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Guest Character Profiles > Dr Gavin Bowman Cameron MacDonald

After his time in a coma left him with amnesia, Finn Kelly was kept under assessment by Dr David Tanaka, but when David was left in hospital himself after being run over by Kyle Canning, Finn's treatment was transferred to Dr Gavin Bowman. As Finn had committed several atrocious acts before an aneurysm had left him in a coma, the doctors needed to be sure that his amnesia was genuine and that the authorities would need to be informed if any of his memories resurfaced. However, once his memories did start to come back, he kept this from Dr Bowman in their regular sessions, instead plotting revenge on all of the people who he felt had done wrong by him, ultimately killing and injuring several people, before dying himself.

When David returned to work, Dr Bowman warned him that the hospital board were asking questions about whether he'd noticed any change in Finn ahead of his deadly crime spree. One of Finn's latest victims, Harlow Robinson, had just come out of a medically-induced coma and was suffering with trembling hands and legs, which David put down to her grief over her mum's death and suggested a psych evaluation with Dr Bowman. After examining Harlow, Dr Bowman explained that it was down to the barbiturates that had been used to induce her coma and she was now in withdrawal. Dr Bowman was unimpressed with David for failing to spot this, and David admitted that he was concentrating on her mental state as he still felt guilty for missing so many of the signs with Finn. Dr Bowman then told David that he should have reported his own concerns about Finn earlier as, by the time he raised them with Dr Bowman, it was too late and Finn was unable to be stopped.

A few years later, Dr Bowman was on hand to treat Haz Devkar, who had been accidentally hit by a car, then suffered a heart attack and fallen into a coma. Dr Bowman explained to Karl Kennedy and Mackenzie Hargreaves - Haz's ex-girlfriend, who had been driving the car - that there was currently no way of knowing if or when Haz would wake up and how his injuries might have affected him. Dr Bowman then showed Mackenzie to Haz's bed, where she stayed by his side, feeling guilty about the events that had led to his hospitalisation. Later, Dr Bowman returned and reported that Haz's latest brain scans were showing signs of life, which meant that there were feeling more positive about his possible recovery.

The following week, Dr Bowman spotted his colleague, Dr Remi Varga-Murphy, with an application form for the vacant position of Senior Medical Officer. He confirmed that he wasn't going to apply as it would take him away from his family too much and asked if she was planning to go for the job. She admitted that she was considering it, but there was a lot going on at home and she wasn't sure if it was the right time. Dr Bowman then surprised Remi by telling her that, if she ever wanted to talk through the pros and cons of the job, he'd be willing to have a chat with her.

When Haz's sister Amira arrived in town the following week, having been tracked down by the police, she was upset about the circumstances of her brother's hospitalisation, and Dr Bowman informed Mackenzie that Amira had requested that no other visitors be allowed to see him. As Amira and Mackenzie argued over the situation by Haz's bed, they were surprised when he suddenly woke up and Dr Bowman informed them that, although he would need some tests, his prognosis was looking good. Gavin then attended a party at the Waterhole for departing colleague Karl Kennedy. As Gavin and Karl were chatting, they spotted Remi dancing with wife Cara and Gavin made a suggestive comment about joining them, leaving Karl feeling awkward. The next day, having thought over the matter and aware that Gavin had something of a sleazy reputation, Karl decided to report the incident to HR at the hospital, feeling that Remi would still have to work with Gavin and it couldn't be ignored.

Soon after, Dex, one of Remi and Cara's two sons, was taken seriously ill after drinking some wine at the grand opening of retirement home, Eirini Rising. He collapsed and started fitting, but at the hospital, Gavin struggled to work out what was wrong. He then went off to attend an HR meeting, later confronting Karl, having learnt about the complaint that had been made against him. When Remi witnessed the heated confrontation, she asked Karl what was going on and he was forced to tell her about the comment Gavin had made at the party. As it was discovered that Dex had been drinking, and that the bottle he'd used had a needle hole in the cork, it looked like he'd been poisoned, but when Gavin returned to continue his treatment, Remi told him that they were going to get another doctor to treat Dex, as they weren't comfortable having Gavin around.

