.
Character Profiles > Max Ramsay Ben Jackson

The headstrong son of Shane Ramsay, Max arrived in Erinsborough against his will, when his dad forced him to move there for his own safety, after a mysterious incident back in Queensland. Max quickly made enemies as he arrived in town, after accidentally knocking Holly Hoyland into the Lassiters hotel pond with his bag and not realising what he'd done. Holly reported the incident to her friend Byron Stone, and when Byron and Holly then spotted Max coming out of the fish and chip shop at the complex, they confronted him. He insisted that he'd had no idea about the incident and his confrontational attitude soon annoyed Byron and Holly, who were then horrified to return to the sharehouse at 32 Ramsay Street, where Byron lived, to find that landlady Vera Punt had rented the spare room to Max. Aware that he'd made a terrible first impression, Max attempted to improve the situation, taking the advice of Byron's sister Nicolette and trying to flatter him by telling him that he had nice eyes. That only seemed to make matters worse, and when Max then unwittingly started flirting with Byron's girlfriend, Sadie Rodwell, who also lived at no. 32 and had been away on a road trip, it looked like there was little hope for Max and Byron ever being friends.

As he struggled to make friends in Erinsborough, Shane reminded him that there was no way he could go back to Queensland and that he needed to find a way to fit in. After persuading old friend Paul Robinson to help him out, Shane managed to get Max a job as Executive Assistant to Paul, and his co-manager at the hotel, Krista Sinclair. Max tried to make the most of the opportunity, but quickly realised it wasn't for him and, after hearing him complaining to his dad, Krista took his aside for a chat. Max admitted that his heart was really in mechanics, and that he was almost fully-qualified, but his dad didn't like the idea. Max told Krista how he'd taken the job, and the room on Ramsay Street, in the hope of pleasing his father.

After realising that he was in danger of turning into his own father, Shane found a way to make amends, buying the local garage, Fitzgerald Motors, from Lucas and arranging for Max to work there alongside manager, Hudson. As Shane then left town, Max continued to struggle to fit in, taunting a furious Holly about a true crime podcast that had painted her as a cold-blooded killer, and making Byron jealous as he continued to get along well with Sadie. As the share house's pet dog, Trevor, also seemed to prefer Max to Byron, Byron struggled to hide his upset, admitting to Sadie that he was uncomfortable seeing her and Max together. Sadie believed that he was overreacting but, when she mentioned this to Max, he told her that Byron was right to be jealous and that he did like Sadie more than just a friend. As Sadie tried to come to terms with this, she decided not to tell Byron, fearing that it would make things worse at number 32. However, she did find herself trying very hard to avoid being alone with Max, but it quickly became clear that he wasn't about to do the same and was actively enjoying causing trouble for her and Byron. When Sadie then confronted him about his behaviour, he refused to apologise, again telling her that he liked her, only for their conversation to be overheard by Byron, who demanded to know what was going on.

Max was unapologetic about his behaviour, but agreed to find somewhere else to live when Byron pointed out that his presence was just making Sadie uncomfortable. However, it wasn't long before Max was able to make up for his mistake when he jumped into the path of a car that was headed straight for Sadie. Sadie had stopped to hand some money to Seb Metcalfe when he dropped it, and the car was actually headed in his direction, with loan sharks out to get him for failing to pay his debts. Max's quick thinking got Sadie out of the way in time and the pair escaped with minor scrapes and bruises, and she and Byron then asked him if he wanted to make a fresh start and stay on at number 32. Max happily agreed, but hid his concerns that his past was catching up with him and that the car was actually meant to hit him. As the driver was left in hospital too, Max managed to get a look at him, before phoning his dad and confirming that he didn't recognise the man.

Max's paranoia only grew when he was then electrocuted, a deliberate act intended for Holly, as revenge by Yaz Shields, who blamed Holly for the death of her brother, Heath. Though it quickly became apparent that Holly was definitely the intended target, Max's odd behaviour drew the attention of Sadie's dad, Sergeant Andrew Rodwell. As Max started asking him questions about both incidents, Andrew tried to find out what was going on, but Max managed to cover, claiming that two near death experiences had just left him a little bit shaken up. When Holly then offered to help Max at the garage, as both of his hands were bandaged from the burns, the pair started to grow closer, but she was worried by his odd behaviour when a car with Queensland number plates showed up. Though they were just looking for directions, a clearly shaken Max suddenly decided to lock up the garage and go home, where Holly tried to get him to open up about his problem. He then admitted to her that, back in Queensland, his good friend Kasey had been roofied by some guys and Max had decided to get his own back by roofying one of them himself, then driving him out to the middle of nowhere and leaving him. Unfortunately, the man had almost died and had turned out to be the younger brother of a Brisbane gangster. Having explained the story to his dad, Max had been sent to Erinsborough by Shane to hide out until the whole thing blew over. Holly was glad that Max had been honest with her, but as Byron and Sadie noticed the growing attraction between the pair, she was forced to tell Max that, although she did like him, she couldn't have any more drama in her life.

Tenure
9145-

Biography by Steve

Back