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Character Profiles > Michelle Scully Kate Keltie

Michelle Scully 1999-2003, 2004, 2023
Lived: 26 Ramsay Street
Born: 1986
Parents: Joe and Lyn Scully
Siblings: Stephanie, Jack, Felicity and Oscar
Family Tree: Scully
Occupation: Student, Restaurant Owner

Born in 1986 and the youngest of the Scully children, Michelle was always bound to get her own way. She had quickly learnt that she could wrap her father, and most other people, round her little finger. On the day the family arrived in Ramsay Street, she got carsick and managed to use this as an excuse to avoid helping moving boxes.

Her early crush on Paul McClain developed into nothing, despite her blackmailing him into going on a date with her. She also tried to stop Paul's interest in her sister, Felicity, by feeding Paul false information about her sister. In the following weeks, food started going missing from the Scully house, which they couldn't really afford. Just before the Millennium party in Ramsay Street, Joe found all the food stashed in the tree house in the back garden of Number 26. Michelle explained she was worried that there was going to be a big disaster and they would need the food to survive when their house was destroyed. Joe assured her that Y2K was just a big myth and he would never let anything happen to his family.

Unfortunately, Michelle's prediction proved quite prophetic when disaster struck during the party. Michelle was supposed to be babysitting Louise Carpenter for the Kennedys, but Michelle impatiently went outside to join her family while Lolly was still inside, in the bathroom. When Lolly emerged, she couldn't find Michelle, but did find some firecrackers and matches on the kitchen table. Michelle felt terrible when flames were spotted pouring from the Scully home. While she was relieved when Lolly and her saviour, Drew, both escaped reasonably unhurt, she still felt incredibly guilty about what had happened and was taught an important lesson.

Soon after, Michelle began taking guitar lessons with Paul, in another attempt to get close to him. Lyn agreed to buy Michelle a second-hand guitar but the lessons were soon put to an end when Lyn discovered that Paul wasn't qualified to teach. Michelle also started collecting things related to Paul in order to cast a love spell on him, although this also came to nothing when Flick learnt what she was up to.

Joining a new school was difficult for Michelle. She found it difficult to make friends and suffered at the hands of school bully, Cecile Bliss, sister of Dee. Despite meeting with Susan Kennedy, the principal, over the situation, the bullying continued. Joe's advice to play them at their own game backfired when Michelle pushed Cecile causing her to fall and break her arm. After being suspended for a while, Michelle went back, with a promise from Flick that she'd watch out for her. However, one last confrontation with Cecile was to come, where Michelle finally stood up for herself, telling Cecile that her words could no longer hurt her. As well as putting an end to the bullying, it also led to Michelle becoming good friends with Bianca Nugent, who was impressed by Michelle's speech.

Walking home from school, Michelle had noticed a mysteriously neglected house, known as 'the scary house'. She started finding excuses to visit it, going there with Bianca on a leaflet drop, then offering to do odd jobs for the mysterious occupant. After washing the windows one day, along with their payment they found a gold bracelet for Michelle in the envelope. As the weeks went on, they continued to do odd-jobs and the occupant continued to watch them from inside but never reveal himself. One day, Michelle found the door to the house was ajar and she went inside where a man, Damon Gaffney, confronted her. Michelle ran away, but later returned where she found out a little more about Damon, who had become a recluse after his wife and daughter died. Michelle felt sorry for him and started going to his home where he helped her with her English homework. However, a few weeks later, while looking through some old newspapers for information, Michelle found out that Damon had served a prison sentence for drink driving, not long after the deaths of his wife and daughter. Michelle, however, quickly realised that Damon had suffered enough and was grateful for his friendship when he overcame his agoraphobia to rescue her from attack by a vicious dog. After going to her for advice, Michelle also developed a keen interest in Tess Bell, her friend and teacher. She began hanging around Tess and wanting to dress like her, but again, this was a phase that quickly ended.

When a competition to meet boy-band 'Boy 4' was launched on chocolate bars, Michelle and Bianca spent all their school camp money on the chocolate. Michelle was thrilled when she won, something which quickly made her more popular at school when the news got out. However, when it came to meeting the group, the reality was very different. While Bianca was thrilled with the whole experience, Michelle was left disappointed by the boys, who simply wanted to look good for the publicity opportunities.

Michelle also became suspicious of Lou's new nanny, Patsy Edis, when she told Michelle she was no longer needed for babysitting duties. Michelle tried to warn Lou that Patsy was up to no good, but he thought she was just being a stupid kid, until Patsy was caught burgling Numbers 22 and 32, almost getting away with everything.

Michelle found an abandoned scooter at the park and, despite wanting one herself, she decided to give it to Tad's half-brother, Tim Bailey, who was in hospital after having a bone marrow transplant. This led to Tim developing a crush on Michelle and her having to tell him he was too young for her.

