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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > Barry Burke David Whiteley

An associate of dangerous jewel thief Kev Kelly, Barry Burke was sent by Kev to track down Larry ‘Woody’ Woodhouse, the main witness in a trial against him. Along with Johnny Otten, Barry tracked Woody down to Carpenters Mechanics, a garage in Erinsborough, where he’d been working. After dunking Woody’s head in a tank of water, he warned him not to testify, threatening to hurt not only Woody, but also Woody’s girlfriend Steph Scully, and her family, who Woody had been staying with. Woody, however, paid no attention to their threats and decided to testify in court the following week. However, as the intimidation got worse, and the Scully family found themselves being followed and having bricks thrown through their windows, it was decided that Woody should go into witness protection, and he bade Steph a painful farewell.

After a few weeks, Steph realised that she couldn’t live without Woody and started secretly trying to contact him, all the while being watched by Barry Burke. When Steph set off on her motorbike one day to meet up with Woody, she quickly realised that she was being followed and attempted to shake off Barry by disappearing into think bushland. It didn’t stop Barry and he gave chase, almost catching her, until she found a road and stopped a passing motorist, Freddy Valentine.

In the weeks that followed, Steph and Woody were reunited and decided to start a new life together, far away from Erinsborough, in Western Australia. However, as they were driving away, they were once again followed by Barry and, when they stopped at a service station, he took the opportunity to pounce. As Steph got food, Barry jumped into the passenger seat and told Woody to drive. A confused Steph saw the car speeding away and, at first, thought it was a joke, until she watched the vehicle crash and explode in the distance. Both driver and passenger were assumed dead, though it was later revealed that Woody had escaped and gone into hiding until news of Kev Kelly’s death broke.

Notes: David Whiteley previously appeared in 1994 as Dr. Jack Chang, in 1996 and 1998 as Erinsborough News editor Jeff Reiner, in 1997 as Sven Jorgensen and returned in 2005 as Steve Chisholm.

Biography by Steve

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