Neighbours fans are in for a massive dose of nostalgia in the next couple of weeks when four of Paul Robinson's former wives are set to return to Erinsborough. That's right, Neighbours is getting all Macbeth meets Scrooge meets Henry VIII meets the Witches of Eastwick when Paul is visited by the ghosts - or wives - of marriages past. We've already seen the return of Gail Lewis, now we eagerly await the returns of Christina Alessi - along with twin sister Caroline - Lyn Scully, and Rebecca Napier. This will be the first time all of Paul's surviving ex-wives will be together on the Street, and even though we don't yet know what the storyline is, we know it's going to be huge!
Those who haven't watched Neighbours in the eighties and nineties probably won't be familiar with all the wives of Paul (gosh, that sounds like a cult!) And even those of us who have been lucky enough to have watched Neighbours from the beginning might still need reminding because the most married man on Ramsay Street has had so many wives even we can't keep up! So as Therese Willis prepares to become the sixth Mrs. Paul Robinson, we take a look at all the women who tried - and failed to make an honest man out of Paul. Good luck, Therese!
1. Terry Inglis (Maxine Klibingaitis) 1985
The estranged wife of a bank robber, the future Mrs. Robinson arrived in Ramsay Street as Max Ramsay's plumbing apprentice. But instead of making a beeline for Paul, Terry took a shine to his friend Shane and started dating him. When their relationship didn't work out, she began a relationship with Paul and after a whirlwind romance, married him - while she still had feelings for Shane.
Despite her marriage to Paul and being welcomed into the Robinson family, Terry couldn't escape her connection to the criminal world. Prior to marrying Paul, both she and Max were held hostage by her fugitive husband - the same husband, incidentally, who caused the car crash that ended her former boyfriend Shane's diving career. After becoming Mrs. Robinson, Terry was hounded by Charles Durham; a dubious character from her past. A confrontation between the pair lead to Terry accidentally killing Charles and eventually shooting Paul when he tried to go the police, before going on the run.
After being captured and jailed, Terry wrote to Paul asking him to come and visit her, and quite naturally - he wanted her to go take a hike. Sadly the next time Paul heard about Terry, was when he was informed of her death as Terry had committed suicide while in prison.
Terry proved to be a tragic character; someone who tried to get away from her criminal past but couldn't quite shake it off for good and eventually it caught up with her. Although she is wife number one, Terry is often the most overlooked of all of Paul's wives - probably because she appeared in the early days when Neighbours was just getting warmed. But Terry Inglis is one of the most significant - albeit short-lived - of all the Neighbours characters. Firstly she was the first new regular character to be added to the Neighbours cast; and she was the first, and so far, only character in Neighbours' history to have died by suicide which would have been quite controversial back then.
And finally we have Terry to thank for turning Paul Robinson from someone sweet and lovable - yes, hard as it is to believe, Paul was lovable once - into Erinsborough's Mr. Nasty. The short-lived marriage had such a traumatic effect on Paul that he was never the same again - as his next four wives discovered to their cost...
2. Gail Lewis (Fiona Corke)
Neighbours fans look back on Paul's marriage to Gail with a great deal of fondness, partly because it serves as a reminder of when the soap was in it's heyday, and partly because of the formidable chemistry between Paul and Gail. Even Stefan Dennis who plays Paul has said in interviews how he would love for Fiona to return. Well Stefan, you've just got your wish!
Gail had previously worked with Paul as a flight attendant and then arrived in Erinsborough to work as Paul's assistant. They then entered into a marriage of convenience as part of a business arrangement while fooling family and friends into thinking otherwise. Because Paul and Gail had an open marriage, suspicions were roused when they were both seen being overly pally with other people forcing them to come clean to Paul's family - much to the disgust of the Robinsons.
Scott and Charlene however, were not so easily fooled and knew that the couple were secretly in love. It took all of their powers of persuasion to get Paul to go after Gail when she was about to leave Erinsborough for a new life in New York. Thankfully the couple finally admitted their feelings, and a declaration of love followed by a passionate kiss - witnessed by a delighted Scott and Charlene - finally convinced Mrs. Robinson mark two to stay.
Paul and Gail were madly in love and happy for a while. But problems arose when they decided to try for a family. They eventually had to resort to IVF, and further heartbreak was around the corner when Gail discovered that Paul already had a three year old daughter (Amy) with his ex-girlfriend, Nina. But the IVF proved to be successful and Gail became pregnant - with triplets.
But this is soapland and nobody is allowed to be that happy. Tragedy was in store for the couple when Gail's father Rob was killed in a road accident - something she held Paul responsible for. When Paul seemed more preoccupied with work then helping Gail through her grief, Gail did the only thing she could - she packed her bags and left Erinsborough for a new life in Tasmania where she gave birth to Cameron, Robert and Lucinda, and eventually remarried. But her appearance in Annalise Hartman's documentary implied that she was not quite over Mr. Robinson...
3. Christina Alessi (Gayle Blakeney)
Then along came Christina... someone who was as far removed from Gail as you can get. While Gail was family-minded and loved her home life with Paul, she was also driven and career-minded, something Christina was not. With Christina, Paul was unlikely to be discussing Robinson Corporation matters over his tea and toast in the morning as he had done with Gail, but maybe homely, maternal Christina was exactly what Paul needed... or maybe not!