A few weeks later, Michelle found a gun in the garage of her home. While messing around with it in the back garden, she shot and killed a rare bird, the helmeted honey-eater. Harold was horrified by the discovery of the dead bird in his garden and Michelle was forced to admit that she had accidentally shot it.

The arrival of Evan Hancock led to Michelle and Bianca becoming interested in the environment. When they took a trip to Waratah Creek, Michelle was horrified to learn that it was going to be built on as part of the new freeway. She also decided to become a vegetarian and started getting her clothes from op shops. When Michelle rescued some chicks, she started keeping them in the laundry but when they got too big she was forced to let them go. She also joined Harold at an animal rights protest, where they dressed up in animal costumes. Unfortunately, Harold was arrested while dressed as a rabbit. This made Michelle even more determined and one night, she broke into the animal research institute to free the animals. Unfortunately, she was caught and, on top of the protest, charged by the police. Lyn was devastated by her daughter's actions.

As Michelle's interest in the environment grew, she also grew apart from Bianca. However, during part of her community service, Michelle was helping to clean up local parks when she met Zack Shaw. They got very close in a short space of time, and Michelle was worried when she introduced Bianca to Zack, thinking she might steal him away out of spite. Zack later started at Erinsborough High and was embarrassed to be seen around Michelle, as he was a few years older than her. When Zack agreed to take Michelle to the school social, Michelle was thrilled. But when she heard Cecile and Lucy in the toilets, saying that Michelle wasn't good enough for Zack, she was devastated. Zack assured Michelle that he genuinely liked her and she even considered sleeping with him so as not to lose him.

The arrival of Elly Conway, Susan Kennedy's niece, in Ramsay Street, caused Michelle to get into more scrapes. They attended a rave together and as Michelle crept into the house, she thought she had got away with it, but was caught by her father. After spending the night with Zack and catching him with Elly, Michelle realised that he wasn't as serious about her as she was about him, so they split up. Michelle spitefully told Elly that her mother didn't want her and that she was staying in Ramsay Street. The two friends eventually made up.

Meanwhile, Michelle and Leo Hancock found a refugee, Gregori, hiding in Number 22 while Lou was away. They felt very sorry for him after hearing his story, and Michelle took some of her father's clothes to give to the man, claiming that she was donating to the salvos. Unfortunately, Joe was suspicious, as food had also been disappearing and so he followed Michelle back to 22 and discovered Gregori. Despite pleas from Michelle and Leo, Joe was forced to report his finding to the police. Michelle tried to convince Gregori to run away, but he decided her should stop running and hand himself in. Sadly, he didn't receive asylum and was sent home. Michelle was devastated and blamed her father for the whole affair.

Relations between Michelle and Joe got increasingly worse with the pair barely speaking to each other. The last straw came for Joe when Michelle began helping his rival, Evan Hancock, in his bid for local councillor. When Joe found that Michelle had been defacing his posters and delivering fliers for Evan, he realised there had been a complete communication breakdown. However, Michelle noticed how hurt her father was and after Joe lost out in the election to Evan, Michelle apologised to her father. She explained that her siding with Evan was not an attack against her father, but she simply agreed with the views he stood for. Joe realised how proud he was of his daughter for having such strong opinions of her own and the two made up.

When Michelle found out that Zack had been spreading rumours about her being easy, she and Elly decided to exact their revenge. They broke into the school one night and, despite almost being caught by a security guard, Michelle managed to get into a classroom and write 'Zack is gay' on the blackboard. Elly was horrified by this, telling Michelle that she was equally as bad for using the term 'gay' as an insult.

After this, Michelle began to feel less and less positive about her self-image. Remarks from Flick about her dress sense didn't help matters and Michelle would constantly comment that she was fat. The arrival of Connor O'Neill, an Irish friend of Michelle's brother, Jack, seemed to aggravate the situation. When she opened the door to him, Connor mistook Michelle for Flick and Michelle stormed off. But the bad start between them soon softened as Connor showered Michelle, or Micha as he liked to call her, with compliments. Despite the obvious concerns about her father and the age difference, the couple got together, sharing their first kiss during Stephanie's hen weekend. Their attempts to keep the relationship a secret were successful for a while, but eventually they decided to tell Joe and face his wrath. Fortunately for Michelle, Joe had obviously learnt something from his experiences with Flick and Joel, as he was very calm over Michelle and Connor, allowing the relationship to continue, albeit with a few ground rules set.

After the disaster of Steph's wedding, Michelle ended up taking over the running over the Scully household. Forced to wag school and do all the cleaning, Michelle began to get very run down, but the support of Connor helped to get her through. However, school bitch Tahnee was determined to split the couple up and when she realised Connor couldn't read or write, she found the opportunity to blackmail him into kissing her. Michelle was oblivious to her boyfriend's illiteracy, until one day after he had made her a mocktail, she suddenly felt her throat begin to burn. After being admitted to hospital, Michelle was unable to talk and could only listen and write noted as Connor admitted to her that he'd been keeping this secret for months.

