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Guest Character Profiles > Felix Rodwell James Beaufort

Felix Rodwell 2024
Siblings: Andrew (Adoptive)
Children: JJ
Occupation: The 82 Tram Cafe Employee

The younger brother of Erinsborough Police Sergeant Andrew Rodwell, Felix couldn't have been more different to his sensible, level-headed, law-abiding sibling. Having been in and out of prison, Felix had been caught up in some robberies and spent eighteen months, his longest stretch yet, in prison. Having had no contact with Andrew, his wife Wendy or their daughter, Sadie, during that time, he wrote to Andrew and asked if he could come and stay with them when he was released on parole.

Andrew had several concerns about the idea, not least the fact that it might not be a good look for a Police Sergeant to have a criminal living with them. But his main issue was that he was concerned that Felix might be the father of their teenaged neighbour, JJ Varga-Murphy. JJ and his family had moved to Ramsay Street the previous year, with JJ having planned the whole move as he believed that Andrew was his father - something that was then disproved with a DNA test. JJ had read the diary of Phillipa Wade, the best friend of one of his mums, Cara, which revealed that Andrew, another of Phillipa's good friends, had donated sperm to her to help her and her girlfriend get pregnant. Phillipa had then changed her mind about using it and had given it to Cara, but when Andrew told her that he'd also had second thoughts, Felix had suggested that he could donate instead. Andrew thought that he'd talked his brother out of it, but he then read in Phillipa's diary that Felix had gone to a party with her - and the next few diary entries had been ripped out. Though Felix assured Andrew that he hadn't donated his sperm to Phillipa, it soon emerged that, before her death, she'd sent the missing diary pages to him in prison. These pages confirmed that she'd given Felix's sperm to Cara and, as Andrew returned the next day to confirm that he'd be supporting his brother's parole, Felix was left wondering if he was about to move in across the street from his long-lost son.

The following week, after receiving parole, Felix arrived to stay with the Rodwells, immediately becoming distracted when he spotted JJ playing basketball across the street. With Andrew making it clear that there were rules that Felix would need to abide by, and he'd need to look for work, if he was going to stay, they were interrupted by JJ, who wanted Andrew's help with some boxing training, hoping that he could use some moves to defend himself from gang leader Slade, who'd been causing trouble in the area. Though JJ's mums Cara and Remi were worried about the boxing, and Remi was especially concerned to learn that Felix had just come out of prison, JJ went ahead with the lessons, where Felix was shocked to see that JJ had a birthmark on his back, which was very similar to his own.

Andrew was then in for a shock one day when he came home to find Felix sharing the spa with a woman, who he introduced as his girlfriend, Jools Halliday. He explained that he'd met her before his most recent stint in prison and she'd been a great support to him. Once Andrew had gone inside, Felix chatted to Jools about the JJ situation, making it clear that he had no interest in being a father and, when Jools was leaving later, they spotted JJ across the street. Felix then told Jools that, if he managed to get the labouring job he was applying for, he'd save for a few weeks and then take her to the Philippines, even if it meant skipping his parole. After he then stood up for JJ when he caught him being set upon by Slade and his mates, Felix found himself enjoying offering advice to the teenager. As the pair got chatting, they once again ran into Slade, staring him down and watching him run off, before giving him a taste of his own medicine by putting a nail into one of his car tyres.

When Slade and his mates then grabbed young Hugo Rebecchi from the side of the road and put him into the boot of their car, before taking off on a joyride, Felix became worried that the tyre might blow out, telling JJ not to say anything as it could land him back in prison. Fortunately, Hugo was found and nobody was injured, and when JJ successfully stood up to Slade again, he tracked Felix down at the Eirini Rising worksite and thanked him for his advice. As JJ spoke about how great it was to have someone on Ramsay Street who seemed to understand him, Felix panicked, doubling down on his plan to get some money and leave town as soon as possible. When he then spotted Slade on the worksite, he confronted him and suggested that they could rob some gear from the worksite and split the money, allowing them both to get out of town.

As he began his attempts to get some of his dodgy mates to buy the goods he was planning to steal, Felix started to feel guilty about letting down Andrew and Wendy. As they did some boxing training together, Felix told Andrew about how he'd always felt like their parents put all of their time and effort into Andrew, whilst expecting Felix to be a failure. Andrew realised that this had become a self-fulfilling prophecy for Felix, as he lived up to the low expectations everyone had of him. As he continued his plans to rob the worksite, Felix was touched when Andrew and Wendy arranged a 'Welcome to Ramsay Street' party for him. However, when Harolds Cafe was trashed, Andrew was forced to question Felix about his whereabouts when it had happened and, unable to provide an alibi, Felix became defensive and walked out of the house. When he later returned to find the welcome party in full swing, Felix again found himself cornered by his brother, looking for an explanation, but was in for a shock when JJ suddenly piped up and claimed that Felix had been with him on the night in question.

