.
Guest Character Profiles > Wendy Iris Natalia Ko

Wendy Iris (prev. Leung) 2013, 2014, 2016
Occupation: Receptionist at Lassiter's Hotel

After selling the Erinsborough News to the British company GlobeWise Communications, Paul Robinson was waiting for their representative Sarah Hannay to fly in from the UK and handle the sale and merger of several local newspapers. Planning to personally greet Sarah and make sure that everything went smoothly, Paul was annoyed to learn from hotel receptionist Wendy that Ms Hannay had already checked in early and was up in her room. Paul quickly headed off to see her, telling Wendy to arrange a welcome basket for their guest.

Later that year, Paul was angrily pointing out to Wendy that she'd given him a bottle of Californian sparkling wine, instead of the French Champagne he'd ordered, when new hotel manager Terese Willis happened to walk by. She was quick to remind Paul that he wouldn't be getting any more free food and drink now that she was in charge, and that he'd have to use his staff discount. Having witnessed his treatment of Wendy, Terese also told Paul that he would need to show a little more respect to his staff.

A couple of weeks later, Wendy was part of the waiting staff at a charity function held at the local Community Centre, to raise money for the hospital. There, she offered Kyle Canning a drink, but as his eyesight had been damaged in the recent eclipse, he managed to miss the glass and spill the drink all over himself.

The following year, Terese learnt that mysterious Erinsborough newcomer Paige was the long-lost daughter of Brad, Terese's husband. As Paige had spent a few days staying in a suite at Lassiter's when she first arrived in town, a suspicious Terese asked Wendy if she could ask around and see if anyone had noticed anything unusual about her. A few days later, Wendy reported that one of the part-time cleaners had spotted Paige rushing away from Harold's Store, on the same night that the store had been trashed. A few weeks later, as a tornado battered Erinsborough, Paul decided to go looking for his nephew Daniel, wanting to patch things up after an argument. Wendy told him that his own car was still being detailed, but gave him the keys to the Lassiter's maintenance car to use instead.

Soon after, Lauren Turner was alarmed to find a Lassiter's room card in her husband Matt's belongings. She went to the hotel, telling Wendy that she'd found it outside the previous evening and was worried that someone might have been locked out of their room all night. Lauren was then shocked as Wendy checked the key and said that the guest - Sharon Canning - had definitely made it back safely the night before.

Eighteen months later, a huge explosion ripped through Lassiter's when the boiler blew up, leaving Josh and Doug Willis dead, and mysterious newcomer John Doe with absolutely no memory of who he was. As John had saved her life when the explosion hit, Paige Smith made it her mission to help him find out who he was, and they soon seemed to have a lead when the police reported that John had spoken to a hotel staff member just before the disaster. It was a few days before Wendy agreed to meet with John and when she did, she seemed to be struggling to deal with what had happened. She quickly explained to John that she'd spoken to him and he'd asked her a few questions about the Mornington Peninsula, but she couldn't tell him anything else before she rushed off.

Over the weeks that followed, John started suffering flashbacks to the boiler room, and became convinced that he'd been responsible for the explosion. He and Paige met with Wendy again, and she stuck to her story that she'd seen him in the hotel reception during the period of time that the boiler had been tampered with. Though Paige was satisfied that John was innocent, he couldn't shake his doubts, also feeling that Wendy was lying for some reason. He eventually went to the police and told them about his niggling worries, and they brought in Wendy to question her again, though she stuck to her story about seeing John. But police officer Mark Brennan ignored his superiors, who felt that the case was closed after Paul Robinson was jailed for the crime, and looked deeper into Wendy's affairs, finding that her bank account had received some large deposits in the days after the explosion. As she was brought back for more questioning, she finally broke down and admitted that she was being paid to lie - and that the real people behind the disaster had been hotel owner Julie Quill, who'd used Jacka Hills to cause the explosion, and frame Paul, as an insurance job.