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Guest Character Profiles > Nathan Packard Jackson Gallagher

Whilst at his grandmother, Sheila's, house in Frankston as a young boy, Levi Canning was left alone when she went out for milk and a group of youths broke in and attacked Levi, leaving him with epilepsy. Years later, after becoming a police officer, Levi moved to Erinsborough, where Sheila was living with another of her grandchildren, Levi's cousin, Kyle. It was then that Levi found out that the attack hadn't been completely random, as he'd always been led to believe, but that the youths were actually looking for Kyle. Having fallen in with a bad crowd, Kyle had been sent to Erinsborough by Sheila and his friends had come looking for him, leading to the attack on Levi.

As the truth came out, it initially caused a huge divide between Levi and Sheila, and, even after they patched things up, Sheila felt that she could never forgive herself for lying for so long. In an attempt to fix things, Kyle tracked down one of his old mates, Nathan Packard, better known as Packo, and contacted his workplace, the Bayside Woodshop, arranging to meet him for a consultation. Kyle then travelled to Frankston that afternoon and met with Packo, who admitted that he'd never been able to forget what had happened to Levi that day, and that he'd always wanted to tell him how sorry he was. It was decided that Packo would write a letter to Levi explaining everything and to see if he wanted to meet in person. The next day, Packo turned up in Erinsborough to drop off the letter at the police station, and he also met mechanic Bea Nilsson, literally bumping into her and covering her in coffee. After buying Bea another coffee and chatting to her about cars, she gave him her phone number and he then ran into Kyle, who was pleased to hear that he'd delivered the letter, hopeful that it might help to fix the issues in the Canning family.

A few days later, unaware of the attraction between Bea and Packo, and having not read his letter yet, Levi was spending time with Bea, preparing to ask her out on a date. The next day, when he finally read the letter from Packo, Levi was surprised to learn about the lengths Kyle had gone to and admitted that his apologies seemed genuine. As Levi wondered about accepting Packo's offer to meet up and talk things through in person, Bea was already spending time with Packo, unaware of exactly who he was. When Packo went to get them some coffees, Levi came by, showing Bea the letter and explaining that one of his attackers wanted to meet him. Bea thought it was a terrible idea, but agreed to support Levi whatever he decided to do. When Kyle then spotted Bea and Packo on a date together by the lake, he quickly realised that Bea didn't know who he actually was. When he later bumped into Packo, he explained who Bea was and asked if, for Levi's sake, he would break things off with her. Though disappointed, Packo agreed to call things off with Bea, but asked Kyle not to tell her about his past.

Levi, meanwhile, decided that he was going to meet up with Packo, believing that it could help them both to get closure. Unfortunately, matters then grew more complicated when Levi decided to ask Bea if she would join him as moral support, and she agreed. Forced to think quickly, Kyle then managed to persuade Levi to start off by sending Packo a letter, making him see that it would be less intense and that he could explain his feelings properly. After Levi wrote and posted the letter, Sheila began to worry that her grandson was setting himself up for more problems, fearing that Packo might not have really changed. She decided to contact him and arrange a meeting herself, only for them to be spotted by Levi and Bea. As the truth came out and Bea explained that she'd been on a date with the guy, Levi was horrified, but she insisted that she'd had no idea about the connection between the two men. As Levi tried to process everything, particularly Kyle's interference in his love life, Packo returned the following day to check that everything was ok. After Packo assured him that he hadn't deliberately gone after Bea, and that it had just been a coincidence, Levi accepted this, saying that he was glad that they could sort things out. Packo then spoke to Bea, who told him how hurt she was and that she would never be able to get past that.

Having found out from Kyle that Bea seemed like she was genuinely interested in Packo, Levi decided to encourage her to pursue the relationship if that's what she wanted, telling her that he was sure that Packo was now a decent guy. As Bea went to visit her mum in Sydney for a few days, Levi's family encouraged him to make his move on her when she came back, but he admitted that he was waiting to see what she decided to do about Packo first. Having read the letter that Levi sent to him, Nathan returned to Erinsborough to talk to him again, admitting that he felt terrible about the way the attack affected Levi. Levi then admitted that he had another reason for wanting to meet, encouraging Packo to contact Bea and see if they could work things out. Packo was surprised, as he was now aware that Levi also liked Bea, but agreed to contact her one more time to see if they had a future. When Packo and Levi then went to the Waterhole, where they were setting up for a gig, to get a drink, Sheila was annoyed to see Packo again, telling him that he should just leave Levi and Bea alone. Packo insisted that Levi had invited him but as he went to walk away, he tripped on a cable, causing one of the lights to fall and knock him out.

Packo was taken to hospital where, after some tests, it was revealed that he had a concussion and would need to be kept in for a few days. Though the Cannings were relieved that it hadn't been more serious, Levi was still furious with Sheila for her interference. When Bea found out what had happened, she returned from Sydney to visit Packo in hospital, surprised to learn that it had been Levi who had encouraged Packo to try and work things out with her. Touched by Levi's gesture, Bea then spent time with Packo as he recovered and, as he prepared to be discharged from hospital, she agreed to go on another date with him, first making sure that Levi was comfortable with the idea. Though Levi insisted that he was fine with it, Bea wasn't convinced, and when Kyle's girlfriend Roxy told Bea that Levi had been falling for her for months but was too scared to do anything about it, Bea returned to Packo, telling herself that she wanted to be with the guy who'd actually bothered to ask her out. But she couldn't stop thinking about Levi, returning to confront him about his feelings, at which point her admitted that he did like her but didn't want to ruin their friendship. Packo, meanwhile, was also starting to doubt that Bea really wanted to be with him and made the decision to discharge himself and return to Frankston alone. When Bea arrived at the hospital to collect him, she was surprised to find that he'd gone, leaving only a note explaining that he'd decided to step aside and let her and Levi work out their feelings for each other.

Episodes Featured
8487, 8492, 8493, 8496, 8497, 8502, 8503, 8507

Biography by Steve

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