Felix was grateful, and Andrew accepted the excuse that Felix had been helping JJ with some techniques to get rid of bullies, with JJ wanting to keep it quiet as he knew that his mums wouldn't approve. When Jools later turned up, Felix admitted to her that he was starting to wonder if he wanted to stick around and be a part of JJ's life after all. However, when Cara and Remi then told him that they didn't want him spending time with JJ, Felix changed his mind. After Jools then overheard Holly Hoyland asking Felix out on a date, she confronted her, causing a scene as she dumped cake on her head before leaving. As Felix showed Jools to her taxi, he said that the original plan - to rob the building site and leave for the Philippines - was back on. Unfortunately, as the taxi drove away, Felix realised that JJ had overheard everything. He was then forced to lie that he was being forced to rob the worksite in order to pay back some of his old criminal accomplices, who were demanding money now that he was a free man again. JJ accepted this and, after thinking it over, he agreed not to say anything, but asked a surprise Felix to consider staying around in Erinsborough once the job was done, as he liked having him around.

After attempting to apologise to Holly and then accidentally pouring coffee over her book, Felix tracked down another copy to make it up to her, unaware that he'd left a map of Eirini Rising inside. The robbery plan continued to have problems when JJ caught Felix talking to Slade. Felix was forced to admit that Slade was his accomplice, and he'd requested his help in exchange for him leaving JJ and Dex alone. JJ was pleased that Felix seemed to have his back, so when Slade was caught out in a citizen's arrest by Cara, he offered to take his place. With few other options left to him, Felix reluctantly agreed, but quickly realised that it was a mistake and lied to JJ that he'd found someone else. After cooking dinner for Wendy and Andrew, with them unaware that it was Felix's way of saying thank you and goodbye, he went to the building site the next morning, surprised to find that JJ had turned up anyway. As they began emptying the site into a van, back on Ramsay Street, Holly had found the map in her book and worked out what was going on. She alerted Andrew, who went down there and caught Felix and JJ in the act, causing a panicked JJ to reverse into some scaffolding, which fell onto Andrew, knocking him out.

At the hospital, Andrew was diagnosed with a few broken ribs and a concussion, and when he woke up, he told Wendy who was responsible for what had happened. As a worried JJ turned up at the hospital to check on Andrew, Wendy went home to see if there was any trace of Felix. She found a packed bag and as she started to look through it, she was stunned to find the missing pages from Phillipa's diary. When Felix then walked in, she asked him if he was JJ's father and he admitted that it was looking likely, showing her the birthmark and explaining that JJ had an identical one in the same place. As Felix then disappeared, unable to face JJ or Andrew, it was left to Wendy and Andrew to tell Remi and Cara what they'd found out about JJ's paternity, and about his involvement in the robbery.

With Jools arranging to meet Felix, telling him that she had the money for them to get out of Erinsborough, he was in for a shock when it turned out to be a set-up and the police arrested him. He then faced questioning and a return to prison after breaking his parole, but first he found himself confronted by Andrew, who told him that he couldn't forgive him this time and never wanted to see him again. To make matters worse, Remi visited Felix before he was taken away - she and Cara had told JJ the truth about his paternity, but were determined that Felix would have nothing to do with his son. She told Felix that, even if JJ asked, he should have no contact with him, and Felix agreed, leaving JJ devastated when he found out.

A few weeks later, the prison got in touch with Andrew, explaining that Felix was unwell and had requested a visit. With JJ struggling with his father's rejection and, having learnt that his parents had told Felix to keep his distance, he was more confused than ever, desperate for answers that he wasn't getting. Andrew decided to visit his brother and try to get answers for JJ, but after learning where Andrew was going, JJ jumped into his car, insisting that he was going too. At the prison, JJ waited as Andrew went in and spoke to Felix, learning that he had been in agony for weeks from kidney stones and that it had given him a lot of time to think. Andrew wasn't interested in Felix's attempts to apologise, but told him that JJ had hijacked the visit and was waiting outside. Felix was unsure what to do, but Andrew told him that JJ had been desperately making excuses for Felix's rejection and needed honesty. Felix then spoke to JJ, telling the devastated teenager that he had no interest in being his father or even forming any kind of friendship with him and that, as far as he was concerned, he was just a kid who lived across the road from Andrew. JJ then ran out of the visiting room and, after checking he was OK, Andrew returned to Felix, thanking him for being honest. Felix admitted that he hadn't been completely honest and that, although he didn't want to be JJ's dad, he would always care about him. Having gotten closure for JJ, and for himself, Andrew then told Felix not to contact him again, and he left.

