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Guest Character Profiles > Kev Rebecchi Don Bridges

Kevin 'Big Kev' Rebecchi 1995, 2002, 2003, 2006, 2008
Marital Status: Angie Rebecchi (1972-)
Siblings: Janelle
Children: Shane, Kevin [Stonefish] and Jarrod [Toadfish]
Family Tree: Rebecchi
Occupation: Truck Driver, Roadhouse Manager

Kevin Rebecchi - or 'Big Kev' as he is known to all who know him - has spent most of his life on the road as a truck driver. Originally hailing from Colac, Kev married Angie in 1972, and they have been together ever since. Wiry and furtive, Big Kev might be small in stature, but is a giant in the eyes of Angie.

Kev and Angie are devoted to each other, and are fiercely proud and defensive of their three boys - Shane, Kevin Junior ('Stonefish') and Jarrod ('Toadfish'). Although their kids have had numerous brushes with the law over the years, most notably Shane who has had several spells behind bars, Kev and Angie dote on them, and won't have anyone criticise them. The Rebecchi name is something that Kev is very proud of, and he has instilled that pride in his wife and family.

In 1995, the Rebecchis bought No. 32 Ramsay Street, and were determined to make a fresh start for themselves in the more upmarket suburb of Erinsborough having lived in the rougher West Waratah for a number of years. With Kev away on a long distance haul at the time, Angie and the three boys moved into No. 32 ahead of him, and the neighbours weren't quite sure what to expect when Angie told them all about her Truckee husband, Big Kev. When he finally arrived in the street, pulling up in his huge truck rig, the residents of Ramsay Street were anticipating some huge, tough nut truck driver to emerge from the vehicle. So they were stunned when the much-talked about Big Kev turned out to be a tiny, thin man, who was overshadowed by the larger than life Angie. Angie was ecstatic to have her husband home at last and proudly introduced him to the neighbours, before she lifted him up in her arms and carried him inside. Unfortunately, the Rebecchis were forced to sell up and move out of the neighbourhood after Shane was exposed as the Ramsay Street burglar. But the Rebecchi presence was still felt around the street, as Stonie had starting seeing Cody Willis from No. 24, and Toadie had become best mates with Billy Kennedy at No. 28.

The Rebecchis gradually returned to Ramsay Street bit by bit in the months that followed. Stonie had started sharing No. 32 with Mal Kennedy and Danni Stark. And Angie moved herself in too, because she was finding living alone too lonely with Kev on the road and Toadie living in Tindara with his Auntie Coral. Mal and Danni eventually moved back to their respective homes, leaving No. 32 in the hands of the Rebecchi clan once again, and Kev and Toadie returned to Erinsborough for the holidays. But during that time, Toadie found himself in deep trouble with Karl Kennedy after he and Billy ran away together. A furious Karl stormed over to No. 32 when he realised Billy and Toadie had run away, and he ended up in a bitter argument with Kev over Toadie's behaviour, insisting that it was he who had led Billy astray. The boys were eventually found by the police, and Angie and Kev decided Toadie would have to return to Coral's again. Once the holidays were over, Kev bid his beloved Angie goodbye once again, and set off on the road, dropping Toadie at Tindara on the way.

Angie and Kev's marriage was tested when Angie began to fall for Mick Anderson, who she had hired to rid the Rebecchi house of possums. Toadie got wind of his mum's growing feelings for Mick, and confronted her about it. But Angie assured Toadie that she was fully committed to his father, and was simply overwhelmed by the love Mick was showing her, as she had been missing out on attention from Kev for so long. In the wake of her relationship with Mick, Angie went up to Port Keats to confess how she felt to Kev and she was thrilled when Kev suggested she move up north with him to open up a roadhouse. The arrangement was the perfect solution to the couple's problems, and Angie and Stonie packed up and moved up to Port Keats to join Kev, leaving Toadie behind with the Kennedys.

Big Kev and Angie returned to Erinsborough in 2002 for a 30th wedding anniversary dinner with Toadie, and they were thrilled to arrive at the pub to discover that Toadie had actually organised a surprise party for them, with many of their old friends present. However, Toadie soon started to notice some signs of tension between his parents and when Angie gave a thank you speech towards the end of the party, everyone realised there were obvious problems between her and Kev when she started getting digs in about how much she longed for a holiday away from the roadhouse, and Kev. As they settled in at No. 30 to stay with Toadie and his housemate, Stuart Parker, for a few weeks, the couple began to bicker incessantly, and Toadie decided to try and solve the problem by discussing his parents' marital problems on his radio phone-in show. When Kev and Angie heard their problems being discussed by their son live on air, they stormed down to the station to confront him. But Toadie ended up turning the faders up so that all and sundry could hear their arguing across Erinsborough.

As the tension between Kev and Angie grew, Kev heard the lottery results on the radio, and was sure they were Angie's numbers. After bringing Angie a cuppa in bed to keep her busy, Kev worked out all the family's birthdays and realised that they were the same as the winning lottery numbers. But he decided to keep the news of Angie's lottery win to himself, and concentrated on keeping Angie sweet until he could get his hands on her ticket - which she kept hidden in her bra. After winning and dinning her with smoked salmon and caviar, Kev apologised to Angie for his recent failings, and begged her to give him a second chance. Angie was thrilled with Kev's change in attitude, and she forgave him, before they went to bed to make up for lost time. And when Kev got the opportunity, he managed to take the ticket from Angie's bra, which lay on the floor, and collected the winnings for himself.

