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Character Profiles > Evan Hancock Nicholas Opolski

Evan Hancock 2001-2002
Lived: 32 Ramsay Street
Marital Status: Genevieve Murdoch (divorced), Maggie Hancock
Children: Matthew, Chris, Leo, Francesca and Emily
Family Tree: Hancock
Occupation: Teacher at Erinsborough High School, Councillor

Evan Hancock was a mild-mannered person, but one with strong opinions. His first marriage to Genevieve, which produced two children, Matthew and Chris, ended badly in divorce. Only a few years later, Evan met Maggie and they married, soon after having their first child, Leo. When Leo was still young, a sister for him - Francesca - came along. However, when Francesca was only two, tragedy struck when she drowned in the family's swimming pool. Evan and Maggie were devastated, but gradually they overcame their grief and a few years later, their family was complete again when Emily was born.

When Evan got a job teaching at Erinsborough High early in 2001, he decided to move to the suburb of Erinsborough to be closer to his new workplace. Evan had a history of getting off on the wrong foot with people, and his arrival in Erinsborough was no different. While bidding for number 32 Ramsay Street, he outbid Tess and Dione, who had been desperate to keep their home. Matt realised that Evan had managed to be out of favour with the neighbours before he'd even moved into the street.

On the day that they moved in, a mix-up meant that Evan's son Leo was left to make his own way to Ramsay Street. Evan and Maggie frantically searched for their son and were relieved when he eventually arrived safely after being found at the pub, where he'd gone to see Matt.

Soon after their arrival in the street, Evan was annoyed when his ex-wife, Genevieve, arrived, attempting to convince their son Matt to go to an expensive catering school in Switzerland. Evan was pleased when Matt turned her down, opting to stay in Erinsborough where he was just beginning to make new friends. However, Evan was upset as his and Genevieve's other son, Chris, decided to remain living with his mother and it was obvious there was some ill feeling between father and son.

Evan and his new boss, Susan Kennedy, managed to get off on the wrong foot and Evan had a very radical approach to teaching. Susan was angry when, during a lesson, Mr. Hancock decided to take his class to Waratah Creek to show give them a first-hand experience of the eco-system. The trip was enjoyable for all concerned, especially when Evan fell in the creek while trying to get a closer look at a platypus. However, Susan was frustrated that Evan hadn't gone through the proper channels for a field trip, worrying that the school could be held accountable had there been an accident.

Evan's feuds with the neighbours continued as he managed to get offside with both Joe and Karl. While the women of the families were doing their best to get along with each other, the men were constantly finding issues to war over. As a self-confessed tennis expert, Evan decided that a friendly game of tennis between the neighbours might help them to become closer. However, Evan's know-it-all attitude once again proved to be his undoing, as he took the event far too seriously.

When Leo began to complain that the school's relief PE teacher, Dean Hearn was unfairly treating him, Evan was unsure how seriously to take these protests. After confronting Hearn himself, Evan listened to him explain that Leo was just being a bit over-sensitive and that there was nothing to worry about. However, when he witnessed Mr. Hearn push his son to the ground during a lesson, he immediately went to Susan to complain. Unfortunately, Susan and Evan were still having problems communicating and Dean convinced Susan that he was being falsely accused - something Susan understood after her incident with Jess Fielding earlier that year. This led to Susan wondering if Evan wasn't simply being over-protective, but he was extremely angry about her patronising attitude and told her that he wasn't imagining it. Susan therefore agreed to speak to both Leo and Dean about it. However, Dean's protests continued that he was innocent and he even brought up the incident with Jess to make Susan think twice about jumping to conclusions. After taking Hearn's side at first, Susan began to change her mind after witnessing him being aggressive with a group of students and later when he shouted at her for interrupting one of his lessons. Evan was horrified when, a few days later, he walked into the staff room to find Dean Hearn recounting a tale where he had 'accidentally' thrown a chalk duster at Leo, cutting his forehead. He began to get extremely angry towards Hearn and it was only Susan's intervention that prevented things from escalating. After dragging both teachers into her office, Susan tried to get to the bottom of things, but Evan's temper once again got the better of him and Susan was forced to ask him to leave. Fortunately, after a warning from Susan, Hearn resigned and Evan and Leo's problems were over.

As the family's money worries began to escalate, a further blow hit them when Emily lost a valuable pair of earrings. As a result of this, a falling out with Leo caused Emily to run away and a search began. It seemed that Emily had managed to board a bus and, after a driver spotted her, the search moved to further out in the bush. Evan was greatly relieved when Leo turned up, against the advice of his parents, and found Emily safe and well. However, a few days later, a social worker arrived, wanting to know what sort of family allowed both the youngest children to disappear from home within a few months. Luckily, after talking to the members of the family and various neighbours, they saw no reason to take the matter further, realising that it was basically a happy and loving home.