A few months later, Remi was called into work at the hospital during an emergency, learning that there had been a brawl at the prison. After being told that one patient was in critical condition with a stab wound to the abdomen, Remi was shocked to see that it was Felix. After asking colleague Dr Stevie Hart to take over his care, she went and told Cara and they realised that JJ needed to know. As Felix was taken in for emergency surgery on his bowel, Remi and Cara were aware that this could be JJ's last opportunity to see his father. With Felix then having made it through safely, the Varga-Murphys went to the hospital, where JJ saw his dad from a distance, remembering their last conversation and deciding that he didn't want to see him. Meanwhile, Andrew and Wendy also found out what had happened and, although they were relieved to find out that his condition was improving, Andrew made the firm decision that he didn't want to see him, despite learning that Felix had been defending another inmate when he'd been injured. Worried that Andrew would regret cutting Felix out of his life completely, Wendy then decided to go against his wishes and went to visit her brother-in-law.

As Wendy and Felix chatted, she realised that something about him had changed and, when Andrew found out about Wendy's visit and went to the hospital, she told him the same thing. Realising that Wendy had decided to visit Felix as she was worried that Andrew would one day regret cutting his brother out of his life, Andrew decided to go and talk to him. Felix insisted that he had no intention to cause any trouble, or to contact anyone else and, after their brief chat, Andrew admitted to Wendy that it did indeed appear that something had changed in Felix. Felix then received a visit from the head warden who informed him that, due to his actions saving another prisoner and a couple of the guards during the brawl, he was being considered for early release. As Felix then reported this to Wade Fernsby, his friend and the prisoner whose life he had saved, he was unaware that this man had a history of his own on Ramsay Street and had revenge in mind.

As the Rodwells found out that Felix's early release had been confirmed, Andrew agreed to help him, finding him a place at a halfway house in West Waratah and offering to pay his rent until he found himself a job. Felix was grateful, insisting that he would do everything he could to make things up to Andrew, Wendy and Sadie and that he'd stick by his promise to Remi and Cara, and would stay away from JJ, even though it was breaking his heart to do so. Later that day, as Felix was talking to one of the nurses, it became apparent why Andrew and Wendy were noticing a change in him - he'd found God and was taking comfort in his new-found faith.

As Andrew visited Felix to make preparations for his release, he noticed the bible and Felix admitted that he'd found God and that his faith had given him a lot of comfort. With Andrew, and particularly Cara and Remi, still unsure whether he could be trusted, Felix then woke up one morning and overheard Wade talking to someone on a burner phone that had been snuck in by a friend. Hearing mention of a wedding and payback, Felix reported this to Andrew later in the day, and, after hearing that Felix's roommate was Wade, Andrew realised that Haz and Mackenzie could be in danger at their wedding that day. As Felix was then discharged and taken to the halfway house, Andrew arranged a subtle police presence at the wedding. Desperate to help, Felix turned up at Lassiters, where the wedding reception was taking place, and tried to keep an eye on things, eventually spotting another ex-inmate, Bowser Jones, hanging around Haz's car. However, as Felix pretended that Wade had sent him and tried to find out what was going on, Bowser saw straight through him and made a quick getaway, with Remi and Cara spotting the exchange and angrily telling Felix to leave. Later, after returning and seeing Haz and Mackenzie drive off in a hire car, then most of the wedding guests leaving in a minibus, Felix tracked down Andrew and told him what he'd seen Bowser doing, but as they went to the car park, they found that Haz's car had gone, leaving a trail of brake fluid, meaning that whoever was driving it was in great danger.

Still desperate to help, Felix joined Andrew as they tried to work out who'd taken the car, with Andrew eventually receiving a call about a car that had crashed nearby. He and Felix raced to the scene, arriving just before the emergency services and finding Terese Willis behind the wheel, unconscious with a head injury. When she woke up, she was taken to hospital and kept in for observation, with Remi interested to learn about Felix's part in reporting Wade's plans to Andrew. As Felix continued to show concern for Terese and even for Wade, he started to pray, leaving both Andrew and Remi wondering if he really had turned over a new leaf.