When Michelle got home, she found out that Connor had disappeared. Her sister, Steph and friend, Nina, helped to track him down to an orchard. After realising that he didn't want to see her and that he might take off from the orchard soon and never come back, Michelle decided to make a tape for him, explaining her feelings. Fortunately, this worked and Connor returned, where Michelle offered to teach him to read. It didn't really work out, as Connor resented having his girlfriend help him, so she asked Libby Kennedy if she'd teach him instead.

Michelle learnt from Lyn that her parents were trying for another baby. Michelle was horrified, suggesting that it was a disgusting idea. However, after a chat with Flick, she realised she'd quite like to be an older sister and apologised to her mum.

Michelle noticed that Connor was spending a lot of time with Nina Tucker and wondered what was going on. While Connor was simply encouraging Nina with her singing, what Michelle didn't know what that Nina had fallen for sympathetic Connor and was being blackmailed by Tahnee. Michelle found her friend's behaviour strange. At the same time, Michelle, Nina and Tahnee were being considered for a school exchange to America. When Tahnee blackmailed Nina into pulling out, Michelle was further confused.

Meanwhile, Joe and Lyn found out about the exchange and told Michelle she couldn't go. But Michelle defied them and applied anyway. When Joe found out, he argued with his daughter and she told him that she wanted more out of life than to settle for what her parents did. Eventually, Joe and Lyn agreed to let Michelle continue with her application and during her interview, attended by her parents, she said that they were the people she most admired in life. This helped heal the rift.

After a quest to find the singer of Born to Try, Tahnee decided to claim the song as her own. However, when Nina humiliated Tahnee by singing the song in front of everyone, Tahnee took revenge by telling Michelle that Nina was in love with Connor. Michelle was heartbroken and thought that Connor felt the same about Nina, having spent so much time with her. Connor disappeared again, but after a heartfelt plea to Michelle, she realised the whole thing had been innocent and agreed to take Connor back.

When Michelle learnt she was going to New York, she was thrilled at first, but then began to worry. She was upset to realise that Connor wouldn't be able to come with her, as he would be unable to get a green card. As her leaving date got closer, Michelle admitted to Connor that she wasn't sure she wanted to go, but when she realised Joe had sold all his old records to help fund the trip, she decided she couldn't say anything. She was thrilled when Flick agreed to accompany her, having scored a job at Lassiters in New York. Michelle and Connor spent their final evening together at the rotunda by Lassiters lake.

However, fate stepped in when, on the day Michelle was due to leave, the Scullys learnt that insurance for the trip had fallen through and Michelle would be staying in Australia. Nina and Connor gave her a New York style breakfast at the Coffee Shop to cheer her up. After the return of Jack with his girlfriend, Lori, the Scully house was full to bursting. Michelle wanted Connor to move into her room, but Joe was dead set against it. Despite Michelle's protests, Connor ended up setting up a bedroom in the garage.

After spending some time together at the beach at the end of the school year, Connor gave Michelle a necklace with half a heart on it, wearing the other half himself. When they returned to Erinsborough, Michelle was surprised to be confronted by Joe. Having found a positive pregnancy test in the bin, Joe jumped to the conclusion that it was Michelle's. During Karl and Susan's wedding, Michelle protested her innocence, and was stunned to learn that the test belonged to Lyn.

Michelle was delighted by her mum's news. She was also quite surprised when Connor told her that he thought Jack had feelings for Nina. While she thought it to be a load of rubbish, she began to notice things as well and her suspicions grew. Michelle was thrilled when Connor managed to write a letter to the newspaper by himself and very proud when her father gave him a promotion at work. She also needed her boyfriend's support when her Nana Connie died after a stroke and the kids all held a remembrance party at Number 26.

Soon after this, Michelle received a phone call while at home one day, asking to speak to Joe and explaining that it was immigration. Michelle quickly realised that this could be extremely bad news for Connor and the two of them decided to make themselves scarce, fearful that he would be deported. After stealing the ute that Stuart was fixing up for Connor to use, they headed out of town in a hurry after noticing a man arrive at number 26. After stopping in a small country town and checking into a motel, they realised that they needed a drastic plan to avoid Connor being sent back to Ireland. Michelle quickly hit upon the idea of marriage and proposed to her boyfriend, with him accepting. However, after making enquiries at the local church, they realised that they'd need parental consent. Michelle then hit upon the idea of going to New Zealand, where she believed that at 16, she could legally marry Connor.

