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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > 'Teabag' Teasdale Nathan Phillips

John [Teabag] Teasdale 1999

When Paul McClain, Tad Reeves and Hannah Martin started using Harold’s allotment as a BMX track, it started to attract attention from other local BMXers. Amongst them was John Teasdale, or Teabag as everyone knew him. When Tad told him that he was planning to make a film about BMXing, Teabag agreed to help. However, it soon became clear that he wasn’t exactly prepared to stay on the right side of the law when he suggested throwing a brick through the window of Grease Monkeys for the opening shot. Fortunately, the police turned up and they all had to flee before he could do any damage.

Having seen Hannah performing BMX moves, Teabag was very impressed and arranged to meet her, where he gave her his old BMX as a gift. Hannah was thrilled and began to grow closer to Teabag. When she found out that her family were planning to move to Darwin, she was desperate to find somewhere local to stay and Teabag was quick to offer her a place in his share house. However, when she saw the place, complete with chickens roaming the floor, she was hesitant, but thought she had no other option but to move in there. Teabag went to meet Hannah’s father, Philip, and made it clear that it wouldn’t be too difficult for Hannah to make her own way in the world if she stayed behind. Although Hannah was growing besotted with the rebel, her boyfriend, Paul, was less than impressed. He confronted Teabag, who ended up bragging that he’d committed several local robberies. As Bill Kennedy’s workshop had recently been broken into, they realised that it was Teabag behind it, something which he later admitted to Hannah.

Tad, Paul and Hannah decided to tell Bill the truth, and Bill reported Teabag to the police. The incident made Hannah realise that Teabag wasn’t the wonderful guy she’d thought him to be, and she made the decision to go with her family to Darwin. Meanwhile, Teabag was shocked to learn that Tad and Paul had told Bill about his involvement in the break-in, so he decided to make their lives a living hell. His plans began by sneaking around the Bishop house when he knew Madge was home alone. She’d only just experienced a hold-up at the Coffee Shop and so was terrified when she believed that the robber had tracked her down at home. Paul, Tad and Hannah realised who was behind the harassment however, and they confronted Teabag, who admitted to it. He also told Hannah that the bike he’d given to her was stolen. Armed with the information of these two crimes, Harold and Hannah went to the police, who admitted that there was little that they could do without solid proof.

Teabag’s harrassment of the Bishops continued, as he sat around in the Coffee Shop playing loud music but ordering nothing, then phoned the shop with a fake order for a huge amount of food. Once Madge and Harold had spent all day preparing it, he phoned up and cancelled. The final straw came when he had six family pizzas delivered to the Bishop house, so Paul and Tad decided that they had to get their own back. They managed to get Teabag’s address from Hannah, then they went over there under cover of darkness and pulled apart Teabag’s bike. They then called him outside just in time for them to finish dismantling the bike and run off. The next day, Teabag caught up with them and goaded them into returning to his house that afternoon. Paul and Tad started throwing things at the house, culminating in Tad smashing one of the windows. As they were about to cycle off, a police car pulled up and Teabag congratulated himself on winning one over on them.

The incident made the boys realise that it wasn’t worth getting caught up with the likes of Teabag, as they would just end up sinking to his level. Meanwhile, as Hannah spent her last day at Erinsborough High, Teabag showed his softer side by giving her a bracelet as a going away present, before steering clear of the Ramsay Street residents for good.

Biography by Steve

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