Kev then ran off with the lottery money, leaving Angie a note telling her he'd see her in Rio. However, Kev returned a few days later after his guilt had gotten the better of him, and he apologised to Angie for what he had done, insisting it was a spur of the moment decision. But Angie taught Kev a lesson by fleeing with the money herself, leaving him an equally dismissive note telling him she had "Gone Fishin'"! Angie returned a few days later, having used the money to buy a camper van for the couple to travel across Australia in on a second honeymoon. Although Kev was initially against the idea, he came to realise the holiday was just what he and Angie needed to get their marriage back on track, and he apologised to her for the way he had been treating her. And as they set off on their travels a few days later, Kev and Angie proved that they still had plenty of bickering to keep them going as they argued over what travel routes to take, but their reaffirmed love for each other was evident to all.

Kev returned to Erinsborough the following year for Toadie's wedding and he was thrilled to see his son marry a beautiful young woman like Dee Bliss. But tragedy struck after the wedding reception when Toadie and Dee lost control of their car and veered off a cliff, plunging into the water. Stonie and Stuart were first on the scene, and although they had managed to rescue Toadie, Dee was nowhere to be found. Kev and Angie desperately sought to comfort their devastated son, who was at his lowest ebb as a result of the accident, but there was little they could do and they were forced to simply leave Toadie to get over the horrific ordeal in his own time.

As Kev and Angie's 33rd wedding anniversary approached, Angie started to hassle Kev about cutting back on his travelling in the truck so he could devote more time to her. Big Kev took this as a sign that Angie wanted the two of them to retire completely and spend every waking minute with each other, and so, in a state of panic, announced to Angie on the morning of their anniversary that he needed a break from her. Angie reacted by heading to Erinsborough to stay with Toadie where she quickly made herself at home taking care of her son and the rest of the boys at No.30. But as the weeks wore on, Toadie began to tire of his mum's interference in his life and called Kev to orchestrate a reunion. Big Kev was thrilled when Toadie told him Angie was willing to give things another go and had agreed to back down on some of the issues she had with him. Kev promptly called Angie to patch things up and it looked like Toadie's plan had worked – until Angie realised that Kev had had a phone call from Toadie and hit the roof at being played for a fool.

The reunion was put on hiatus until Kev's younger sister, Janelle, who normally detested her sister-in-law and had been feuding with her the whole time she was in Ramsay Street, stepped in and urged Kev to come down to Erinsborough and patch things up. Within days, Big Kev pulled up on Ramsay Street in his truck and was met by an excited Angie. It fell to Toadie and housemate Connor to broker a deal between the warring Rebecchi's, and a compromise was finally reached whereby Angie would apply for her heavy vehicle licence and join Big Kev on the road so they could see more of Australia together. Their first stop on that journey was Kakadu for a holiday, and they dropped Toadie and Stuart off in Oakey on the way – meaning the two boys had to reluctantly endure the first leg of what would surely be an interesting road trip for Big Kev and Angie.

Big Kev and Angie were back in Erinsborough a month later for Janelle and Kim’s self-titled ‘re-wedding’. Having never had the special big day they wanted when they got married first time around, Janelle and Kim were determined to pull out all the stops for the renewal of their vows. And Kev was equally determined to give Kim a bucks night he wouldn’t forget. Toadie warned his father not to go too hard on Kim as he simply wanted a few quiet drinks, but Big Kev was out for a good time and wasted no time in livening No.30 up with some beer and a stripper. Kev thought he had pulled off the ultimate practical joke on his brother-in-law when he revealed that Miss Nova was actually a bloke, but Kim took it in his stride and instead of getting worked up, took to laughing at Kev’s ‘party shirt’. Big Kev then proceeded to drown his sorrows with grog and by the next morning, was virtually comatose on the kitchen floor of No.30. Angie was furious that he had been so drunk, not to mention that the night had ended with Kim being tied naked to a surfboard in the middle of Ramsay Street. And when Kev was so hungover that he couldn’t even make it to the nuptials, Angie was furious. But Kev was on hand to offer Janelle a shoulder to cry on after the event when Kim was forced to do a runner to avoid being arrested by the police for DVD piracy.

The Rebecchi family were delighted when Toadie looked set for a second chance at happiness through his relationship with longtime mate Stephanie Scully. Having moved in with her and her young son Charlie, Toadie finally suceeded in getting Steph up the aisle when her divorce from husband Max was finalised. Big Kev and Angie returned to Ramsay Street for the big day, where Kev made a lasting impression on uptight lawyer Rosetta Cammeniti - now living in Toadie's house and working with Toadie at his law firm - when he took to sitting in her living room in his undies having a few beers with Toadie, Daniel Fitzgerald and Rosetta's husband Frazer. When Rosie searched for the telephone, she was horrified when Big Kev produced it, and she realised he had been sitting on it the whole time. Things got more serious, however, when Toadie backed out of the wedding at the last minute, jilting Steph on the altar when he realised she wasn't fully committed to the idea of marrying him. While Angie pestered Toadie to reconsider his decision, Kev understood that it wasn't something Toadie had done lightly and quickly ushered Angie home so that Toadie could come to terms with things.

Trivia Notes
• In 2002, Angie and Big Kev Rebecchi were hastily drafted in to cover the absence of Madeleine West's character Dee Bliss, while the actress recovered following an accident
• Don Bridges first appeared in Neighbours in 1988, guesting in the role of Carl Banks and again in 1994 as Barry Morgan
• To read our interview with Don Bridges, click here

Biography by Moe