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Guest Character Profiles > Peggy Newton Carolyn Bock

Dr Peggy Newton 2007-2011
Marital Status: Howard Newton
Occupation: Doctor at Erinsborough & District Hospital

When the minibus carrying various Ramsay Street residents back from the wedding of Rosie Cammeniti and Frazer Yeats crashed as it entered the street, those involved were all rushed to hospital. Though most of them got away with minor injuries, teenager Ringo Brown had removed his seatbelt and become trapped at the back of the bus, leaving him seriously hurt and unconscious by the time he reached the hospital. Dr Peggy Newton managed to close up a gash to his abdomen and revived him when he suffered a cardiac arrest, but ultimately decided that the best course of action was to place him into an induced coma, as she feared that he might not survive a second heart attack. A few days later, Ringo was slowly brought out of his coma and Dr Newton was pleased with the progress he made, though noticed that he became extremely agitated during one visiting from Rosie's sister, Carmella. Ringo begged for Carmella to stay, and Dr Newton agreed to a short visit, but Carmella couldn't bring herself to talk to Ringo in his fragile state, as she had come to break the news to him that, although he was in love with her, she didn't return those feelings.

Soon after, Ringo walked out of the hospital to find Carmella only to finally found out her real feelings. Though unimpressed with her patient for going walkabout, she told him that, as long as he got plenty of rest for the next few weeks, he was free to go home. Meanwhile, having finally told Ringo the truth, Carmella later found herself feeling faint and returned to the hospital to see Dr Newton. After running a few tests, the doctor explained that Carmella had an iron deficiency, but there was nothing to worry about, given the circumstances. When Carmella asked exactly what circumstances those were, Dr Newton broke the news that she was pregnant, and Carmella was then kept in hospital to have a full check-up and a scan. Though she was told that the initial test results were fine, Dr Newton called her in a few days later and explained that she would need a second series of tests, and that Carmella should prepare herself for the possibility of bad news.

Dr Newton was also on hand a couple of weeks later when patient Alan Napier, who was suffering heart problems, took a turn for the worse. His estranged daughter Rebecca visited and the pair put past problems behind them and, only hours later, as Rebecca returned for another visit, Dr Newton had to break the news that he had already passed away.

After spending some much time helping others, Peggy needed some support herself when the time came to decide whether she wanted to go ahead with divorce proceedings from her husband, Howie. As she broke down with lawyer Toadie Rebecchi, he called on the services of Rebecca, who'd just started a trial there as receptionist, and she made Peggy realise that perhaps she wasn't quite ready to go ahead with things, as she was having second thoughts. Back in her professional capacity a few months later, Peggy interviewed ex-doctor Karl Kennedy for the registrar vacancy in her emergency department. Karl had given up medicine a year earlier, after a mix-up by him caused heartbreak for the Timmins family, and although Peggy knew that he was an excellent practitioner, she turned him down for the job, explaining that she had fears about his self-confidence. However, as Karl was leaving, he helped Sergeant Ray Moller, who was suffering from heart problems in the waiting room, and, watching Karl deal with the situation made Peggy reconsider her decision not to hire him.

The following year, Karl was embroiled in a drama with nurse Nicola West, who had suffered a needlestick injury whilst giving an injection to criminal Pete Ferguson. Whilst talking through the situation with Dr Newton, Nicola explained that, worried that Pete might have infected her with something, she'd illegally taken a blood sample from him whilst he was asleep, but, upon hearing that, due to her actions, she'd be suspended from work, she lied that it had been Karl who took the blood. However, as Karl was suspended, Nicola ended up returning to Dr Newton and confessing the truth, and was told that the case would have to go before the disciplinary board.

With Nicola's life falling apart around her, she decided to leave town but ended up involved in a hit-and-run and, after waking up from a coma, she pretended to have amnesia, hopeful that it would mean a fresh start with her family. But Nicola's brother-in-law Steve saw through her lies and threatened to expose her, so she poisoned him. At the hospital, Steve's condition was serious, but when Nicola's sister, Miranda found the tablets Nicola had used, she realised how sick her sister truly was, but it meant that the doctors were able to treat Steve. He later went into cardiac arrest, and Dr Newton managed to stabilise him.

