Darcy Tyler

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Darcy Tyler
Neighbours character
Liz Conway
First cousins
Other relativesBen Kirk
Jackson Kennedy
Susannah Kennedy

Darcy Tyler is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Raffety. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 15 November 2000. The following year, Raffety became a series regular. He departed in June 2003, but made returns in 2004 and 2005.

Development

Raffety admitted that he did not find Darcy "interesting" to begin with, but he came up with a plan to change him, which the writers picked up on and helped "take Darcy to other places".[1] Of his character's personality, Raffety said: "Darcy has a childlike wish to be loved and nurtured, but at the same time he has a scheming side. At the end of the day he's both an angel and a devil, I suppose!"[1] Rafferty also found that his character was "not without a sense of humour".[2] The actor told Joe Riley of the Liverpool Echo that the reason he stayed with the show was the "opportunity to develop the character".[2]

After Darcy ending his seven-year relationship with

Alice Jamison (Pip Sallabank), Darcy begins a relationship with nurse Dee Bliss (Madeleine West).[3] However, Alice "remained a constant thorn in his side", and after realising that Darcy has moved on, she wants revenge. Alice contacts Darcy to say that she is ready to divide their assets, while "planning to take him for everything he's got".[3] Although Alice and Darcy were not married, Alice is legally allowed to take half of Darcy assets, as the law recognises de facto relationships.[3] Things get worse for Darcy after the tax department discovers anomalies in the book-keeping at Karl Kennedy's (Alan Fletcher) surgery, which Darcy oversees.[3] Rafferty commented, "Things are pretty bad for Darcy all around. And this is only the beginning of it all – they're going to get a lot worse!"[3]

The character was written out in early 2003, but producers made sure that he could return in the future.[4] Darcy's departure came at a time when the show was returning to its original focus on families.[5] Raffety admitted that he was "a little bit sad to be going", and believed that more could have been done with his character.[1] He thought Darcy would be missed, and revealed that his favourite storylines had been Darcy's attempt at stealing the surgery from Karl and his schemes to win Dee back.[1] He later said he was enjoying Darcy's stories in the lead up to his exit, saying "The storylines at the moment are vintage Darcy – he's up to his old tricks again and I love it."[4] Darcy's exit scenes aired in June of that year.[5]

Storylines

2000–2003

Darcy arrives in Ramsay Street to stay with his aunt,

Jiordan Anna Tolli) from drowning in the pool at Number 30, Louise's father, Lou (Tom Oliver
) offers Darcy the spare room at Number 22 where he and Louise live.

Darcy begins an affair with Dee's friend, schoolteacher

Serena Lucas (Ruth Callum), but she only has eyes for Karl. After learning that Karl is married, Serena turns her attentions to Darcy but this is only a cover to steal prescription pads and deal drugs at nightclub Hemisfear. After a young girl collapses at the club, Darcy is in trouble, but Serena confesses her deceit and is arrested. Darcy suffers a heart attack in the surgery one day and his teenage cousin, Elly Conway
(Kendell Nunn) acts quickly to save his life. While in hospital, Darcy is cared for by Dee and they manage to heal their rift.

After a series of meaningless relationships, Darcy dates Lassiter's owner,

Martin Cook (Tony Bonner
), a retiring surgeon and one of Chloe's friends. It emerges that Martin is sexually harassing Dee, but denies it when she makes a complaint. Darcy invents a plan to bring Martin to justice by befriending him and ultimately tricking him into confessing his misdeed, which is recorded on a hidden tape record. When Chloe finds out she is unimpressed and she and Darcy part.

Darcy begins working on a scheme to win Dee back. First, he rummages through her personal effects and discovers her marriage certificate which reveals that Dee was previously married to Darren Turner when they were eighteen. Darcy contacts Darren and invites him to Erinsborough to attend a charity ball along with Dee and her partner,

Penny (Andrea McEwan), and enlists her in the final phase of his plan, he pays her to flirt with Toadie at the pub just as Dee walks in with Darcy's cousin, Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine
). Sindi falls for Toadie for real and Darcy is displeased, but is forced to comply when Sindi threatens to reveal his plan.

