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Reference > Erinsborough News > “Room Service Think I’m Mad!”

Since leaving Ramsay Street, Stefan Dennis has been living out of a suitcase, and as he reveals, home for now is just a hotel room…

Paul Robinson has had an extraordinary life! In eight years in Ramsay Street he’s developed from a geeky student to the power-wielding boss of his own corporation. And he’s managed to have three wives and five kids along the way!

“I never really got bored of playing Paul!” says Stefan Dennis. “He had some really good storylines.”

But nothing previously can compare to this month’s explosive storyline. “It’s certainly dramatic,” he admits of Paul’s fling with sister-in-law Caroline.

Having left Neighbours last year, Stefan is currently touring Britain in Bryan Clarke’s powerful play Whose Life Is It Anyway?

“I play Ken Harrison who has been injured in a motor accident and is now a quadriplegic,” explains Stefan. “He used to be a sculptor but now that he can’t use his hands, he can’t express himself, and he’s made the decision that he wants to die.”

As you can imagine this is pretty dramatic stuff, and Stefan has been receiving wonderful reviews for his portrayal of the embittered Ken. “People have been responding brilliantly. Obviously there are a lot of people who have come to see Paul, and it’s a bit of a shock for them. But they’ve not been disappointed.”

It’s part of an actor’s job to research a role, but Stefan took things a little too far for this one – he even had a motor accident that put him out of action! “We were in the second week of rehearsals and I was driving my car in Trafalgar Square. From nowhere this car came and smacked into the side of me. My leg was very badly hurt – but I did get my first ride in an ambulance! The funny thing is, is that if I was playing any other part in the play they would have had to re-cast!”

For the moment, life on the road, living out of a suitcase suits Stefan down to the ground. “The only problem is British hotel rooms don’t have kitchens so I usually build a makeshift one,” he explains. “I ask room service for a chopping board, and a good sharp knife, and I think they think I’m a little mad!”

This article originally appeared in Inside Soap magazine, dated May 1993

Article submitted by Steve