Ryan McLachlan

Ryan McLachlan is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Richard Norton. He made his first screen appearance on 15 February 1990 and remained on the show until 21 March 1991.

Ryan McLachlan
Neighbours character
Portrayed byRichard Norton
Duration1990–1991
First appearance15 February 1990
Last appearance21 March 1991
Introduced byDon Battye
ClassificationPast; regular
Profile
OccupationStudent
Daphne's Coffee Shop assistant
Postman
Soldier

Casting

Ryan was Norton's first television role. He told a reporter from TV Week that he had grown in confidence after numerous auditions and when the opportunity to play Ryan arose "everything just happened at once."[1] Norton was nineteen when he began filming and he moved to Melbourne for the part.[2] Norton was cast at the same time as Jeremy Angerson, who played Josh Anderson and they lived together in a flat share.[3] Norton told Chrissie Camp of TV Week that he "couldn't believe his luck" when he received the role of Ryan.[2]

Development

Ryan is the older brother of Tiffany McLachlan (Amber Kilpatrick) and he is very protective towards his younger sister.[4] Anthony Hayward, author of The Who's Who of Soap Operas, described Ryan as "intelligent and excellent in sports such as athletics, surfing and basketball".[4] Ryan also enjoyed singing, girls and looking for something new and exciting. He was popular and proved to be a loyal friend.[4] Hayward went on to say that while Ryan had a mischievous sense of humour, he often became annoyed when he was the victim of his sister's practical jokes.[4] Ryan moved to Erinsborough, after being expelled from his private school.[4] When he started at the local high school, Ryan told the other pupils that he had been expelled for locking a teacher in a cupboard.[4]

Ryan and Tiffany come to Ramsay Street to stay with their aunt, Dorothy Burke (Maggie Dence). The storyline highlighted how Dorothy was ill-equipped to look after children and helped learn more about the character's background.[5] After he finishes school, Ryan secures a job as a postman and later meets an older woman, Virginia Wenham (Kristie Grant). She tries to seduce Ryan and Norton described his character as "awkward in this situation".[1] He explained that was a coming-of-age storyline for Ryan, adding "he's a healthy young teenager and he thinks 'Wow! an older woman.'"[1]

Norton stayed with Neighbours for one year until he left to join the cast of rival soap opera Home and Away.[6] Ryan's departure storyline saw him leave Ramsay Street to join the army. His final episode, which was broadcast on 21 March 1991, featured Dorothy trying to talk him out of joining.[7][8]

Storylines

Ryan arrives in Erinsborough after being expelled from private school. After an initially frosty start, he soon makes friends with Nick Page (Mark Stevens), Sharon Davies (Jessica Muschamp), Matt Robinson (Ashley Paske) and Lee Maloney (Maree Ackehurst). Sharon takes a shine to Ryan but he is oblivious to this, instead asking her if a friend of hers is interested in him.

When Dorothy becomes principal of Erinsborough High, he finds it hard to swallow and receives some teasing about it. Gemma Ramsay (Beth Buchanan) moves with her aunt Madge (Anne Charleston) and uncle Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) and both Matt and Ryan are taken with her. Ryan is disappointed when Gemma chooses Matt. Ryan's parents, Russell and Petra (Bernadette Wheatley), go overseas and he moves in with Dorothy. After doing a little digging, Ryan uncovers the truth about his uncle Colin (Robert Alexander) being in prison, rather than being dead as Dorothy had led him to believe. After Colin is paroled, he and Dorothy give their marriage another chance, but it falls apart when Colin is discovered having an affair with Rosemary Daniels (Joy Chambers). Ryan then stands by Dorothy during the fallout.

Ryan later passes his HSC and decides to become a postman. During one of his rounds he is seduced by married woman Virginia but before anything can happen, Ryan flees when her husband, Bernie (Robert Morgan) almost catches them one day. Bernie recognizes Ryan and after selling him Encyclopedias against his will, he threatens him to stay away from Virginia. After listening to Jim Robinson's (Alan Dale) Vietnam War stories, Ryan decides to enlist in the army. This decision shocks Ryan's friends and Dorothy but they agree to support him all the way and Ryan leaves Erinsborough.

Reception

A writer for the BBC's Neighbours website said Ryan's most notable moment was "telling his rich girlfriend to hit the road".[9]

References
  1. "Richard delivers the goods". TV Week (34): 66. 23 February 1991.
  2. Camp, Chrissie (19 May 1990). "Shot in the heart!". TV Week (46): 23.
  3. Peters, Diana (28 August – 10 September 1991). "Jeremy Angerson & Richard Norton spill the beans on each other!". BIG!. EMAP (35): 6–7.
  4. Hayward 1991, p.156.
  5. Monroe 1994, p.129-130.
  6. Monroe, Josephine (April 1993). "I didn't want to go! (but my face didn't fit)". Inside Soap (8): 24.
  7. Johnston 2005, p.211.
  8. "The guide - television". The Sydney Morning Herald. 18 March 1991. Retrieved 3 March 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Character: Ryan McLachlan". BBC. Archived from the original on 2 September 2004. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
  • Hayward, Anthony (1991). The Who's Who of Soap Operas. Guinness Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-85112-966-2.
  • Monroe, Josephine (1994). The Neighbours Programme Guide. Virgin Books. ISBN 978-0-86369-831-6.
  • Johnston, Tony (2005). Neighbours: 20 years of Ramsay Street. News Custom Publishing. ISBN 978-1-876176-78-5.
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