.
Guest Character Profiles > Kirsten Gannon Nikola Dubois

Growing up in Oakey, Kirsten Gannon fell pregnant after sleeping with boyfriend Ned Parker at their year 10 formal. Soon after, her parents died and she was taken in by her grandparents, who helped to look after her and her baby boy, Michael. When Mickey was eight years old, Kirsten’s grandparents both passed away and she slowly began to realise that she couldn’t cope on her own. Kirsten returned to Oakey to look for Ned and, after getting his address in Erinsborough from his brother, Stuart, she went to pay him a visit. After explaining everything, Kirsten introduced a shell-shocked Ned to his son, before announcing that she needed some time alone, to grieve for her grandparents, and would return to collect Mickey in a few days. Unable to contact Kirsten, Ned was unsure if she really was coming back, but she kept to her word and returned a few days later. However, her return was brief and, after taking Mickey to the park for the day, she explained to Ned that she needed more time to get herself together and, for the time being, it was Ned’s turn to care for their son.

A couple of months later, Kirsten was back in Erinsborough, unsettled to hear that Mickey was now living with Ned and his girlfriend, Janae Timmins. Worried that she might lose him completely, she visited lawyer Toadie Rebecchi, who tried to explain to her that the courts would probably give temporary residency to Ned, since Mickey was now settled with him, but when Kirsten found out that Toadie was a good friend of Ned's, she warned him that he couldn't break the lawyer-client confidentiality, or she would sue him. Realising that Kirsten might be about to snatch her son back, Toadie tried to get a message to Ned but failed to get there in time, and Kirsten was already telling Mickey that they were going to be leaving Erinsborough, to go on a little adventure.

As Ned and Janae arrived home, Toadie's girlfriend Steph turned up to warn them of Kirsten's intentions, but they were all surprised to find Mickey at the house, as he'd come back to collect his dog, Jake. Ned headed down the street, where Kirsten was waiting, and she assured him that she had no intention to snatch her son away, so naive Ned agreed to mother and son going off for a drive together, but returning home for dinner. As Ned watched Kirsten and Mickey drive away, Janae ran out to join him, having learnt that Kirsten had a flat and job in Adelaide and was planning to return there. But, as Mickey became concerned as they got further and further from home, Kirsten had a change of heart and realised that she couldn't take him under those circumstances, so they returned to Ramsay Street. She had another trick up her sleeve, and, after speaking to lawyer Tim Collins, Kirsten got some time alone with Mickey at the park and mentioned to him that Ned wouldn't really miss him that much, as he had Janae, whereas she had nobody and would be lonely on her own. Swayed by this, Mickey announced to his dad that he wanted to go and live in Adelaide, but after spending the day saying goodbye to his friends in Erinsborough, Mickey was confused to see both Ned and Janae crying. He told Janae what Kirsten had said to him, and before Kirsten knew what was happening, Ned had announced that she clearly didn't have her son's best interests at heart and that his son would be staying with him.

Kirsten wasn't quite prepared to give up that easily, however, and arranged a birthday party for him in the park. When she noticed that Ned seemed to have forgotten his son's big day, she mentioned it to Tim, who encouraged her not to say anything, as it would be a much-needed black mark against Ned and Janae. As Ned arrived at the park with Mickey, he quickly realised his mistake, but luckily Janae had noticed the date in her diary, and arrived laden with gifts just in time. Still looking for something to hold against Ned, Tim then turned his attentions to Janae, realising that her short temper might help them out. Kirsten easily managed to provoke Janae, saying that Mickey would always be her bond with Ned and that Janae was nothing but a criminal, like the rest of her family. Janae snapped and threw a glass of water over Kirsten and it got worse when Mickey found out, and turned on Ned and Janae, telling them that he hated them, only hours before they were all due at the hospital, to see the family court psychologist for an assessment of Mickey's temporary custody.

The morning meeting with family court psychologist Paula Beeman went well and Kirsten was in good spirits as she met Tim for lunch. Unfortunately, as she thanked him for all of his help, she misread the situation and tried to kiss him, only to be rejected. Back at the hospital, things got worse when Kirsten learnt that Mickey had decided that he'd rather stay with Ned and Janae, and that Paula would be suggesting them for custody, with shared access. Left alone with Mickey for a moment, Kirsten finally snapped and ran from the hospital with him. Whilst waiting at some roadworks, Kirsten realised that Ned and Janae weren't far behind, and ended up running a red light to get away from them, before heading to a travel agent, where she booked bus tickets to Brisbane. Mickey managed to get word back to Ned and Janae about where he was and, before long, they were at the bus station, where Mickey begged his mum to change her mind, as he wanted to stay in Erinsborough, with his dad and Janae and his new friends. Kirsten broke down, realising that she'd gone too far and later apologised to everyone. She decided that she needed some time to sort her head out and so would return to Adelaide for a while, before making a permanent move to Erinsborough, so that she could still be close to her little boy.