After arranging the tickets, Michelle phoned home and begged Steph to bring her and Connor's passports. When Steph arrived, she attempted to talk Michelle into going home, although Connor eventually convinced Steph to hand over the passports, telling Steph that he would make sure nothing happened. Arriving at the airport, Connor snuck away and phoned Joe, telling him to come and pick up Michelle. As the couple waited for their flight to be called, Connor heard the flight to London being called and got up to leave. A devastated Michelle realised what was happening and begged Connor to stay, but he told her he couldn't do that to her and walked away. As Joe arrived, Michelle told him what had happened and he talked Connor into staying. As the three of them arrived back in Ramsay Street, Connor received another visit from immigration, who agreed to be lenient in light of his illiteracy. Meanwhile, Joe told Connor he was no longer welcome in his home and a tearful Michelle said goodbye to her boyfriend.

The couple drifted apart over the following weeks, with Connor finally visiting Michelle and telling her that their relationship was over. He explained that she needed to concentrate on her VCE and work out where her life was heading before committing to him. A devastated Michelle confided in her Aunt Valda, who told her that she was sure that with time, she'd be able to win Connor back. Soon after, Michelle's brother Jack put Michelle in an awkward position by revealing his affair with Nina. Michelle was torn about what to do, but when she saw Nina and Connor spending a lot of time together, she accused Nina of trying to steal away all of her friend's boyfriends. Soon after, Tahnee returned to Erinsborough after dropping out of the exchange programme and Michelle was shocked when Jim Bronte phoned and offered her the place. Michelle gladly accepted and her final couple of weeks in Erinsborough were spent patching things up with Nina and Connor. In the end, Michelle and Connor spent her final night in Erinsborough together and vowed to stay together. Michelle said farewell to her family and friends and left for the airport with the two most important people to her - Connor and Lyn.

After a year in New York, Michelle returned to Erinsborough for six weeks, during her school holidays. She was hoping to pick up where she left off with Connor, but was in for a rude awakening. Walking into number 30, she found Connor in the arms of his new girlfriend, Carmella Cammeniti. Michelle was hurt, but she played this down in front of Connor, making sure that they could still be friends. However, Connor decided that Michelle was the girl for him, after she gave him a book of Irish poems, and he dumped Carmella. Despite Carmella going to number 26 and delivering a slap to her love rival, Michelle was delighted to have won Connor back. Jack, however, wasn’t too happy and explained to Michelle that something had happened between Connor and Lori the previous year. Michelle went straight to Connor, upset by this revelation, and so he was forced to tell her everything.

After a difficult few weeks, the young couple were reunited and agreed to put the past behind them. As Connor was granted citizenship in Australia, Michelle decided that she was going to give up her life in New York and return to Erinsborough permanently. This decision was met with horror by her family, but she made it clear that she had thought it all through. Connor, however, made it clear to Michelle that, regardless of what everyone else believed, to him, they were engaged. To escape from the prying eyes of her family, the couple decided to spend a night at Lassiter’s hotel. But the next morning, they were in for a huge shock when they spotted Lori checking in at reception, carrying a baby. Lori introduced Connor to his daughter, Maddy, and Michelle was left reeling. She wondered where she stood in the whole mess, and Connor made it clear to her that he was completely devoted to her and nothing would have to change. However, when Michelle explained this to Lori, the young mother made it clear that Connor told her the same thing last year, and had basically offered to marry her if she didn’t go through with the abortion. Valda, who had made her feelings perfectly clear about her granddaughter giving up her career for Connor, then made Michelle an offer – she would pay her to return to New York. After some soul searching, Michelle realised that Connor couldn’t be relied on and so, she once again bid her family a tearful goodbye.

Michelle remained in the US, where she married a chef and together they ran a successful restaurant. In 2023, with Erinsborough High due to close, Michelle was one of many former students and teachers who returned to protest the closure. The school and its land had been bought by Terese Willis, who planned to open a retirement home, but both she, and current principal Jane Harris, were unaware of the planned protest. When former principal Susan found out, she was in two minds about whether to tell Jane, but the decision was made for her when they heard radio journalist Summer Hoyland - another former Erinsborough High student - podcasting from the protest. Hearing Michelle talk about her bullying, and the way the school had helped her, made both Susan and Jane realise that they wanted to be there. Soon after, Terese and her husband, Toadie, were walking through the Lassiters Complex when he saw Michelle. Wondering what she was doing in town, Toadie looked at her socials and found out about the protests, and Terese immediately headed down there, calling both the police and her private security firm. Though the protests failed to get the Department of Education to change their mind about closing the school, Terese finally realised what a mistake she was making and suggested to Jane that they could divide the land between the school and the retirement home.

Trivia Notes
• During Michelle's 2023 return, a social media interview with Kate Keltie revealed that Joe Scully had died in the intervening years and that Michelle had a son named after him, though none of this was mentioned on-screen

Tenure
3418-4238, 4439-4463, 8948

Biography by Steve

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