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Guest Character Profiles > Duncan Hayes Paul Ireland

Supt. Duncan Hayes 2011, 2012, 2013
Occupation: Police Superintendent

After blowing the whistle on a corruption ring in the police force he worked for, Detective Mark Brennan found himself being targeted by his ex-colleagues, with anonymous threats and silent phone calls. After a break-in at his home, with the words 'Rats don't live' painted no the laundry door, Brennan decided to approach his superior, Superintendent Duncan Hayes. Hayes warned Brennan that everyone had been affected by this investigation, and it was going to be difficult to prove anything or keep the young detective completely safe, but suggested that Brennan should go into witness protection until the case came to court. As his relationship with Kate Ramsay was just getting serious, and he'd found a new home with housemates Jade and Kyle, he wasn't keen on the idea of giving it up, but realising that his friends and girlfriend could also be in serious danger, he realised that witness protection was his only option and so he met with Hayes and agreed to it. A few days later, Hayes met with Brennan, giving him the contract to sign and telling him that he would get only 30 minutes' notice when he would have to live. He then provided Brennan with his cover story and told him to simply carry on as normal until the time came for him to leave Erinsborough.

However, the witness protection came together quicker than Brennan had imagined, and the next day he was told by Hayes that he would be leaving at 7pm that evening, giving him just 90 minutes to organise things. Hayes was furious as Brennan tried to get more time, not wanting to walk out on Kate, and refused, so Brennan decided to ask her to join him. However, with so little time, Kate struggled to get her own life in order, and to convince her younger sister Sophie to come with them and, by the time the sisters made it to the collection point, they were too late and Brennan was gone. The next day, Hayes called by to visit Kate, warning her that she and Sophie would need to keep quiet about everything they knew, or they would be placing their lives, and Brennan's, in danger. He then left, refusing to tell Kate anything about Brennan's whereabouts. But Kate wasn't about to give up so easily, and tried calling Brennan's mum, and visited the police station, desperate to speak to Hayes and get a message passed on to Mark. Hayes once again had to remind Kate that she was placing Brennan in a lot of danger by pursuing the matter, and urged her to give up and move on with her life.

The following week, lawyer, and friend of Kate and Brennan, Toadie Rebecchi was at the station, in a meeting with Hayes, when he overheard a sergeant giving Hayes the news that Brennan had been killed, but was warned not to say a word to anyone, as it could compromise the entire investigation. However, Toadie couldn't quite cope with the news, and ended up confiding in his partner Sonya, who, some weeks later, blurted out the truth to their son Callum, who had idolised Brennan and was becoming concerned about him. An upset Callum went to the police station the next day and angrily confronted Hayes about his inability to protect his officers, and Toadie was then forced to go in and explain himself. He told Hayes that he would keep the information contained to his own family, but he thought that Kate should be told - and Hayes eventually relented and she was called in to be told.

A few months later, Toadie and Hayes were to meet again, this time as Toadie was taken in for questioning, having been framed by his boss Peter Noonan for assault. Noonan had arranged for young mechanic Chris Pappas to be bashed, in the hope that it would scare his boss Lucas into selling his garage, to allow for a shopping centre to be built on the land. Although Toadie had an alibi for the time of the assault, he found the evidence piling up against him, and it wasn't until Lewis Walton, the attacker from the CCTV footage, failed to recognise Toadie - having previously claimed that he'd met with Toadie, who had asked him to bash Chris - that the case was dropped. Some weeks later, Hayes also investigated an arson case when Michael Williams' car, the Sandman, was torched. After prime suspect Lucas was questioned, Michael eventually came forward and claimed that it was his fault and had been an accident, though he was actually covering for his daughter Tash, knowing she was guilty but not wanting her to face criminal charges.

In 2013, Sergeant Matt Turner arrived in Erinsborough, with his family, from Queensland. Back in Mount Isa, Matt had discovered both of his sons, Mason and Bailey at the scene of a warehouse robbery. He'd arrested Mason, in the hope that a spell in juvenile detention would end the bad path he'd been heading down, but he let Bailey go. It was a few months before the truth finally came out, and Matt was suspended from work, pending the decision of Superintendent Hayes. After a tense few weeks waiting for his decision, Hayes decided that Bailey would be given a police warning, and Matt would be given another chance too, but would be demoted to Senior Constable.