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Guest Character Profiles > Angus Henderson Jonathan Wood

As she left the pool one day, 16-year-old Rachel Kinski accidentally bumped into an older, handsome stranger. They both apologised, and Rachel put it out of her mind until a few days later, when she and stepsister Libby had a drink together whilst waiting to collect their take-away at Charlie's bar. As Libby went to take a phone call, Rachel turned around to find a table when she bumped into the same man again, knocking the drinks all over herself. He apologised and later introduced himself to her as Angus Henderson, giving her his number and telling her to give him a call if she ever felt like bumping into him again. Though Rachel couldn't quite pluck up the courage to call, she bumped into Angus again and apologised and they arranged to go on a date, despite the misgivings of Rachel's best friend, Bridget Parker, who could already sense disaster looming. After lying that she was going to the cinema with friends, Rachel met with Angus at the General Store and the pair headed off to a club to see Magic Dirt perform. They quickly hit it off, with Rachel lying that she was studying Russian literature at uni in Canberra, and before the night was over, they had shared a passionate kiss. But the next morning, as Rachel sat down in English class, she was stunned to find that Angus was standing at the front of the room, as her new substitute teacher.

Unable to deal with what was happening, Angus lashed out at Rachel when she approached him after class, telling her that there was nothing to discuss, and to call him Mr Henderson. When Rachel then ran into him at the General Store, she tried to talk to him again, but he pointed out that she had lied to him and it had left him in a very difficult position. The next day at school, Angus struggled with his feelings, angrily sending Rachel out of the classroom for talking, and making snide remarks about women covering up their real identities in the novel they were studying. However, when Rachel later made a passionate speech about Price and Prejudice, Angus found himself remembering why he'd found her so attractive in the first place.

Things grew more complicated for Rachel and Angus when he spotted her struggling with her bag and offered her a lift home, careful to drop her by the park so they wouldn't be spotted. Unfortunately, school bitch Jessica Wallace, who happened to be out walking her dog, did see them and it wasn't long before she was telling everyone that she had some exciting gossip to tell them all. That night, a large group of Erinsborough High teens headed to an illegal rave, where Jessica's hints made Rachel realise what she knew. Rachel quickly got in touch with Angus, turning up at his apartment to explain what had happened. Angus apologised, feeling that it was his responsibility as the adult not to allow it to go any further, but Rachel tried to make him see that they were meant to be together. Angus told her to leave, but as Rachel walked home in tears, she decided that words weren't enough, and returned to his apartment, kissing him as he opened the door. As the dawn broke, Angus told her that, since he wasn't returning to Erinsborough High for the new school year, their only obstacle was her age, so they would have to keep the relationship quiet until she turned 18. As the secret union continued, Angus tried to listen to his common sense and end things, but Rachel convinced him that they should be together and even attempted to talk him into leaving his apartment and going out on a proper date, something that Angus managed to talk her out of, but told her that he would cook her a candle-lit dinner instead.

Rachel was soon professing her love for Angus, though he tried to get her to back off a little, telling her that she just thought she loved him, but when he then accepted a permanent position at Erinsborough High, the relationship began to unravel. When Rachel heard the news from one of the other teachers, Daniel Fitzgerald, she left a party being held in Ramsay Street and raced over to his apartment, while Bridget realised where she had gone and tried to raise the alarm when she found out the Daniel was heading over to Angus' apartment for a chat. With Rachel not answering her phone, Bridget managed to stall Daniel and head over there herself, only for him to arrive and catch Angus and Bridget together. When Daniel failed to believe a story about her returning a textbook, Bridget was forced to humiliate herself and cover for her friend by pretending that she had a crush on Mr Henderson. Back at school, Bridget continued her lie, leaving her father Steve adamant that she would have to change schools, but Bridget's ex, Declan knew that there was more to the situation, eventually guessing the truth about Rachel and Angus and blurting it out in the middle of a busy school corridor. Daniel called in Rachel's stepmum Susan and stepsister Libby, so that he could question Rachel about the allegations, but both she and Angus denied everything. Daniel then tried a different angle, unsettling Angus by placing Rachel's mobile phone on the desk, then making Rachel think that Angus had described her as 'emotionally immature'. Rachel burst into the corridor and screamed at Angus, asking how he could say those things about her when, only days earlier, she'd been his lover. Horrified, Angus told her that he'd said none of it, and she'd been tricked.