After gaining acceptance to the Aurora Club, Darcy begins playing poker regularly and ends up $10,000 in debt to

James Atkinson (Jeff Keogh). Darcy's gambling gets the better of him and the next time he loses, he owes $60,000. Desperate to pay James, Darcy resorts to burgling the pub and stealing $2,000 from the takings but it is not nearly enough. Upon learning of Karl and Susan inheriting some valuable jewellery from an elderly relative, Darcy stages a break-in at Number 28, but is discovered by Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha
). Upon fleeing the scene, he knocks a pregnant Lyn down. Darcy is able to pay off James. Darcy treats Lyn after she is admitted to hospital. Lyn cannot remember at first, but after hypnotherapy, she remembers Darcy being at the Kennedys on the day of the robbery. Susan is outraged and refuses to believe it. However, Dee finds Susan's ring in a plant pot at Darcy's place and contacts the police. Darcy tries to sneak the ring back into the house during dinner with Karl and Susan but when Karl spills some wine and Darcy offers a handkerchief, the ring falls out onto the kitchen table. Darcy is forced to confess. After being told to leave by Susan, Darcy walks away and notices police cars arriving on Ramsay Street. He makes a run for it but his escape is blocked and he is arrested for burglary. While on remand, Darcy summons Dee and Toadie to visit him and reveals his plan to split them up, garnering disgust from them both. Darcy is later given an eighteen-month prison sentence for his crimes.

2004–2005

Darcy is seen again the following year when, Lou is sentenced to three years imprisonment for being involved in

Rocco Cammeniti
's (Robert Forza) horse fixing scam. Lou, fearing the worst, is a little relieved when Darcy is revealed to be his cellmate at Warrinor. Lou agrees to sponsor Darcy for day release but is unable to after being in prison himself. Susan reluctantly agrees and Darcy works as an orderly at Erinsborough Hospital.

After learning of Karl and Susan's separation, Darcy antagonizes

Carmel Tyler (Kirsty Child
), with little hope of recovery.

However, Darcy wakes from his coma when he is transferred back to Erinsborough Hospital. He keeps up the pretence of being comatose when crooked nurse

Gareth Peters (Philip McInnes) taunts and steals from him. Gareth continues taunting Darcy, who eventually punches him. As he is being wheeled down the corridor, Darcy locks eyes with Izzy, who faints in Karl's arms. Darcy passes a police polygraph test after claiming to have no memory of the supposed robbery Izzy alleged. Darcy blackmails Izzy as he remembers her secret and demands $70,000. Izzy pays him, but Darcy demands $200 plus sexual favours. Izzy then contacts Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis
) out of desperation to get rid of Darcy by asking him for the number of a hitman. Paul, also in hospital with Darcy, only gives Izzy a number for a local linen supplier.

Darcy stands trial and Izzy testifies with a glowing reference, resulting in Darcy escaping with a 12-month good behaviour bond. Darcy immediately considers the debt repaid. Before leaving, Darcy gives Susan a letter revealing the truth about Karl not being the father of Izzy's baby. As Darcy's bus is about to depart, he meets Karl who is frosty with him and tells him that he is not the evil person in his life and will one day be thankful that Susan is there for him.

Reception

"All soaps need a good villain, and Neighbours' medic, Darcy Tyler, is just what the doctor ordered. With one eye on the ladies and the other on a dodgy deal, Darcy is shaping up as the baddie we love to hate. Not to mention being easy on the eye! If you were Dee Bliss would you go for cosy Toadie Rebecchi or the dishy doc? We know who we'd choose!"[6]

—An Inside Soap writer on Darcy (2003)

For his portrayal of Darcy, Raffety earned a nomination for Best Newcomer at the 2001 Inside Soap Awards.[7] The following year, Raffety was nominated for the Best Bad Boy award.[8] In 2003, the character came joint thirteenth in a BBC poll to find the Best Villain in the network's drama shows.[9] A writer for the BBC's Neighbours website said Darcy's most notable moment was "Cheating on Dee with Tess, then discovering that Dee was pregnant and had lost the baby."[10]

Cameron Adams of the

The Newcastle Herald called him "creepy".[14] Joe Riley of the Liverpool Echo noted, "Dr Darcy is Neighbours' 'baddie', a character who brought much grief to the soap's Kennedy clan, and then ended up in prison."[2] Brian Courtis from The Age observed that Darcy was "back to his old tricks" when he blackmailed Izzy and dubbed him "the bearded villain".[15]