Meanwhile, Evan was feuding with the neighbours again when it became apparent that the fence in their garden was infested with white ants and would need replacing. As Lou owned the property on the other side of the fence, number 30, Evan demanded that he pay and a cash-strapped Lou saw red, eventually agreeing to pay half and getting Joe Scully in to do the job. Things began to get more and more strained in the Hancock household as money worries piled up and Maggie's pressures at uni also built up. Evan hoped that Leo and Matt might try and be understanding, but Leo's strange behaviour began to worry him and Maggie. Evan had noticed kids giving Leo money, while Maggie had seen him spending up in the Coffee Shop. Leo assured his parents that he had got the money from a paper round he had recently started doing. Evan wasn't convinced and began wondering if Leo had a drug problem and confronted Leo, who laughed it off. However, when Evan noticed two very similar essays being handed in, he spoke to Susan and one of the kids involved owned up to buying the essay from Leo. Evan demanded to know why Leo needed the money so badly and Leo finally confessed that he had been taking break-dancing lessons. As a punishment for his deceit, and despite protests from Matt, Evan banned Leo from attending any more classes.

Evan was appalled by Leo's behaviour, but insisted that it wasn't his son's fault. He went to see Susan, explaining that he believed the problem was related to school bullying. When she wouldn't listen, he took his protests to the airwaves, calling a local talk-back radio station to complain about the bullying problem and then writing a letter of protest to the Erinsborough News. Susan was horrified by the negative impact this would have on the school, but the opinionated Evan stuck to his guns. Meanwhile, Evan was concerned as Leo's behaviour got worse in the midst of his break-dancing ban. Leo insisted that he wanted to take part in a regional dancing contest and Evan's banning only made him more determined to sneak out. However, when Evan witnessed his son's talent for himself, at Hemisfear nightclub, he was amazed and realised that maybe he should be supporting his son. Leo was thrilled when Evan allowed him to join the Block Rockin' Crew. Meanwhile, he managed to sort through his differences with Susan after admitting that maybe he'd been a bit hasty with his accusations of bullying and even began a campaign to get Susan to stick with her job as principal.

Life at home became difficult once more as Maggie's studies began to get in the way of her home life. While Evan was very supportive of his wife, they began to find it difficult to maintain any sense of normality and Evan felt guilty when Maggie failed one of her final exams, possibly sending her entire uni career down the drain. While Evan was sympathetic, it was obvious that their problems were beginning to come between them and that Evan was losing the respect of his family.

Evan saw a chance for his opinions to be heard when a position on the local council came up. However, he would be running against neighbour Joe Scully. As Evan began losing support from his own family, he found a friend in Michelle Scully, who had been inspired by Evan's classes and had become an eco-warrior. Meanwhile, Evan was having difficulties with his eldest son, Matt. Matt had agreed to go to university that year, but his sudden decision not to go after all and to buy a car, had Evan and Matt feuding once again. As things escalated, Matt decided to move out and stay at number 30. Maggie found it difficult to support her husband this time, and accused him of being self-righteous and blocking everyone else out. Evan's plans to win the election continued too, as he uncovered the plans for a new freeway and found out that Joe was part of them. As Evan revealed this at a public meeting about the elections, Joe began to lose a lot of support and was looked on as a hypocrite. Evan eventually won the election, but at the same time was gradually being alienated by his family.

When Leo asked Evan if he could join his crew at a break-dancing contest in Adelaide, Evan immediately told him no - the family simply couldn't afford it and he wasn't going to go alone. However, he later spotted Leo drumming up support at Lassiter's, raising cash for the trip. Evan sent Leo straight home, shocked at his disobedience. This only made Leo more adamant that he would be going and Evan found that his son had gone to the bus station. When Evan arrived there, he found Leo sitting at the station, having been unable to go through with it.

Evan was becoming more and more estranged from his wife and children. When his ex-wife Genevieve returned looking for his support after splitting from her new man, Evan was happy to help. Genevieve also revealed that she had recently had a breast cancer scare, and began pouring her heart out to Evan. Evan decided to keep these meetings secret from Maggie, who, when she found out, was more confused than ever.

Meanwhile, Evan was horrified when he heard that Matt and Leo had been involved in a car crash. As news spread, Evan found himself being given dirty looks by many of the neighbours - particularly as Matt had knocked down Harold in the accident. Evan was furious with his son as he realised that the driver of the other car was in a coma and Matt was facing police charges. Evan took his anger out on Matt, causing the boy to run away from the hospital. After a short spell of worrying, Matt was finally tracked down and the Hancocks were faced with hefty legal fees in order to save Matt from jail. Maggie and Evan realised that they'd have to sell their home.

As they prepared to leave, Evan got a horrible shock when Emily read out a letter the family had received from Toadie. Thinking it was a letter of support, Evan was horrified to hear Toadie's confession of love. Speaking to his wife, he was shocked by the details of their sordid tryst and stormed out of the house. Upon his return, he asked Maggie for a divorce, explaining that she'd left him feeling like less of a man. However, the petty behaviour of Evan and Maggie had a serious effect on Leo and Emily and the couple decided to work through their differences. As the time came for them to leave, Evan thanked his friends and neighbours, and the family left to fight further battles.

Tenure
3743-3999

Magic Moments
Episode 3999: The Hancocks' Departure

Biography by Steve

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