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Character Profiles > Clive Gibbons Geoff Paine

Dr. Clive Archibald Gibbons 1986-1987, 1989, 2017-
Lived: 22 Ramsay Street
Parents: Charles Gibbons
Siblings: Graham and Claire
Family Tree: Gibbons
Occupation: Doctor, Entrepreneur, COO of Erinsborough Hospital

Eccentric Clive Gibbons caused problems for Max Ramsay when he moved in No 22 Ramsay Street in 1986. Clive was running a gorillagram agency from the house and Max did not like that sort of carry on in 'his' street. They clashed right from the first time they met but Clive's zany approach to life and his caring nature ensured he won over all the other residents of Ramsay Street. When her engagement to Des Clarke fell apart, Clive invited Daphne Lawrence to move into one of his spare rooms. Clive was delighted to have company in what Max always referred to as the 'Ape House' and he and Daphne were joined there briefly by Daphne's best friend, Zoe Davis and then by one of Daphne's employees, Mike Young, who was escaping from his abusive father.

As well as his gorillagram service, Clive joined forces with Max's eldest son, Shane, to form a gardening service called RAGGS (Ramsay and Gibbons Gardening Service). But Clive's true profession was revealed when he saved Max from choking, and his medical skills were tested again when young Lucy Robinson's was stung by a bee on the neck and couldn't breathe. With only a pen and the Robinsons' kitchen table, Clive performed a tracheotomy on Lucy, saving her life, and it was revealed that Clive had quit medicine when he made a medical error which had led to the death of his girlfriend, Linda.

Pressure was put on Clive to start up his practice again when his brother Graham - also a GP - visited with his wife, Kate and daughter Vicki. As Graham settled in Erinsborough, Clive realised that his brother would continue to badger him about returning to medicine until he admitted to Graham the truth behind Linda's death. This still did not stop Graham persevering with his brother until Clive finally agreed to try again as a doctor. The Gibbons' faced more problems when young Vicki witnessed a robber at No. 22 one day while everyone was out. The burglar threatened to kill Graham and Kate if Vicki said she had seen him and little Vicki was left terrified by the experience. When Clive and Graham finally caught the man, Graham decided to move the family back to the peace and quiet of the country and they left Clive at No. 22.

Whilst Graham and his family had been staying with him, Clive had also received a visit from Louise, the sister of his dead girlfriend, Linda. Louise's strong resemblance to Linda had been difficult for Clive at first, but the pair had soon bonded, though Louise stopped things from going any further, explaining that she had a boyfriend called Nick back in England. Clive was upset, and Louise was left confused, finally admitting that she and Nick had actually split up two months earlier, but she was just wasn't ready for another relationship yet - especially when they were both so clearly on the rebound. She then broke Clive's heart by leaving suddenly to return to England.

Clive wasn't alone in the house for long, however. He had befriended young mother Susan Cole when she arrived in Erinsborough and when she needed a place to live, Clive offered her lodgings at No. 22. Clive doted on her baby, Sam, and slowly began to fall in love with Susan. But she had fallen for the charms of her boss at The Daniels Corporation where she worked as a secretary, Paul Robinson. Susan and Paul embarked on a passionate fling, much to Clive's dismay. But when his Uncle Ted came to visit, Clive asked Susan to pose as his wife in order for Clive to project an image of being a successful family man to his uncle. Although reluctant, Susan agreed and for those few days, it seemed to Clive as if all his dreams had been realised. But he was soon brought back to reality when Ted saw Susan kissing Paul and confronted Clive about his 'unfaithful wife'. Clive was forced to come clean to Ted and it was back to reality for him as Susan continued her relationship with Paul.

When Paul rejected her, a jilted Susan was comforted by Clive and he admitted he loved her. Desperately longing for some kind of stability for her and Sam, Susan accepted a marriage proposal from Clive. As Clive threw himself into wedding preparations and plans for his future with Susan and Sam, Susan came to realise that she didn't love Clive in the same way that he loved her and she left Erinsborough with little Sam. Clive dipped into a deep depression after this and took his anger out on Paul, who he was convinced Susan still had strong feelings for. Although he eventually bounced back, thanks to the love and support of all his many friends in the street, he decided to make a fresh start and move into the flat behind his surgery. And so, Clive left Ramsay Street behind, although he kept in touch with his friends over the years - even lending his beloved car, Bertha, to Scott and Charlene Robinson for their honeymoon.

