Lucinda Croft

Lucinda was introduced into the series as the niece of established character Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn).[5] Around the same time producers hired Guy Pearce to play Lucinda's brother David Croft.[5] Lucinda and David had become estranged after a family argument. David arrives in Summer Bay to make amends.[6] In The Official Home and Away Annual, John Kercher detailed that "lots of eyebrows were raised" by Lucinda's entrance into Summer Bay astride a motorbike.[7] Donald is "shocked" by her arrival and appearance having best remembered her as a child playing with dolls. Kercher stated that Lucinda is characterised as a "leather-clad, self-assured young woman."[7] She also had a "tomboy" dress sense.[8] Lucinda's cousin, Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson) had been lead to believe Lucinda was a "complete bore" by Donald but surprised to learn she is the opposite.[7] Lucinda is multiskilled and has good mechanic skills, especially concerning motorbike repairs. She also has a degree in art. Kercher noted that during her time Lucinda gains a "reputation for being a bit of a flirt, but she claims she only played the field until the right guy came along."[7] Smart has stated that like her character she is not traditional; Lucinda does not care about doing "the 'done' thing".[4]

Producers paired Lucinda with policeman Nick Parrish (Bruce Roberts) for her first romance story. Their relationship becomes serious and they discuss marriage.[11] Writers developed the story love triangle and introduced Lucinda's ex-boyfriend Ryan Lee (Alistair MacDougall) in the show. In the character's backstory, Lucinda and Ryan broke-up and she decided to move to Summer Bay and live with Donald.[11] Ryan eventually tracks Lucinda down wanting to reconcile their romance. His arrival occurs at the moment Lucinda and Nick are considering their engagement. She was easily tempted by Ryan, but Nick decides to compete to win her affections. Nick places posters around Summer Bay confessing his love and Lucinda chooses to remain with him.[11]

Ryan later returns with a new plan to snare Lucinda from Nick. MacDougall told an Inside Soap columnist that he felt sorry for Lucinda. He branded it a "it's a strange situation" and "Lucinda doesn't know where her loyalties lie or feelings."[11] Ryan creates little scams to make him seem better than Nick. His end game is to get Lucinda to admit she still has romantic feelings for him. MacDougall stated that Ryan is "optimistic" because he had always loved her, she is his "definite goal".[11] As the pair spend time together, viewers were given a chance to witness what their romance used to be like. They also portrayed plenty of tension between them, which MacDougall believed kept viewers guessing.[11]

The two characters had completely different characterisation; MacDougall explained that Nick is "the authoritarian type and the other's a rich, good time guy who happens to be a bastard."[11] He added that Ryan is "egotistical, self-centred and worldly" and knows how to play Lucinda to his advantage. He also does not care about ruining Nick's life and "takes great joy of seeing Nick squirm".[11] Nick becomes aware of the growing chemistry between Lucinda and Ryan. MacDougall concluded that Nick quite rightly became "overly protective" of Lucinda as he knew of Ryan's scheming.[11] Ryan hatches to new scheme and starts dating Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons). They break-up when it becomes apparent that he is using her to make Lucinda jealous.[12]

Lucinda realises that Nick is dependable and agrees to marry him. Ryan ramps up his scheming and manages to lure Lucinda into a kiss. Smart defended her character's behaviour; she told a reporter from TVTimes that "imagine being chased by two gorgeous guys - any girl would be so flattered she wouldn't know which one to pick."[13] Smart believed that Lucinda "kept them both dangling on a string" as she would sneak between the two characters.[13] When Nick works a night shift, Lucinda goes to Ryan's caravan and he professes his love. Smart believed that this left her character torn.[13] After their tryst is revealed, Ryan leaves town hoping Lucinda will follow.[14] Nick eventually forgives Lucinda for cheating on him. To make amends Lucinda decides to arrange a surprise holiday for Nick. He witnesses Lucinda laughing with the travel agent and accuses her of having another affair.[15] Realising there is no longer trust in their relationship, Lucinda breaks up with Nick and leaves town.[15] MacDougall explained that Ryan "couldn't believe it" when Lucinda moved on without him because "he's used to getting everything he's ever wanted."[16]

MacDougall was unhappy with the development of the story. He told Josephine Monroe from Inside Soap that the cast worked hard to create the love triangle and it looked set for "a brilliant climax".[14] This was not the case and MacDougall visited the head scriptwriter to complain. He accused the show of lazy writing and believed they did not do "all they could to make the story work." Subsequently "the plot just draws on for too long".[14] The love triangle story gained a notoriety in Australia and Smart began to receive abuse while out in public. She explained that it was mainly men who would verbally abuse her calling her a "two-timer" and a "teaser".[13] Smart claimed that on one occasion she had to confront a group of roadwork men who verbally abused her and she demanded an apology.[13] MacDougall had a similar response from viewers who took a dislike to Ryan and even feared for his safety.[11]

Smart decided to give the magazine TV Week a "scathing" interview about her role in the serial.[17] Only eight months into her contract, Smart told the publication that she felt as though she was completing a "prison sentence". She added that "It feels like I've been here for years".[3] Smart criticised the serial for their fast production. She claimed there was no time to develop a character and said it was "impossible to do a good job" because of the time limits. Smart even said that she was surprised there was time to do any acting. Smart also spoke negatively about Lucinda because she "goes on and on and on - it is kind of abnormal for a character to last this long". Smart ended the interview by saying she would not sign another long-term contract.[3]

Smart's comments annoyed the Seven Network, who tried to release her from her contract. The move proved difficult because the serial had already planned storylines for Lucinda in advance. TV Week said that the character would have to remain in the serial for "some time yet".[18] However, producers retaliated further by publicly sacking Smart via an announcement in TV Week and Lucinda was written out of the serial.[17] Speaking of her departure, Smart told Inside Soap that she had learned a "tremendous amount" from working on the series.[4] Writers gave Lucinda a low-key exit from the series when she abruptly moved to Perth.[19]