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Character Profiles > Taj Coppin Jaime Robbie Reyne

Taj Coppin 2002-2004
Lived: 28, 30 Ramsay Street
Born: 1985
Siblings: Tahnee
Family Tree: Coppin
Occupation: Student, Lassiter's Restaurant Staff, Swimming Instructor

The Erinsborough High hunk and captain of the football team, Taj first caught the eye of Nina Tucker when she began receiving mysterious text messages. Nina was surprised to learn from Michelle that his sister was Tahnee Coppin. The two siblings couldn't be more different. While Tahnee is the school bitch, Taj is friendly and chilled-out, without a bad word to say about anyone.

After she received a text message only moments after seeing Taj in the coffee shop, Nina decided to confront him. However, in a crowded corridor full of his mates, Taj denied being Nina's secret admirer, but they decided to go out on a date anyway. After spending a little time together, Nina was happy to be receiving attention from someone like Taj, but was still receiving the texts on her phone. When she got a message asking to meet her at the rotunda, Taj agreed to accompany her and watch from the bushes. As Nina waited, she was surprised to see Taj coming towards her with a picnic hamper. He revealed that he'd been the one sending the messages all along and she was thrilled. They decided to move things along by going away to the beach with the rest of the gang at the end of the school term.

When they arrived at the beach, Taj realised that something was bothering Nina. After speaking to her, he found out that Tahnee had told Michelle that he already had a girlfriend. Taj explained to Nina that he had dated a girl called Allie for a year before she moved to Perth a few months ago. Although they hadn't officially split up, they certainly weren't together anymore. Nina was quite worried, but eventually his assurances convinced her and they enjoyed the rest of their holiday.

Upon their return to Erinsborough, Taj got himself involved in the community play with Nina - building props. He failed to notice the building romantic tension between his girlfriend and Jack Scully. Things became strained between Taj and Nina when Taj announced that his ex-girlfriend Allie Corbett would be returning from Perth and staying with the Coppins for a while. After meeting Allie, Nina accepted that things were over between Taj and his ex. Taj was still worried though and eventually sorted things out with Allie, telling her that they would always be best mates.

Taj confided in Jack that he could have gotten back with Allie if he'd wanted to, but he really did love Nina. Taj also encouraged his friend to join the local soccer squad, although ended up accepting him as a coach. Taj failed to pick up on any of the tension that Jack was exhibiting and after a disagreement at the end of their first match, the two boys had a fight. Taj was left more confused than ever about his mate's strange moods.

Taj thought that his relationship with Nina was going from strength to strength and he secretly bought her a ring - but was surprised when she couldn't accept it. While Lori was beginning to notice her friends' strange behaviour, Taj remained completely oblivious to his girlfriend cheating on him and went about his day-to-day life, even helping to coach Karl at football. Taj was shocked, however, when Nina suddenly dumped him, giving little explanation. Relying on his friend Lori for support, the pair were messing around when an accident at the local swimming pool resulted in Lori becoming paralysed. Taj felt terrible about the incident and when Jack blamed him at the hospital, Taj began avoiding his old set of friends.

After becoming more and more distanced from his old friends, Taj marched into the pub with a fake ID, but hadn't reckoned on student teacher Libby being there. Taj informed her that he was quitting school, something she quickly managed to talk him out of. She suggested he get counselling, something his footie team-mates began to tease him about, leading to Taj being in yet another fight. After receiving a detention with Nina, who had tried to break up the fight, the pair started to talk again. Their relationship was further aided when Taj scored a job at Lassiters, working alongside a newly promoted Nina in the restaurant.

After finally talking to Lori and patching things up over recent events, the two of them began spending more and more time together. Lori was worried that Taj was attracted to her, but he insisted they were just friends. Taj also managed to patch things up with Jack, as they started coaching the girls' junior soccer team together. Meanwhile, with all the recent events, Taj's grades had begun to suffer and Susan warned him that things would really need to start picking up. After her recent support, Taj turned to Libby for some help with tutoring and she was happy to oblige. As time went on, they spent more and more time together, with Taj finding any excuse to call in on her and discuss literature. When Libby scored some casual teaching work at Erinsborough High, it quickly became clear that Taj saw her as more than just a friend and tutor.

As Taj found more and more ways to spend time with Libby, he was horrified to realise that she had started dating Cameron Hodder, the new doctor at Karl's practice. When Taj scored a job teaching swimming for infants at the local pool, he convinced Libby to put Ben in the class. He also got closer to Libby as she helped him with his media studies project and then he sent her flowers when she scored a teaching job at Erinsborough High. When he found out that Libby had called things off with Cameron, he realised he was still in with a chance. After sitting together in the editing suite discussing Taj's presentation, he suddenly leaned over and kissed her.

