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Guest Character Profiles > Wendy Marsh Nerida Leishman

Wendy Marsh 1992
Siblings: Swampy

Having spent most of her youth hanging around with her older brother, Swampy, and his best mate, Brad Willis, clumsy Wendy Marsh had not only learnt to surf at a young age, but also knew how to handle herself in male company. When Brad and his friend Beth Brennan won a weekend away in a scavenger hunt, Marco Alessi pleaded with him to sell him his half of the prize, desperate to spend some time alone with Beth. But Brad was desperate for a holiday and reluctant to sell, so Wendy suggested that Marco go along anyway and she could tag along as Brad’s date, to make it a foursome. The group headed down to a country manor and, after settling in and chatting to the creepy receptionist, Victor Price, Wendy decided that she wanted to go and explore the grounds. Brad, Marco and Beth were already planning to follow her and then get some dinner when they heard Wendy scream and went out into the corridor, where she told them that she’d found Victor’s body in one of the rooms and that he’d been strangled with her scarf, which she’d accidentally dropped in reception earlier.

After speaking to Detective Barnes, who Wendy was alarmed to realise was accusing her of committing the crime, the four of them headed to bed, with Beth and Wendy begging the boys to sleep in their room, as they were worried that the killer might still be in the building. The next morning, Detective Barnes questioned the four of them again, pointing out that there were various points in the evening when each of them had been alone, and that Marco had seemed jealous when Victor flirted with Beth as they checked in. With Wendy and Beth becoming more and more worried, Marco again suggested that he and Brad sleep in their room, but the girls were then stunned to learn that the holiday was actually a murder mystery weekend, and the boys had known this all along. Desperate to get their own back, Wendy and Beth told Marco and Brad that they’d be fine on their own that night, before making arrangements for a surprise of their own.

On the final day of the trip, Marco decided that they might as well head home early, but Beth flirted with him, convincing him to stay for a few more hours. Later, as Brad and Marco were walking in the grounds, they heard the girls screaming and found them standing over the body of Detective Barnes. Beth explained that he’d crept up on them and, thinking he was the murderer, she’d hit him with a lump of wood. Marco and Brad were stunned, but as Marco checked the body, he noticed his face moving, but decided to pull a double bluff and claim that he really was dead. Beth was amazed and admitted that she hadn’t really hit him, so Marco told her that it must have been a heart attack that killed him, and suggested that the police would never believe it, so they’d have to bury the body themselves. Having had his fun, Marco admitted that he, too, was joking and Detective Barnes stood up and took a bow, before the four of them headed home.

Upon their return to Erinsborough, Wendy was desperate to get closer to Brad, but having learnt that he was still hung up on his girlfriend Lucy Robinson, she decided to help Marco and Beth with their love lives. After encouraging Marco to tell Beth how he really felt about her, Wendy was horrified to find out that Beth didn’t feel the same way. She was too late to warn Marco, who proceeded to open his heart to Beth and, when she said nothing in return, simply assumed that they were now a couple. It was left to Wendy to break the bad news to Marco and apologise for interfering. A few weeks later, Wendy turned up at the Willis house for the launch of a new underwear line by Brad’s fashion designer sister, Gaby. And though Wendy was impressed with the underwear, she was far more interested in Brad, the model.

Trivia Notes
• Credited as Nerida during her Neighbours appearances, the actress later changed her name to Neridah
• To read our interview with Neridah Leishman, click here

Biography by Steve