The following year, and Dr Newton, filling in for obstetrician Dr Olenski, examined another member of the Parker family, Steve and Miranda's pregnant teenage daughter, Bridget Parker. Before performing the ultrasound, Dr Newton explained that they were missing some of Bridget's medical history, and asked Miranda about the birth, unaware that Bridget was adopted. The conversation only made Bridget more curious about tracing her birth mother, something she'd been thinking about a lot since falling pregnant, but it was all forgotten briefly as the ultrasound was performed and the baby was found to be healthy and developing well. A few weeks later, Dr Newton examined Libby Kennedy, who, after suffering terrible stomach pains, collapsed on her wedding day. After completing some tests, Dr Newton reported to Libby's new husband Dan that she knew what was wrong, and he should go and have a chat to his wife, who broke the news that she was pregnant.

Sadly, only a couple of weeks later, Libby was rushed in suffering from terrible stomach pains. Though an initial ultrasound, performed by Dr Newton, showed that there was still a heartbeat, a few hours later, the pains returned and it was found that the baby had died. As she tried to cope with what had happened, Libby suddenly fell unconscious and found to have extensive internal bleeding. Dr Newton then presented Dan with a dilemma, as she informed him that Libby was being taken into surgery and they needed his consent to perform a hysterectomy that could save her life. Though he knew that Libby was still desperate for another child, he gave his consent. A few weeks later, Dr Newton treated Declan Napier, the father of Bridget's baby, when he was brought in after being electrocuted by loose wiring whilst rescuing a cat from under a house. Bridget, as well as Declan's worried mum Rebecca waited for news, before Dr Newton told them that he would be fine, apart from some bruising on his shoulder.

Soon after, the hospital was embroiled in controversy when Karl's wife Susan decided to be a surrogate for their daughter Libby. As the papers got hold of the story, Erinsborough News journalist Paul Robinson attempted to convince Peggy to give an interview and provide the hospital's point-of-view. He then grabbed and file and noticed that the surrogacy was a topic for discussion at a hospital board meeting the next day, and Peggy threw him out. The next day, he managed to sneak back into her office, narrowly avoiding being caught, and learnt that the surrogacy had now been cancelled. This information was quickly relayed to the Kennedys, with Paul feeling a little guilty for having broken the story in the newspaper in the first place. The family soon descended on the hospital, where Peggy told them that she was forbidden to discuss the issue, but later, she agreed to a secret meeting with Karl. There, she explained that hospital CEO Brian Rode had always been against the surrogacy and when there was public backlash from the newspaper stories, it was the perfect excuse to can it. She explained that she'd been threatened with suspension if she spoke to anyone and warned Karl that, if the information were to go public, she would deny ever talking to Karl about it.

A couple of weeks later, the Parker family were brought in after being involved in a car accident. Though Miranda and Steve only had minor injuries, Bridget, who had wandered off from the scene looking for help and got lost overnight in the bush, was in a more serious condition. After Steve found her and baby India, they were airlifted to hospital, and Dr Newton reported that Bridget was suffering from hypothermia and possible internal bleeding. After surviving an operation, everyone was relieved to see Bridget in good spirits, but the happiness was cut short when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest, due to an undetected blood clot, and despite Dr Newton's best efforts, Bridget could not be revived.

Some months later, Susan, now pregnant with Dan and Libby's child, suffered a fall during a weekend at a holiday cottage. She was rushed to hospital, but it was too late and Dr Newton broke the news to Karl and Libby that Susan had suffered a miscarriage. Soon after, Dr Newton also cared for Lucas Fitzgerald when he crashed his motorbike and it looked like he might never walk again, and she also looked after Libby when she collapsed after becoming dependent on sedatives. The following year, Tash Williams was pretending to be pregnant, so that her boyfriend Andrew would stay with her. When she went to see Dr Newton, she denied being pregnant at all, as her notes stated, and explained that she'd simply been feeling tired lately. Later, Summer, the girl Tash was concerned about losing Andrew to, was suspicious of Tash's ultrasound scan and visited Dr Newton, who told her that it was a fake and could easily have been purchased online.

Trivia Notes
• Carolyn Bock previously appeared in 2000 as Rachel Bailey

Episodes Featured
5262, 5263, 5268, 5269, 5270, 5271, 5272, 5273, 5281, 5300, 5359, 5533, 5539, 5557, 5625, 5638, 5652, 5653, 5677, 5721, 5722, 5736, 5737, 5819, 5836, 5837, 5855, 6121

Biography by Steve

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