Some weeks later, with a job finalised and a room at a friend's place, Kirsten returned to Erinsborough, immediately causing trouble by turning up a few days early, before Ned had had a chance to inform Janae. Immediately threatened, but desperate to make the situation work as Kirsten ingratiated herself with the Parkers, Janae quickly managed to help when Kirsten's job fell through, by finding her a job at Charlie's bar. Though Kirsten was grateful, she soon became upset as she realised that Ned and Janae no longer trusted her to be alone with Mickey, after what had happened last time she was in town, and she'd have to work hard to win their trust back. Annoyed by their attitude, she started talking to Tim Collins about reopening the custody case and later, as she picked up Mickey from cricket training, Janae spotted them and mistakenly believed that Kirsten had again kidnapped her son. Janae contacted the police, before Ned came home and explained that he'd given Kirsten permission to collect Mickey, but had forgotten to mention it to Janae. When Kirsten then found out that Mickey had been trapped in a chest a few weeks earlier during a game of hide and seek that had gone wrong, and Janae had told him not to say anything to his mum, she was furious. When Kirsten then demanded equal access to her son, and said that Janae teaching him to lie was demonstrating bad behaviour, Ned pointed out that her kidnapping and manipulation were hardly positive traits and warned her that he wasn't going to give in to her demands.

Meanwhile, having found herself regular work at the bar, and a flat of her own, Kirsten invested in some furniture so that Mickey could have his own room, but struggled to put the flat-packed pieces together, asking Ned to stop by and help. As the pair reminisced about growing up in Oakey, spurred on by the upcoming high school reunion, Kirsten started flirting with Ned, and Janae, who had come by to see why Ned was taking so long, overheard. Later on, Janae visited Kirsten alone and asked her if she was planning to try and win Ned back. Kirsten admitted that she still had feelings for Ned, but assured Janae, somewhat half-heartedly, that she would never act on those feelings as long as he was already in another relationship. Janae struggled to take that as any kind of reassurance, particularly when, due to work commitments, she was forced to stay in Erinsborough, while Kirsten headed off to Oakey with Ned and the rest of the Parkers. In Oakey, Kirsten and Ned quickly found themselves the targets of gossip as many old friends believed that their arrival together was proof that they were finally a proper couple. That evening, they were making their way to the reunion when his car ran out of petrol on a back road and, as they talked about old times, Kirsten leaned in and kissed Ned, much to his horror. When they finally arrived at the reunion, Ned was shocked to find Janae had changed her mind and flown up to Queensland to be there, while he and Kirsten were ushered onto the stage and crowned as king and queen of the event. Believing that she'd been taken for a fool, Janae ended up pushing Kirsten into a drinks table.

Back in Erinsborough, Kirsten kept her distance as Christmas approached, but realised that Ned and Janae were having problems moving on. As she walked home one evening, Kirsten saw lights on at the garage and could hear someone crying inside, but when she got to the window, she spotted Janae in a clinch with another man. Janae spotted Kirsten running off and realised what had happened, but things took an unexpected turn when word came through that the roof had collapsed at a rave being held illegally in a warehouse, and many local teens, including Mickey's cousins Riley and Bridget were trapped. As Janae waited for news, Kirsten pestered her with text messages, telling her that they needed to talk, and eventually Janae went to see her. Kirsten warned Janae that if she didn't admit everything to Ned, then she'd do it herself. Realising that the revelation would not only destory her and Ned's relationship, but also that of Darren, the guy she's impulsively kissed, and his girlfriend Libby, Janae tried to make Kirsten see sense. Kirsten, however, saw a chance to manipulate things and announced to Ned that she'd be taking Mickey for a holiday in Queensland, with Janae given little choice but to support her over Ned. However, once Ned and Mickey were out of the room, an argument broke out, only for Ned to suddenly return and hear the end of it, leaving Janae with no choice but to confess that she kissed someone else. Upset by all of the lying that had been going on around him, Ned angrily put a ban on Mickey's trip up north with his mum, and as a result, Mickey ran away, turning up at Kirsten's. As Kirsten returned Mickey home, she was clearly relishing seeing Ned and Janae's relationship in turmoil.

Magic Moments
Episode 5237: Kirsten's Arrival

Biography by Steve

Back