Angus was soon taken in for questioning by the police, and later released, pending trial. With his face splashed all over the local newspapers, his reputation in tatters and Rachel's life ruined, Angus received a visit from Susan, who begged him to end things with Rachel properly, and tell her that he never really cared about her, to stop her from wasting her life pining after him. Though it broke his heart to do so, Angus contacted Rachel and she went to his apartment, where he bluntly told her that he never had genuine feelings for her and she had just been another conquest to him. As Rachel tried to deal with this information, Angus made the decision to leave Erinsborough and stay with his parents, at least until the trial, hoping that putting some distance between them might help Rachel to move on.

A couple of months later, Angus returned to town for the trial, and stopped at the school to collect a diary that his lawyer felt might be important to the trial. Whilst there, he saw Rachel, who was taking dance lessons with her friends ahead of the senior school formal. As the pair started talking in the school office, they admitted that they missed each other, but their clandestine meeting was interrupted by Bridget's parents, school cleaners, who promptly dragged Rachel back to Ramsay Street. Despite the strain it was putting on MS sufferer Susan, Rachel announced that she was going to attend the trial and give a victim impact statement, hopeful that it would bring an end to the whole sorry affair. Though Rachel's statement spoke of how, although the relationship had been wrong, they had both entered it willingly and Angus had never forced her to do anything she didn't want to, he ended up with a six-month prison sentence. As he was taken away from the court, Angus managed to hold a tearful Rachel's hand one more time, passing her a ring, wrapped in a note which read 'Only love matters. Forever yours, A.'

Three months later and Rachel had been devastated when the letters she'd written to Angus were returned but, soon after a letter from Angus arrived at 28 Ramsay Street. Good friend Donna, knowing what Rachel had been through, saw the letter and hid it, but was spotted by Didge, and together the pair tried to work out what to do for the best, as Donna had already opened, and read, it. Fortunately, Didge's Aunt Nicola was an expert schemer and managed to reseal the envelope for them but they were spotted returning it and forced to confess all. Rachel was shocked, but mainly about the fact that Angus had written to her after she had dreamed of hearing from him for so long. After thinking back over the good, and bad, times and talking it over with Zeke, Rachel decided that she had to know what Angus wanted, and she read the letter, which explained that he'd been scared, which was why he'd returned her letters, but now he wanted her to visit him, as he had to speak to her.

When Rachel explained things to Susan, relations were strained, but eventually it was agreed that they would go to the prison together. After three months apart, Rachel and Angus finally came face to face, but the emotion was too much for Rachel and she fled from the room, as Angus told her that he loved her. Though he asked if she felt the same way, she had no chance to reply before Susan whisked her away. They went home, but Rachel was unable to let go of what had happened, and realised that she needed to hear what Angus had to say. The next day, Rachel returned to the prison with her friend Declan Napier. Once alone with her, Angus again asked Rachel if she loved him, but she couldn't answer, instead asking him why he had returned all of her letters. He explained that it was his way of coping, but he had now come to realise that, although his actions were inexcusable, his love for her wasn't. He asked her if there was a chance that they could give their relationship another go - she told him there was and later broke the news to Susan that Angus was being released early for good behaviour, and they were going to be together as a proper couple. Appalled at what she was hearing, Susan went to visit Angus, behind Rachel's back, and told him that, if he truly loved the girl, he would let her go. Angus said that it wasn't that easy to ignore the love between them, but asked for one final chance, promising that if Rachel got hurt again, he would leave and never return.

With the news that Angus would soon be released, Rachel went to see him and announced that the first thing he would be doing was dinner at her house. But Angus explained that his early release was in doubt, as he had nowhere to go, so Rachel promised to find him some accommodation. When Susan refused point blank to have Angus stay at number 28, she compromised by speaking to Salvation Army officer Harold Bishop, who provided details of some flats for emergency accommodation. Having found him a flat, Rachel delightedly met Angus at the prison as he was released the next day but back in Ramsay Street, they faced journalists and photographers, not to mention unimpressed looks from their family and friends. As if all that wasn't bad enough, Zeke then walked in with Detective Laura Chisholm, who was there to check that Susan was comfortable having Angus in her home whilst he was on parole. Later that evening, during a very awkward dinner, Rachel suddenly had an idea to get Angus a job at the gym, and raced over to see Didge, who worked there, but refused to have anything to do with it. With Rachel gone, Angus tried to make Susan see that he wasn't a bad influence. Susan told him that she was just being polite by inviting him to dinner, but she knew that eventually Rachel would see him for who he truly was.

