal, Frazer realised that he couldn't deal with this alone and called their mum. Prue arrived in Erinsborough armed with knowledge of eating disorders from the internet and told her youngest son that she wasn't going to allow this problem to continue, so he could either stay in Erinsborough and get help for it, or she'd take him back to Muttatang to do the same. Aware that he could no longer lie or deny what was going on, Ringo agreed to make an appointment with school counsellor Daniel Fitzgerald.

It wasn't long, however, before Ringo became frustrated with everyone's interference in his life, and when Daniel gave him some reading material about eating disorders, accidentally including a cartoon he'd drawn of hated teacher Helen Carr, Ringo considered photocopying it. He backed out at the last minute, but Jessica Wallace found the cartoon left in the photocopier and pasted it all over the corridors. A worried Ringo turned to his mum for advice, leaving out most of the details, and she told him to do the right thing, so, after learning that Mr Fitzgerald had owned up and could lose his job, Ringo stepped in, took the blame for the drawing and received a detention. Back at home, Prue had received a phonecall from the school and, when Ringo arrived home, she forced to him to sit down and eat two biscuits in front of her, or he could pack his bags and return to Muttatang straight away. As the days went on, Ringo started to worry Prue and Frazer as he grew more distant, then snapped at Mr Fitzgerald in the General Store. Back at home, he was surprised to find the three of them waiting for him, and he broke down, admitting that he had tried and failed to talk to girlfriend Rachel and feared the relationship was over. Daniel, Frazer and Prue encourage Ringo to open up to Rachel about his eating disorder but this only seemed to make matters worse, as Rachel couldn't find the words to talk to him, leaving Prue worried that Ringo was on a downward spiral and she might be about to watch another son die.

Soon after, Ringo overheard his mum on the phone, talking to his dad about how they would have to cancel the cruise they'd been saving for, as she couldn't leave Ringo on his own at a time like this. Realising how much she was sacrificing for him, Ringo was spurred into action, and he had Rosie draw up a legal document, promising that he would do his best to eat from now on, regardless of whether he was dumped by a girl. He presented the document to Prue, along with some suntan lotion and sea sickness tablets, but she wasn't convinced, until she later saw him about to throw a sandwich in the bin, before stopping, looking at the promises on the piece of paper and taking a bite. Happy that Ringo was finally moving in the right direction, and had Frazer and Rosie to care for him, Prue left for her cruise.

Whilst Prue and Graham were away, Rosie learnt that she was pregnant, but the happiness was short-lived when she and Frazer went for their first scan and learnt that there was no baby - it was a false pregnancy. When Frazer rang his mum with the news, she headed straight to Erinsborough to offer her support, suggesting that perhaps the couple could consider visiting Italy - where Carmella was spending time with family - to deal with their grief. Frazer was also worried about his wife, who was refusing to accept the diagnosis, claiming that she still felt pregnant and wanted a second opinion. Concerned that Rosie was just prolonging the pain, Frazer refused to indulge her, but Prue made him see that perhaps there were other issues at play, as there had been when baby Paul had died, and he should try talking to his wife before too much damage was done. When Frazer did this, Rosie admitted that she was terrified that, if there really was no baby, he wouldn't love her any more.

Having talked through their problems, Rosie agreed to go to the hospital to have the growth removed but whilst there, Frazer asked Dr Olenski if there was any chance that Rosie could still be pregnant. Though the odds were slim, Dr Olenski agreed to another scan, and Rosie and Frazer were stunned when she found a heartbeat. Prue was delighted for them, and they decided to take an extended trip to Italy after all, though they were then left with the dilemma of what to do with Ringo. Prue demanded that he return to Muttatang with her, and while they all argued, nobody noticed Ringo slipping back into his old ways, over-exercising and not eating. By the time they all realised, and then started arguing over whether Rosie and Frazer should stay, Ringo slipped off to the beach for a swim but, having barely eaten in days, almost drowned. As the search got underway, Prue started snapping at Frazer and, once the boy was found and was recovering in hospital, she made it clear that she wanted Ringo to come home as Frazer wasn't doing a very good job of looking after him. Realising that it all stemmed back to Paul's death, Frazer confronted his mum, who admitted that, deep down, she still blamed him for what had happened all those years ago.

Having pushed Frazer away, Prue tried to concentrate on bringing Ringo home to Muttatang, but it seemed that he had plans of his own, asking if he could move in with the Kennedy-Kinskis at number 28. He explained that he felt like everyone was giving up their own lives to please him, and the only thing he could control was his eating. Ringo asked Prue, Frazer and Rosie to back off and give him some space - space that he could find by living his own life, away from them. Though Frazer accepted this, Prue struggled to understand and later, during a private chat with Susan, admitted that she felt like she constantly drove her children away by smothering them, though Susan reminded her that it was never too late to heal the rifts. Later that evening, Prue was attempting to make amends, cooking a family roast, but Frazer took offence, believing that she was implying that they never ate properly, and this was to blame for Ringo's eating disorder. Later, after a meal eaten in silence, Frazer confronted his mum, who finally agreed that, on some level, she would always blame him for what happened to Paul and so, Frazer told her that she was no longer a part of his life.

The next day, Prue was all packed to leave, but agreed to stay for the party being thrown for Ringo's 18th. Fortunately, things then took a positive turn for the Brown family, as Ringo made a speech to his gathered family and friends, explaining that he'd been hiding his eating disorder but needed everyone to know so that he could start to beat it and move on from it. Impressed, Frazer and Prue realised that perhaps he could stand on his own two feet and, looking to make things up, Rosie and Frazer offered Prue a lift home to Muttatang and gave her the money to come and visit them in Italy, once the baby came along.

A couple of years later, Prue returned to Erinsborough as Ringo prepared to marry his girlfriend, Donna Freedman. Her early arrival meant that she ended up interrupting Ringo's exploits with a stripper at his bucks night, then found Donna dressed in her wedding night lingerie - and got a garter thrown in her face as she walked in the door! In an attempt to impress her future mother-in-law, Donna spent the next day in a more homely outfit, presenting morning tea with scones and jam, but couldn't keep the pretence up for long, telling Prue that she'd be marrying her son, whether she liked it or not. Thankfully, Prue was happy to see the real Donna, the one that Ringo had fallen in love with, and they swapped the tea for cocktails and got to know each other better. Meanwhile, there was an immediate clash when Prue met Donna's father, Leigh 'Nick' Nixon and, determined to sort it out, Donna went to Prue's hotel room, only to find that her dad and Prue had certainly patched things up - and things had gone quite a lot further. Donna was shocked to hear that Ringo's parents' marriage was in name only, and Prue asked Donna not to say anything until she'd had a chance to speak to her son. After all the dramas, Ringo and Donna's wedding day finally arrived and was a beautiful occasion, with Prue delighted to see her youngest son tie the knot. But it was to be a tragically short marriage, as Ringo was run over and killed just five weeks later, with the funeral taking place in Muttatang.

Biography by Steve

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