After overhearing Karl Kennedy on the phone, mentioning that there was some furniture in the courtyard of Eirini Rising which needed to be moved, Felix decided to go and speak to Terese about it. After apologising to her, feeling that he could have done more to prevent her car accident and also apologising for the robbery, he mentioned that his halfway house ran a programme to house people who'd just been released from prison and he might be able to help find a home for the furniture. Terese agreed and Felix made arrangements to collect it the next day, tracking down Remi to make sure that JJ wasn't working. She was grateful to him for checking with her and confirmed that JJ wouldn't be at Eirini the next day. Unfortunately, when Felix then arrived to pick up the furniture, JJ happened to be there, dropping off some gardening supplies for Harold Bishop, and they ended up coming face to face. A shocked JJ quickly left and, while Remi accepted that it was all just a mix-up, Cara was less convinced, refusing to forgive Felix or believe that anything he did wasn't pre-planned.

Felix found another opportunity to prove how much he'd changed when, later in the week, a hostage situation unfolded at the Waterhole. With criminal Justin Ashton holding four of the locals - Holly, Paul, Susan and Aaron - at gunpoint, demanding money that Holly had stolen, the police were trying to work out their next steps. As Felix overheard Andrew talking to his senior, Tony Thompson, he suggested that they could send someone in with a hidden mic in exchange for one of the hostages. When his suggestion was ignored, Felix decided to sneak in himself, managing to get behind the bar and call Andrew, giving the police the opportunity to listen in on what was going on. Felix then made himself known, claiming to Justin that he'd been working in the kitchen and had been hiding. As the sun came up the next morning, it was revealed that bar manager Wendy Rodwell and her friend Quinn Lao had been hiding in the office, causing Justin to get angry and, as he threatened to shoot someone, Felix grabbed his opportunity and wrestled him to the ground, allowing the police to storm the building and get everyone to safety.

As Felix found himself the hero of the hour after the siege, he bonded with Harold Bishop over their faith, with Harold then mentioning to Karl Kennedy that Felix was looking for work. Hugely grateful to Felix for his actions during the siege, which kept Karl's wife Susan and daughter Holly safe, Karl approached Felix about a job at his tram cafe, The 82. Though Felix was happy to be offered the job, he explained that he'd need to make sure that the Varga-Murphy family were comfortable with the idea before accepting. Unfortunately, when Harold then saw Remi and Cara and mentioned his recommendation, they tracked down Karl to confront him. Whilst an angry Cara then stormed off, Remi stayed and listened as Karl explained the full story and that Felix hadn't taken the job yet. As Cara then bumped into Felix, she angrily confronted him, insisting that she still didn't believe that he'd changed and that he needed to find a job somewhere other than Erinsborough.

With Andrew also still unsure about his brother being around, Felix continued to try and show that he'd changed, offering to take part in a male revue for charity that was being organised by Krista Sinclair. However, when it was pointed out that the Varga-Murphys might not be happy about it, he backed down. However, with Remi starting to wonder if they should at least allow Felix to take a job nearby, as long as he stayed away from JJ, Cara was feeling like she was the only person who still hated the man. But after watching from a distance as Felix spotted JJ across the lake but chose not to approach him, Cara gave her approval for him both to take part in the male revue and to accept Karl's job offer at the tram.

As he began his first shift at the tram, with Holly training him up, Felix continued to notice signs of PTSD, as she overreacted to some cutlery being dropped and cowered on the floor when a passing car backfired. With Felix trying to talk her into getting help, Holly was desperate to get rid of him, trying to tell her dad that he wasn't a good fit for the job at the tram. When she later went back to pick up her phone, she was shocked to find Felix sleeping in the tram and called her dad to come down, hoping that this would lose him the job. Unfortunately for Holly, Karl was supportive as Felix explained that he was finding it difficult to be around the people at the halfway house, some of whom were trying to pull him back into criminal activities. Karl agreed that Felix could stay at the tram until he found somewhere more suitable and, the next day, he continued to try and talk Holly into getting help, upsetting her more and more.

After a jumpy Holly then accidentally hurt Susan when she walked up behind her, she finally realised that perhaps she did need help. Felix was amused to see Holly reading the self-help book at the Waterhole, hiding it behind a fashion magazine so nobody knew, but he was pleased that she was making progress. After struggling to find a way through after suffering a panic attack one night, Holly approached Felix, explaining that she'd been trying the techniques in the book, but nothing was working. Felix offered to show her some techniques that had worked for him, and as things improved with him and Holly, they also seemed to be getting better in his relationship with JJ. After Felix spotted JJ wagging school to spend time with his girlfriend, Nell, who had recently moved to Colac but had returned for the day without her dad's knowledge, he tried to talk to him. JJ was angry as Felix attempted to be a father for the first time, telling him that skipping school was what had started him on a path to other bad choices and ultimately prison. When Felix warned that he'd have to tell Remi and Cara, JJ begged him not to, insisting that it was just one day and that Nell would be in a lot of trouble if anyone found out. Felix agreed to keep quiet and JJ was happy when he realised that he had kept his word and his mums knew nothing about him missing school and meeting up with Nell.