When Remi then caught Gavin looking at Dex's medical file, despite being replaced as his doctor, he made more suggestive comments and she decided to go to Medical Director Stevie Hart and report it. Gavin overheard this, and then complained to Remi that she was launching a smear campaign against him, and that women like her were always looking for something to be offended about. Remi then went to Stevie with these new remarks, and Stevie insisted that the hospital were taking all of these complaints against Gavin seriously and that she too had been a victim of his, but he was clever and always made sure that nobody else was around to hear. She then told Remi that Gavin had come to her with a theory about Dex's poisoning, which might be worth listening to. When Remi heard him out, she realised that he was right and after a few injections, Dex's health improved. Though grateful for his work, and unable to deny that he was a very good doctor, Remi told Gavin that she would never see him as a good person.

As news of the poisonings spread across Erinsborough, mainly thanks to the true crime podcast Crimesborough, Gavin relished in the attention, giving interviews to podcaster Liv Bellen amongst others. Karl's daughter, Holly, had been looking into the poisonings, worried that Leo Tanaka was being wrongly blamed for the poisoned wine. After initially wrongly believing that Liv was responsible, Holly then found a new suspect, as her dad mentioned 'incidents' at the hospital involving Gavin, and all of the attention he was receiving after making his diagnosis. Intrigued about just what had been going on at the hospital, Holly managed to get hold of her dad's ID card and accessed the hospital's records room, where she found a letter giving Gavin his final warning after all of the complaints about his behaviour.

Though she was caught by Dr Remi Varga-Murphy, Holly continued her own investigation, visiting Gavin at the hospital and claiming to be Liv's assistant, wanting a short pre-interview. When Gavin started ranting about how he wasn't allowed to say anything without offending people anymore, Holly realised how bitter he sounded, only adding to her theory that he'd been doing the poisonings, then saving people's lives, to save his job and get some positive attention. After seeing Gavin in the Lassiters complex, Holly followed him to the Community Centre, where he'd arrived early for an event, and watched as he injected poison into some of the food that had been left out for the guests. But as Holly was recording him for evidence, she knocked over a chair, alerting Gavin to her presence.

Threatening her with a syringe full of poison, Gavin then dragged Holly to his apartment, where she tried to calm him down. As she came to the realisation that he'd been drugging people so he could save their lives and avoid losing his job at the hospital, he gagged her and tied up her hands and feet, leaving her in the bath while he made plans to leave the country. The next morning, Holly refused to drink some water he offered her, but her friends and family were already growing concerned that she hadn't come home and, after hearing that Gavin disappeared from a planned fundraising event with Terese, they became even more worried. After checking with Remi at the hospital, Karl and Andrew found out that Gavin had called in sick that morning, so came up with a plan. As Gavin had been due to be presented with an accolade by the hospital that day, they decided that Remi could take it to him in person and see if she could see any signs of Holly at his place.

Gavin was suspicious of Remi's visit and, as she made small talk with him and noticed a packed bag, Holly managed to work her feet free and get out of the bathroom. Remi immediately called for help but as Andrew and Karl rushed onto the scene, Gavin grabbed Holly and the syringe, warning that he'd inject her with all of it if they didn't back off. Holly managed to kick Gavin and get free and as Andrew jumped in to stop him, Gavin ended up being injected himself. Remi was then forced to perform CPR and save his life, before he was taken to hospital and charged for his crimes.

Trivia Notes
• This character was credited as Dr Bowman in his 2020 appearance and as Dr Gavin Bowman in his 2024 appearance

Episodes Featured
8331, 9036, 9040, 9045, 9050, 9058, 9059, 9066, 9067, 9068

Biography by Steve

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