The next morning, Rachel went to see Angus at his new flat, skipping school in the process, only to find the word 'PERV' graffitied across his front door. Though the incident caused tension between them, Rachel was soon back at the flat, helping Angus to clean off the graffiti. Inside, they were just getting comfortable, contemplating ways to make the flat nicer when a brick flew through the window. Outside, Ringo was passing, but explained that he hadn't seen anything, but, realising that Rachel needed help with a deep cut on her leg, he contacted Susan, who agreed that they could both stay the night at number 28, to make sure they were safe. Zeke and Ringo were horrified at this turn of events, while Ringo admitted to being the graffiti artist, furious that his actions now meant that Angus was staying under the same roof. Things only got worse when Karl returned from a trip to the UK to find that Angus was out of prison and staying at his house and, as another argument broke out, Rachel left with Angus to stay at his place. Though Rachel was ready to give up on them, Angus told her that they still had to try and win over both of their families, but soon after, Zeke arrived with news that Karl and Susan were now fighting, all because of Rachel, and he couldn't cope with losing anymore members of his family if they were to split up. Angus sent Rachel home, and later received a visit from Karl, who was shocked to find him packing up, preparing to skip town, unsure how to break the news to Rachel. Karl told him that he had to tell her something, and to her face, otherwise he'd just be proving himself to be the gutless coward everyone already thought he was.

When Rachel couldn't get through to Angus' phone and started to worry, Karl encouraged her to go to his flat and see if he was there, with her friend Ty going along for moral support. Once there, they found the flat empty and a devastated Rachel left a video message on his phone, telling him that he was weak and a coward. As he pulled over and watched the video, he realised that he couldn't leave her and returned to Erinsborough, walking in on Declan Napier's 18th birthday party, much to everyone's surprise. Rachel, however, wasn't about to simply take him back and, as they argued, Ty stepped in, much to Angus' annoyance. Rachel eventually agreed to give him another chance, and Angus tried to apologise to Karl and Susan for running away like that, telling them that he was determined to do the right thing now. Though reunited, things were still awkward, with none of Rachel's friends giving Angus the time of day, and his growing jealousy over her friendship with Ty, particularly when he joked about them 'making sweet music together'. When Rachel told Angus that she'd do anything for him to feel more comfortable around her and her friends, he asked her to move in with him. She happily agreed, after a little pressure from Angus, but the next morning, when he called in to walk her to school, he mentioned her moving out, unaware that she hadn't yet broken the news to Karl and Susan. They were horrified by the idea, but Rachel was stubborn and said she would live with Angus, whether they liked it or not. And so, that evening, Angus came to collect Rachel and her stuff, and Karl and Susan said a reluctant goodbye as she was driven out of Ramsay Street.

Things were immediately strained as they struggled to make ends meet, and Angus decided not to go for a job at the local gym after realising that Ty worked there. When his card was rejected at the General Store, Angus was surprised to find Erinsborough News editor Paul Robinson offering to pay, for both the groceries and the story of his relationship with Rachel. Desperate, and believing that, if people knew the truth they might back off, Angus agreed as Paul suggested that, because Angus couldn't legally accept money for a story about his crimes, they could interview and pay Rachel instead. The interview was conducted by Paul's daughter, Elle, who promised to go easy on her, but the next day, the story, thanks to Paul's interference, described the relationship as doomed and made it look as if Rachel was begging her family to leave them alone. Though Angus was pleased, Rachel was horrified at the way it made her sound like she was having a go at Susan. Fortunately though, the incident forced Susan and Rachel to patch things up, but Angus still insisted on going along to the parent teacher evening at the school, where Dan accused Angus of writing one of Rachel's essays. As the couple left the school, furious at the accusations, they were met by journalists and photographers looking for information. Realising that they could never live a normal life, or escape the accusations, in Erinsborough, Angus was delighted to be told of work in South Australia and started making plans to leave, excitedly telling Rachel about their fresh start. When she realised that they'd be away for years, rather than weeks or months, Rachel started to have second thoughts, but told him that she would go home, packs a bag and tell Karl and Susan. Finding nobody home, Rachel instead left a note, but lied to Angus that she'd spoken to her parents. They then started the drive out of town, but she asked to go to Ramsay Street, admitting that she hadn't yet said goodbye. Angus told her to listen to her heart, and decide where she wanted to be and, back in Ramsay Street, she gave Angus one final kiss before running back into Susan's arms.

Trivia Notes
• During his initial relationship with Rachel, Angus lived at apartment number 25

Biography by Steve

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