Clive made a brief return visit to the area in 1989 when he stayed at the Clarkes' and struck up a friendship with madcap Melanie Pearson, as well as catching the eye of Harold Bishop's daughter, Kerry. He also ironically gave old love rival Paul a shoulder to cry on following the breakdown of his marriage. Then Clive got a call from Graham who had been injured in an accident and needed someone to run his surgery for a time in the country. Never one to refuse a challenge, Clive bid farewell to Ramsay Street once more for a fresh start in the outback.

It was almost thirty years before Clive returned to Erinsborough. In the intervening years, he had married and had children but with the kids grown and being newly divorced, Clive returned to town to become Chief Operating Officer at Erinsborough Hospital. A lot had changed in the area while he had been away but his one-time love rival Paul was still around and Clive reunited with him for a drink at The Waterhole shortly after he had resettled.

Clive was kept busy with ambitious expansion plans at the hospital including a new spinal unit, a groundbreaking immunotherapy clinical trial, and a brand new wing. The latter was funded largely by Paul, who insisted on naming it. Clive was initially wary of allowing Paul to have naming rights but it was hard to argue with ‘The Helen Daniels Memorial Wing’ in remembrance of Paul’s gran and Clive’s onetime neighbour. Clive was also indirectly involved in the quest by David Tanaka, a young doctor at the hospital, and his twin brother, Leo, to find their real father, who eventually turned out to be Paul. David and Leo asked Clive to investigate if the person they initially suspected, Hiro Udagawa, was their father by delving into the hospital records at the Western Sydney hospital where the Tanakas were born and Clive had previously worked. Although Clive found nothing, Jasmine Udagawa offered him a sizeable donation towards the new spinal unit if he stopped digging around. Clive agreed and took the money towards the hospital but confided to Paul that he felt bad by allowing the Udagawas to think the money had put a halt to his research.

Meanwhile, Clive was smitten when he met barmaid Sheila Canning, who managed The Waterhole and now lived in the old Robinson house on Ramsay Street. They initially got off on the wrong foot as Sheila suspected her daughter-in-law Brooke of being in a relationship with Clive and talked him out of giving her a job at the hospital by revealing her shady past. They next crossed paths when Sheila’s granddaughter Xanthe did work experience at Erinsborough Hospital and Clive was charmed by Sheila turning up to keep an eye on her granddaughter on her first day. Clive surprised Sheila by asking her to join him for lunch at the hospital canteen but her excitement turned to anger when Clive sent Xanthe home after she reacted badly to being falsely accused of taking medical supplies from the hospital. Sheila angrily confronted Clive in full view of the hospital staff and he took a turn off her. A few weeks later, Clive was shopping in the city when he bumped into a frantic Sheila who was searching for Xanthe, who had skipped school for the day. He offered to help her and she eventually accepted his offer. Xanthe was soon found and the experience of looking for her around Melbourne bonded Clive and Sheila as they swapped stories of worrying about their children. Clive asked Sheila to give the idea of a date another go and she accepted.

The pair met for their date outside an art gallery and Sheila was a little taken aback when she realised Clive actually intended for them to go into the gallery. Panicked about her lack of knowledge on art, Sheila kept excusing herself to ring Paul for tips on what to say to sound like she knew what she was talking about. Clive eventually confessed to Sheila that he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about as he wasn’t into art and after she admitted she felt the same and had been relying on Paul for prompts, Clive suggested they scrap the art gallery idea and they had lunch in the café instead. Just as it started to look like things were going well for the duo, Sheila ended things after being contacted by an old flame, Russell Brennan, and telling Clive that she needed to see if that relationship was definitively over before she could contemplate settling down with Clive. Clive was hurt by Sheila’s decision and threw himself into working with Dr Nick Petrides on his radical cancer treatment trials at the hospital. When Sheila approached him a few months later to see if he would give things another go – Russell had died and a subsequent fling with businessman Hamish Roche had also ended badly – Clive told her he had been very hurt by being let down by her last time and couldn’t go back there.

However, the couple continued to cross paths around town, notably when Clive started teaching adult education classes at the community centre and discovered Sheila was one of his students. Things got off to a tense start in the classroom when Sheila felt Clive was being overly harsh towards her compared to the other students. When she confronted him about it, Clive admitted the reason for his behaviour was that he still had feelings for her and Sheila was thrilled when he invited her to go on another date.

Trivia Notes
• To read our 2003 interview with Geoff Paine, click here
• Clive was a regular character for just over a year from 1986 to 1987, and also returned for a seven-week guest appearance in 1989. In 2017, the character returned on a recurring basis, as the new COO of Erinsborough Hospital

Tenure
172-435, 1043-1076, 7554, 7565, 7569, 7578, 7639, 7648, 7653, 7657, 7667, 7670, 7739, 7763, 7767, 7773