As he continued to make progress with both Holly and JJ, Felix soon faced a huge setback when $300 went missing from the tram. Felix insisted that it had been left in an envelope by the till and that he'd been planning to take it to the bank, but with the money now nowhere to be seen, Karl was forced to fire him. As Felix insisted that he hadn't taken it, he found support from Andrew, but Remi who had been considering giving him another chance, was less convinced. With Felix also being asked to step down from his part in the charity male revue, he was worried that his past was always going to colour people's opinions of him. Cara, however, wondered why Felix would risk all the hard work he'd been doing lately for the sake of $300, and decided to do some investigating. She later met up with Remi, Karl and Felix and handed over the money, explaining that she'd found it inside a loose panel between the counter and the till on the tram. As both Karl and Remi offered their apologies for jumping to conclusions, Felix was happy to have been proved innocent and accepted his job back.

As Holly continued to turn to Felix for support, she was upset when she received a psychiatric report, as part of her legal defence over the theft of the money that had led to the siege at the Waterhole. Traumatised by the report, Holly ended up suffering a panic attack in the night and rushing to the tram, where Felix let her lie next to him. Having already spotted Felix and Holly hugging, Karl was alarmed to find them together and Holly was forced to explain to her father that Felix had been helping her with her PTSD. As Felix then tried to help Holly fix her relationship with her father, he also offered advice to Dex, who was attending a job interview at burger bar, Grease Monkeys. Touched by Felix's kindness, Dex invited him to a family dinner at the Varga-Murphy house, hoping that it could start to fix the problems between his mums, JJ and Felix. After a little persuasion, Felix agreed to attend, but was perturbed when he turned up and realised that Cara and Remi knew nothing about the invitation. As JJ didn't appear to have a problem with it, it was agreed that he could stay and the evening appeared to be going well, until Dex received a message telling him that he'd got the job. When Cara and Remi asked why he needed a job, he explained that he wanted to help out with the cost of a private computing course he was doing, worried that it was stretching the family's finances. Cara and Remi explained that the money problems were for another reason, with JJ quickly piping up, asking them if they were going ahead with their plan to have another baby. As the awkward evening then came to an end, Felix managed to make things even more awkward by casually offering to donate his sperm again.

Unsure if Felix had been joking or not, Remi approached him the next day, realising that he'd been serious about the offer. She quickly reminded him of all the drama they were through last time and that it was terrible idea, which Felix quickly accepted. He then attended a carpentry course at Eirini Rising, which Terese had asked him to help with, and it soon became clear that it had been double booked, with Cara also helping out. Fortunately, Felix and Cara took the opportunity to clear the air and, as the Varga-Murphys gave their approval, Felix was delighted when Andrew asked his brother to move in with him on Ramsay Street. However, Felix's offer had made Cara think about using a known sperm donor rather than someone anonymous, leading to confusion between her and Remi, who wrongly believed that she was considering using Felix. The situation caused tension between the two women as they all gathered for a barbecue to welcome Felix to the street. JJ soon picked up on the problem and arrived home to overhear his mums discussing postponing their baby plans until things had calmed down.

Though he and Felix had moved past their problems, and Felix had apologised for the way he'd rejected him earlier in the year, JJ realised that his family were more important than him getting to know his dad. He asked Felix to meet him, where he told him that his presence wasn't good for his family, asking him if he would leave Erinsborough to give them all some breathing space. Felix agreed to think about it, admitting to Andrew that he wanted to show JJ the respect he deserved by following his wishes. Holly, however, was horrified by the thought of losing her biggest emotional support and asked Felix to reconsider. Confused over what to do, Felix was given the sign he needed when he was contacted by the minister who'd visited him in prison, who needed a caretaker at his church. The job was away from Erinsborough and came with accommodation, so Felix decided to accept. After reminding Holly of how far she'd come and that she could rely on her other friends for support, thanking Karl for his help and telling JJ that he could contact him whenever he wanted to, Felix left town for a fresh start.

Episodes Featured
8996, 8997, 9002, 9003, 9006, 9007, 9008, 9011, 9012, 9013, 9016, 9017, 9018, 9019, 9020, 9041, 9106, 9107, 9108, 9111, 9112, 9113, 9114, 9116, 9117, 9119, 9122, 9123, 9126, 9127, 9128, 9131, 9132, 9133, 9136, 9137, 9138, 9141, 9142, 9143

Biography by Steve

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