After this, Libby made it very clear that the relationship could never be more than teacher and student, but Taj failed to listen to this and continued to believe that they had a future. Even after a stern warning from Susan, Taj made sure he was never far away from Libby, in the hope that she would come round. On his 18th birthday, he found out that Libby and Steph were going to the club, Radiation and dragged Jack there too. Taj's patience was to pay off, however, when, after Dee's shocking disappearance, Libby needed a shoulder to cry on and there he was. After walking her home, they had a chat on the doorstep and she admitted that she didn't want to go inside, so he offered her a room at his home. She was moved by his kindness and in her grief, she kissed him and they later slept together. Taj was thrilled with this development, but was upset when Libby began to avoid him. After confronting her, he didn't realise that Boyd and his friend, Daniel had overheard the conversation and were already spreading it around the school.

With the news all around Erinsborough and her career in tatters, Libby fled to the country to stay with her grandfather and Taj was left wondering where all this left him. After getting Jack to blag the details from Steph, Taj went to the country to see Libby and try to work out what was happening between them. However, upon arriving at Grandpa Tom’s home, Taj watched from afar as Libby played with Ben in the garden and began to realise that he could never be a part of that picture. He left her a note and caught a ride back with a girl named Sophie. She agreed to have a coffee with him and their conversation made Taj realise that maybe he should try to move on from Libby as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Taj’s next girlfriend was completely different to Libby. After meeting Edwina through Jack, the pair started dating but Taj made sure to do things differently this time. They spent a lot of time talking and getting to know each other before moving things on, but Edwina threw a spanner in the works when she admitted that she’d slept with Jack. Taj found this very difficult to accept and, after attending a party where it seemed she’d slept with most of the guests, he ended things between them. As things seemed to be going so badly, Taj found himself listening to Stuart, who had recently joined a group called Life Mechanics, designed to help people regain control of their lives. After a couple of meetings, Taj got friendly with the organiser, Jonathan Verne, and found himself ‘donating’ money at one of the meetings…

After a while, Taj began to question the ideas behind Life Mechanics. He watched Stuart donate more and more money and decided that he couldn’t be a part of it any longer. During one of the meetings, he refused to go along with what Jonathan Verne was saying to him and he got up and walked out, trying, but failing, to convince Stu to go with him. As a result, Stuart asked him to move out of number 30, where he’d been staying since his parents moved interstate. With his exams looming, Susan offered him a room at the Kennedy house. Karl wasn’t thrilled when he found out and tried to talk Susan out of it, but before long, Taj was moving in. Things became awkward when Taj caught Karl sneaking a drink. Taj explained that his father used to drink, and that he recognised the signs. Taj also picked up on the marital problems between the Kennedys and that Karl was lying to Susan about his drinking habits. In the end, Karl told Susan that he simply wasn’t comfortable having Taj in the house.

With Stuart having moved out after an argument over Life Mechanics, Taj returned to number 30. With his exams almost upon him, he turned to Toadie and Connor to help him prepare. Unfortunately, he found it difficult to concentrate with all the upheaval and he and Jack decided to get some copies of the exam papers from an old mate of Taj’s. They both claimed that they couldn’t go through with using them and carried on as normal. However, a few weeks later, the Erinsborough News broke a story about stolen exam papers and the boys were worried that they’d be dobbed in. Taj was enormously relieved when his mate, Peter, said he wouldn’t be giving their names to the authorities. When the exam results came in, Taj had scored in the top three percent of the school, and Toadie immediately became suspicious, as he’d witnessed how little study his mate had done.

Toadie confronted Taj, who took offence at the accusation that he’d cheated, but when Toadie then apologised, Taj couldn’t live with the guilt. He admitted that he’d cheated and decided that he’d have to own up to his proud parents. He went home for the Christmas holidays, but with everyone telling him how proud they were, he simply couldn’t admit the truth. Returning to Erinsborough, he admitted to Toadie and Stuart that he couldn’t carry on with the burden and he decided to phone the authorities and own up to his part in the scam. He then phoned the film school that he’d been accepted to and withdrew from his place there. Although he felt better, as the day went on, he began to realise that all his dreams were disappearing in front of him. When he mentioned to Toadie and Stu that film-maker Sam Tinselman was booked in at the hotel, they hatched a plan to get Taj’s work noticed. They rigged up the tv in Sam’s room to show Taj’s video on poverty in the Third World instead of the film Tootsie. Unfortunately, the film ended up being shown on every tv in the hotel and Taj was given the sack. His final task of the day was to give a new key to a woman who had lost hers. It turned out she was Sam Tinselman and had seen the film. Taj was amazed when she offered him a job as a runner on a film she was working on in Sydney and that evening, he broke the news to his shocked housemates, before leaving Erinsborough for good.

Tenure
4143-4400

Biography by Steve

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