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Reference > Erinsborough News > Runaway Bride

Tess leaves Darcy standing at the altar…

Over the past few months, Ramsay Street’s Tess Bell has been messed up, pushed around and taken for a fool. And this fortnight, she finally comes to her senses and gives her fiendish fiancé Dr Darcy Tyler the flick!

The break-up couldn’t be more humiliating for the two-timing GP – Tess makes her decision to end their relationship on the day they are due to be married.

According to actress Krista Vendy, who plays the bride-to-be, pre-wedding jitters set in several days before the schedules nuptials. Even though she forgave Darcy for saying he’d dumped his girlfriend Dee Bliss when he was still seeing her, Tess is finding it increasingly hard to turn a blind eye to his questionable business dealings.

“Tess knows that Darcy has a few plans for Karl Kennedy’s surgery, and he’s not telling Karl the truth,” Krista reveals. “She starts to think, ‘If he can lie to Karl, maybe he can lie to me!’ After all, it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened. Also, she’s not as excited about the wedding as she should be because a lot of her friends disapprove. Even though she loves Darcy, it makes her sad that not that many people will be coming to the wedding.”

Meanwhile, vengeful Dee – who considers both Tess and Darcy her enemies – has been doing some investigating of her own. After forging a friendship with Darcy’s colleague, Victor, Dee comes to the same conclusion as Tess: Darcy is planning to do the dirty on Karl. In a bid to find out more, she contacts Darcy’s ex-fiancee, Alice. That’s when the fireworks really begin!

“On the morning of the wedding, Tess gets a visit from Dee,” Krista reveals. “At first, she doesn’t even want to speak to her, but Dee says she has information that Tess should know. She reveals all the things Alice has told her, basically that Darcy has lied about all his past business dealings. Tess doesn’t want to believe her at first, but after Dee leaves, she starts to wonder if some of what she’s saying is true.”

By the time Lyn Scully arrives to do Tess’ hair and make-up for the ceremony, the seeds of doubt have grown into a full-blown case of cold feet.

“Tess and Lyn are talking, and then Lyn says something about trust being the most important thing in a marriage,” Krista explains. “That’s what does it for Tess. He realises that she just can’t trust Darcy, and without that, there’s no point in them getting married.”

Meanwhile, at Lassiter’s, an excited Darcy waits for his bride. As minutes turn into hours, it becomes clear to everyone that Tess is not going to show up.

“Tess decides that she doesn’t even want to see Darcy – she just wants to leave Erinsborough as fast as possible,” Krista says. “The last thing you actually see is Tess going to say goodbye to Dee. It’s a nice end to the story, as they make up and part as friends.”

After saying farewell to Tess with a huge hug, Dee gleefully heads to Lassiter’s to tell Darcy that his blushing bride has done a runner. It’s the final humiliation for Darcy – and Krista couldn’t be happier.

“It was a fun storyline, and Darcy gets his just desserts in the end,” she laughs. “It was nice for me to leave the show in a dramatic way, rather than just saying goodbye. I also got to wear a wedding dress, which was actually more like a suit – but I still felt like a bride. It made me realise I won’t be getting married in real-life for a long time!”

This article originally appeared in Inside Soap magazine, dated November 2001, and was written by Jason Herbison

Article submitted by Steve