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Guest Character Profiles > Elliott Holmes Ryder Smyth

Elliott Holmes 2013-2014
Parents: Jacob and Hannah

Following the birth of her daughter Nell, Sonya Rebecchi started up a blog about childcare and it wasn't long before she started receiving messages from a single parent, going by the name of 'Sleepless in Erins' who was struggling to look after their baby son. With the problems seemingly getting worse, Sonya was worried when her new friend went offline for a few days, knowing that there was little she could do to track them down. In the end, Sonya sent a message to 'Sleepless in Erins', asking them to meet her at Harold's Store. When they didn't show up, Sonya left the store, but spotted a man in the car park, who immediately recognised her from her description, and Sonya admitted that she'd wrongly assumed that it was a single mother. Jacob explained that his wife Hannah had died shortly after giving birth to their son, Elliott, and with no family and few friends to turn to, he was struggling to raise the child on his own. Sonya was eager to help, feeling terrible for Jacob, and took him home where she gave him a few tips. Sonya's husband Toadie was slightly less comfortable with the situation, both because the single mother had turned out to be a man, and because he was worried that Sonya was once again taking on too many other people's problems.

The following week, Sonya agreed to babysit Elliott whilst Jacob went to meet with his lawyers to discuss his late wife's estate. Already very tired after struggling to get Elliott to sleep again the night before, Jacob appreciated having someone to talk to, and was grateful when Sonya asked if he and Elliott would like to have Christmas lunch with her family. Later, as they walked through the park, Sonya's back was turned for a moment, as Jacob sat down with Elliott's pram in front of him. As he sat back and closed his eyes, Jacob took his foot off the wheel of the pram, thinking that the brakes were on, only for Sonya to call out and grab the pram as it rolled towards the lake. Already feeling like a failure as a father, this was the final straw for Jacob and when he later came to collect Elliott from the Rebecchi house, he ended up dumping his son's bags on the doorstep and leaving, with Sonya fearing that he wasn't planning to come back for the baby.

After a few days of struggling to cope with Elliott's constant crying and then noticing that his temperature was up, Sonya took him to the hospital. Dr Karl Kennedy explained that they'd be unable to do any further tests without the parents' permission, and Sonya then had to contact Jacob, who sent his permission by email for her to act as temporary guardian. Later that day, Karl told Sonya and Toadie that Elliott was suffering from neonatal hyperthyroidism, which, although serious, was perfectly treatable within a few months. A worried Jacob then arrived at the hospital, relieved to hear that everything was OK, and very grateful to Sonya for her help. After learning that Toadie had contacted Hannah's parents, who'd almost come to Erinsborough until Sonya had stopped them, Jacob was thankful for her support. They then ended up having an unexpected moment when Jacob found her making a birthday cake for Nell, and brushed some icing from her cheek. Though things started to improve for Jacob, he then found himself out-of-work, and Sonya announced that she was going ahead with plans to put in a juice bar at her nursery - and she wanted Jacob to help build it. Sensing that Toadie was becoming annoyed with the constant presence of Jacob in their lives, Sonya encouraged the two men to spend some time together, and they found themselves bonding over cricket. But just as Toadie and Jacob were getting along well at last, problems arose for Jacob and Sonya when, as she was looking at Elliott and talking about how beautiful he was, an emotional Jacob suddenly leaned in and kissed her.

Jacob quickly realised that he'd made a huge mistake and Sonya tried to get him to leave, but an oblivious Toadie asked Jacob to stay and watch some more cricket, which he did. Sonya was relieved when Jacob finally left, but frustrated when he came back into their lives with news that Hannah's parents were filing for custody of baby Elliott. Realising that Jacob needed help, Sonya went against her better judgement, not telling Toadie about the kiss and allowing him to give Jacob the legal help he required. Once alone, he admitted that it would have been his and Hannah's anniversary and he was struggling to deal with things. A few days later, Jacob continued to be present at the Rebecchi house, as Toadie helped him with his case, but Sonya made it clear that he'd crossed a line with her, and that they could no longer be friends. When Georgia returned to town, after a few days away, Sonya encouraged her to spend time with Jacob and listen to his problems, and also found him some work at the local gym, not wanting to abandon him completely, but unable to spend time around him. And, unable to cope with the guilt any longer, Sonya then confessed to Toadie that Jacob had kissed her.

Toadie was furious, but after thinking things through, he agreed to continue helping Jacob with the mediation for Elliott's custody - but he made it clear that they were no longer friends, and this was just a business arrangement. Jacob also confessed about the kiss to Georgia, who was shocked but eventually understanding, seeing how mixed-up he was. Later that week, Toadie and Jacob went to mediation, and Jacob was shocked to learn that Hannah's parents knew about Elliott's illness. He immediately turned on Toadie, accusing him of deliberately telling them as some kind of twisted revenge for the kiss. After getting his assistant to do a little digging, Toadie found out that Hannah's parents had actually hired a private investigator, and Jacob apologised for his outburst. Unable to get Elliott to settle that afternoon, he called Sonya for help, and as she comforted the baby and calmed him down, Jacob told her that he had developed feelings for her that went beyond friendship, asking if she felt the same way. Sonya left without saying anything, which Jacob took as a positive sign, and when Toadie suggested that the best option might be for Jacob to move down to Adelaide and share custody of Elliott with Hannah's parents, he said that he didn't want to leave Erinsborough. But after Sonya spoke to Jacob and told him that she only saw him as a friend, and that she was very happy in her marriage to Toadie, he decided that perhaps it would be best if he and Elliott made a fresh start away from Erinsborough.

Episodes Featured
6784, 6789, 6790, 6792, 6793, 6795, 6799, 6800, 6801, 6804, 6805, 6806, 6811