An Ausculture reporter placed Darcy at number six on their "Top Ten Aussie Soap Villains" list.[16] The reporter called him "one of Neighbours' truly great cads" and a womaniser, despite him starting off "rather nicely".[16] They added "he began trying to steal Uncle Karl's surgery from under his feet. Tut tut! Selling prescription drugs in night clubs soon followed, as did his attempt to break up Dee and Toadie, who at this stage were blissfully in love. Finally, Darcy stole from his own family – Karl and Susan – and when running from the burglary, managed to knock over a heavily pregnant Lynn Scully!"[16] On his return, Ausculture said that he was looking shady and sporting an evil goatee.[16]

In 2015, Kerry Barrett from All About Soap placed Darcy at number 23 on the magazine's list of 30 favourite Neighbours characters.[17] Barrett quipped "Darcy was Susan and Karl's nephew and at first he seemed like a thoroughly nice chap. But after a few failed relationships and a lot of gambling debts, Darcy went bad – and we loved it!" Barrett thought Darcy's best moment was "blackmailing Izzy."[17] A TVNZ reporter also included Darcy in their list of the top 30 Neighbours' characters, and stated, "A villain through and through, charismatic yet dastardly, Dr Darcy was the character everybody loved to hate."[18]

In July 2018, Conor McMullan of Digital Spy included Darcy in his list of the "12 characters Neighbours needs to bring back".[19] McMullan wrote, "Before Paul returned in 2004 to cause mischief, it was Darcy Tyler who filled the role of charming neighbourhood villain. His crimes seem a little low-key these days – womanising, burglary, blackmail – but that's what made Darcy work. He wasn't a bad man, but a flawed one and well-played by actor Mark Raffety."[19] McMullan also thought that Darcy was a blank slate for the writers, and speculated that he could be a romantic interest for Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou), which would upset Paul.[19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Herbison, Jason (19 July – 1 August 2003). "It's sad to say goodbye to devilish Darcy...". Inside Soap. No. 236. pp. 40–41.
  2. ^ a b c Riley, Joe (31 December 2004). "This Charming Man; Joe Riley discovers how Neighbours baddie Dr Darcy is about to play the nice guy in pantomime..." Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Don't get mad – get everything!". Inside Soap (183): 16. 7–20 July 2001.
  4. ^ a b Herbison, Jason (15–28 March 2003). "Doctor leaves the house". Inside Soap (227): 8.
  5. ^ a b Miller, Kylie (10 April 2003). "Networking". The Age. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  6. ^ "Dirty Darcy". Inside Soap (230): 74. 26 April – 9 May 2003.
  7. ^ "The Inside Soap Awards 2001". Inside Soap (33): 32–34. 18–31 August 2001.
  8. ^ "2002 Inside Soap Awards". Inside Soap (212): 40–42. 17–30 August 2002.
  9. ^ "Best Villain". BBC Online. Retrieved 26 December 2010.
  10. ^ "Character: Dr Darcy Tyler". BBC Online. Archived from the original on 22 March 2004. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
  11. ^ a b Adams, Cameron (28 May 2003). "Television". Herald Sun. Retrieved 15 March 2024 – via Gale.
  12. ^ Adams, Cameron (6 June 2003). "Television". Herald Sun. Retrieved 16 March 2024 – via Gale.
  13. ^ Blake, Molly (27 May 2002). "TV Mail: Soap watch". Birmingham Mail. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2013.(subscription required)
  14. The Newcastle Herald
    . Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  15. ^ Courtis, Brian (23 August 2004). "Avoiding the fun and Games". The Age. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  16. ^ a b c d "ausculture.com's Top Ten Aussie Soap Villains". Ausculture. 3 August 2004. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2010.
  17. ^ a b Barrett, Kerry (17 March 2015). "Our 30 favourite Neighbours characters!". All About Soap. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  18. ^ "The 30 Best Neighbours". TVNZ. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  19. ^ a b c McMullan, Conor (31 July 2018). "12 characters Neighbours needs to bring back, from Darcy Tyler to Lucy Robinson". Digital Spy. Retrieved 1 August 2018.

External links

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