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Guest Character Profiles > Barbara Hill Louise Le Nay

Barbara Hill 1985

The slightly more human, though at time equally ruthless, partner of Charles Durham, Barbara Hill enjoyed her lifestyle with her boyfriend, and when it was threatened by his ex, Terry Inglis, she went to great lengths to help Charles protect it. Terry was in possession of a tape, on which she and Charles were discussing the criminal activities of Charles' crime boss, Robert - and Charles and Barbara were desperate to get it back to prevent them all ending up in prison, or worse, should Robert decide that they were no longer worth his loyalty. Terry, however, knew that the tape was her insurance against anything ever happening to her, and was determined to stop them from getting to it. After seeing Terry in the newspaper, announcing her forthcoming marriage to Paul Robinson, Charles and Barbara sent a wreath with 'Til Death Us Do Part' written on it, then phoned the wedding venue with a fake bomb threat. In the confusion, they broke into 28 Ramsay Street, where Terry had been living, but were unable to find the tape.

Trying to find out as much information about Terry, and her life, as possible, Barbara then befriended Lucy, Paul's younger sister, and the pair of them developed a friendship as they walked their dogs together. Charles, meanwhile, attempted to get to Terry through her friend and neighbour Daphne Lawrence. Alarmed to see Daphne with Charles, Terry was forced to be honest with her friend about how she knew Charles, and Daphne was disbelieving at first, only knowing the very nice, charitable face that Charles put on for the public. However, as she asked Charles a few questions during dinner one night, she realised that Terry was telling the truth and agreed to help her. Terry was aware that Charles and Barbara were getting their information from somewhere, but didn't realise that it was Lucy who'd been blabbing to her new friend Barbara. Terry and Daphne decided to pretend that they were no longer friends, making sure that everyone knew about their argument, and then arranged a surprise party for Paul's birthday, so Charles and Barbara would think that she was otherwise engaged. Making an excuse to leave the party preparations, Terry actually went to Charles' apartment, where the tape was hidden behind a tribal mask on the wall. But just as she retrieved it, Charles appeared, having quickly cottoned on that she and Daphne had been plotting against him. With a little help from Daphne and her grandfather Harry, Terry managed to get out, with the tape. Barbara was annoyed when she found out, unable to understand how he could have allowed it to happen, but Charles soon placated her with talk of marriage, and she agreed to help to get the tape back.

Barbara then continued to use Lucy, finding out about the comings and goings at 30 Ramsay Street, and when Paul and Terry's house might be empty. She also learnt from Lucy that Paul and Terry didn't have any tapes at their house, which meant that either Terry was carrying the tape around with her, or she'd put it with the tapes at the Robinson house. Terry had actually done the latter, which proved to be the wrong decision when Lucy got hold of the tape and listened to it, and it then went missing. After a few more days of watching Terry and her movements, Charles and Barbara realised that they'd need to act if they were going to get the tape back, and Charles declared that, if they didn't find it soon, they'd have to get rid of Terry for good. The next plan involved Barbara pretending that her dog had gone missing, and persuading Lucy to spend hours helping with the search, leaving Daphne and Terry believing that they'd kidnapped the child and wouldn't get her back unless Terry handed over the tape. Charles believed that Terry wouldn't want the police involved, and he was right, but Daphne had other ideas and, along with a couple of police detectives, she turned up on Charles' doorstep. With no sign of Lucy in the apartment, the police could do nothing, but when Lucy returned home later that day and explained where she'd been, Terry and Daphne immediately realised what had happened, and Daphne warned Lucy against spending time with that woman. With no tape in their possession, they continued to watch Terry, and when Barbara spotted Scott and Danny leaving 30 Ramsay Street and putting some tapes in Shane's car, she quickly swiped them, believing she'd found what she was looking for. Unfortunately, they were all audition tapes for Scott and Danny's band, and Charles began to lose his temper with Barbara and the situation.

Barbara then decided that her final option was to try and befriend Terry, so she pretended that she and Charles had had a huge fight and she'd finally seen his true colours. Terry fell for it, and Barbara managed to get more information out of her, learning that she was pregnant and, despite learning all about Terry's past, Paul was sticking by her. Later, Terry told Barbara about the tape, and how she had actually lost it and hadn't made any copies, but Charles didn't know that, so she was safe for the moment. Terry and Paul then went away for a few days, and Barbara reported back to Charles, telling him that they had no reason to keep Terry alive now. She arranged for a hitman to run Terry down, but unfortunately he got the wrong person - Daphne, who had been wearing Terry's raincoat. When Shane's father and Terry's former boss Max turned up and started threatening Charles, having learnt the truth from a very shaken Daphne, Charles realised that they couldn't allow anyone else to find out, and that they'd have to get rid of Terry, then leave the country. Charles arranged for Terry to come over and give him the tape, knowing full well that she didn't have it and that she'd be arriving at her own execution. Unfortunately for Charles, Terry had managed to get hold of a gun, and she turned the tables and shot him dead. A distressed Barbara returned home as Charles hadn't come to the airport to meet her, and watched as Daphne, who had realised what Terry was planning and had come to stop her, kneeled over Charles' body. As Daphne then fled from the scene, a distressed Barbara checked on Charles, then called the police, reporting that Daphne Lawrence had just murdered him.

Trivia Notes
• Louise Le Nay later worked as a script editor, storyliner and scriptwriter for Neighbours
• Click here to read our 2003 interview with Louise

Tenure
0130, 0133, 0134, 0136, 0149, 0151, 0152, 0153, 0155, 0156, 0157, 0159, 0163, 0164, 0165, 0166, 0167