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Character Profiles > Susan Cole Gloria Ajenstat

Born and raised on her parents' dairy farm a few miles from Coff's Harbour, New South Wales, Susan Cole had to be taken out of her private boarding school at 16 by her parents, Merle and Cappy, due to the recession. Susan then spent her days helping around the farm and learning housekeeping skills from her mother, Merle. But her older brother Kevin, who was married with three children, convinced her that she should set her sights beyond the family farm. He paid for Susan to do a business course in bookkeeping and typing and it paid off when Susan landed a job in Fred and Madge Mitchell's hardware shop in Coff's Harbour helping to run the office. It was Fred who had hired Susan and before long, she fell in love with him and they began having an affair. Madge caught the pair in a passionate embrace at the store one night and left Fred to return to her family in Ramsay Street, Erinsborough.

Susan's relationship with Fred was strained after Susan discovered she was pregnant with Fred's child. Susan gave birth to a baby boy, Frederick Samuel, but not wanting the responsibility of more children, Fred ended their relationship and left town. Left with nothing, Susan headed for Erinsborough to see Fred's daughter, Charlene, who she had been quite close to in Coff's Harbour. When Susan suffered from an infection and had to be hospitalised for a time, it was Charlene she called to help. Charlene decided to take baby Sam home herself rather than see him being put into care while Susan was ill. But she knew Madge would never let Sam stay if she knew he was the product of Fred's affair with Susan. So instead, Charlene passed off the child as her own, claiming she had given birth to him while she was still living up in Coff's Harbour. Madge went on to accept Sam as her grandson and doted on the child but was shocked and hurt when Susan arrived in Ramsay Street looking for him. A blazing argument erupted between the two women, resulting in the sick Susan collapsing in Madge's living room. Madge reluctantly agreed to let her stay the night and after realising that Fred had betrayed baby Sam and Susan, just like he had with her, she agreed to let the two stay at No. 24 until Susan recovered from her illness.

After her recovery, zany Clive Gibbons offered Susan a room at his house, No. 22, next door and she accepted. She also landed a job as Paul Robinson's secretary at the Daniels Corporation. Susan and Paul began an affair much to the dismay of Clive, who had fallen in love with Susan. Oblivious to his secret love for her, Susan happily agreed to pose as Clive's wife when his Uncle Ted came to stay at No. 22 in order to make Clive appear a happily married man. The plan failed though when Ted caught Susan kissing Paul and Clive was forced to come clean with his uncle.

After Paul finished with Susan, she realised how much Clive loved her and little Sam and she started seeing him. While out walking Sam in his pram one day, Clive shocked Susan when he pulled out an engagement ring and proposed to her. As Susan agreed to marry him and accept the ring, she let go of Sam's pram and it began to roll down the street and into the path of oncoming traffic. Approaching in Scott Robinson's new car were Scott, Paul and Mike Young who had to swerve to avoid hitting Sam, who was then recovered by a hysterical Susan.

As the wedding plans got underway, Susan began to realise that she didn't truly love Clive and that she was only marrying him for the security. She decided it would be best to leave him before making the mistake of committing to marriage. And so, she took little Sam, leaving Clive a note of apology explaining why she was leaving but not telling him where she was going. However, she did get in touch with Charlene, asking her to retrieve Sam's favourite teddy, which had been left at number 22 in the rush. When Clive caught Charlene there, he begged her to let him know where Susan was. Charlene managed to arrange a meeting between the two of them and so, Susan met Clive at Lassiter's and apologised for the way she'd treated him, before flying home to Coff's Harbour that afternoon.

Trivia Notes
• Gloria Ajenstat previously appeared as Nurse Laurie Stevens in 1985

Tenure
316-413

Magic Moments
Episode 413: Susan's Departure

Biography by Moe