Christina Alessi came into Paul's life when she and her twin sister Caroline were posing as one person, Linda Giles, as they were both in witness protection. After his marriage to Gail broke down, Paul decided to move out of Ramsay Street so rented out his house to 'Linda' and even hired her as his assistant without knowing the truth. When Paul eventually rumbled the twins (why does that sound so naughty???) he agreed to keep their secret and did so until they were both able to leave witness protection.
It was during this time that Christina fell for Paul but just as she was ready to make her move, Paul fell for Isabella, a waitress he met in Argentina, who he planned to marry much to Christina's dismay. But the wedding was off as soon as Isabella was exposed as a fraud. This paved the way for Paul and Christina toget together and also for Christina to become the third Mrs. Robinson in record time. The arrival of baby Andrew made their family complete.
But did Paul get his happy ever after? Did he heck! Paul and Caroline ended up falling in love which led to Caroline fleeing to Italy. Once Christina found out, all hell broke loose with the Robinsons on the verge of divorce. But Paul and Christina, realising that they still loved each other, decided to give their marriage another go so left to start a new life in Hawaii before moving to Brazil... where they eventually divorced!
And now Christina is back in Erinsborough after being away so long... whatever could she want now..?
4. Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha)
If there's one thing that viewers will have noted from all of Paul's multiple wives, fiancées, girlfriends, flings, is that he really doesn't have a type... and his marriage to beautiful but mumsy Lyn Scully confirmed that! And furthermore Paul was a complete one eighty from Lyn's ex-husband and former fiancé, who incidentally were both called Joe. Whatever did a caring, kind-hearted, devoutly Catholic, earth mother see in ruthless, money-minded, cynical Paul Robinson with his dodgy deals and don't-give-a-damn attitude? Naturally more than a few of Ramsay Street's residents raised eyebrows when Lyn and Paul became a couple after working together.
Out of all his former wives, it's quite clear that Lyn was the only one that he never really loved at all, even though he claimed he did - right before he dumped her just hours after their wedding, competing with EastEnders' Ian and Mel Beale for the shortest soap wedding in history! While Lyn was obviously smitten with the charming Mr. Robinson, he saw her as someone he could make good use of whenever it suited him, and knowing that she had feelings for him, he often messed with her head. Lyn in turn, underwent a complete personality transplant and became someone that her family and friends - and viewers - didn't recognise. She refused to listen to people's concerns, and she even got entangled in some of Paul's dodgy schemes.
Even though big-hearted, trusting Lyn was totally blameless their relationship brought out the worst in Paul, and viewers saw him being being incredibly ruthless, mean and manipulative. Not to mention cheating on Lyn with Rosie Cammeniti. And although Lyn was completely crushed by Paul's confession that not only had he been unfaithful with Rosie but he would do it again with Rosie or anyone else who was dumb enough to take a shine to him (those weren't his words) Lyn soon bounced back, accepting that an annullment was the best solution and even went on the honeymoon that she and Paul were supposed to have taken together.
But being with Paul did teach Lyn a thing or two about playing people back at their own game. When Paul started to receive blackmailing notes over his affair with Kirsten Gannon while in a relationship with Rebecca Napier, it wasn't long before he realised who was behind them... Lyn Scully! And Lyn didn't even bother to try to deny it but after reaching a deal with Paul, he agreed not to go to the police. Furthermore she made a grand entrance at Paul and Rebecca's wedding when she announced that she was still legally married to Paul.
But the real showstopper came when in a bid to desperately get back shares that Paul had given Lyn, he pretended to be interested in them giving their relationship another go. Lyn appeared to be falling for it, leaving viewers yelling at the TV! But it appears that the former Mrs. Robinson was not the gullible, loved-up pushover that Paul once thought she was, as Lyn had been on to him the whole time, and took great pleasure in telling him that she'd signed over the shares... to her daughter, Steph.
5. Rebecca Napier (Jane Hall)
Ah the fifth Mrs. Robinson - glamorous, way-too-young-and-foxy- to-be-a-grandmother Rebecca with her trademark wrap dresses, fabulous hair and massive heart. Strong, feisty and intelligent; Rebecca was certainly no pushover like some of Paul's previous wives had been... so how did someone as smart as her agree to marry Paul Robinson of all people?
Rebecca Napier was someone from Paul's past with a complicated history. For years, she thought that Paul was the father of her son, Declan, but this later turned out to be incorrect. But she ended up falling for Paul all over again, and -surprise, surprise - agreed to do him the honour of picking out a wedding gown. For herself of course - not Paul!
Paul's previous wife, Lyn returned to Erinsborough right before his and Rebecca's engagement party - much to the chagrin of the happy couple. While she was there, Lyn confided in Susan Kennedy that Paul had cheated on Rebecca with Kirsten. Susan, being good friends with both Lyn and Rebecca felt that Rebecca had a right to know, so she told her - and the wedding was off.
But being forgiving as she was, Rebecca gave Paul another chance, and this time they did make it to the alter - only for proceedings to be halted by Lyn who announced that Paul was still legally married to her. This led to a tussle back on Ramsay Street between the former bride and the bride-to-be but once Lyn and Paul's marriage was annulled, Rebecca did indeed become the fifth Mrs. Robinson.
But if Rebecca was expecting to have her happy ever after then it proved that she really didn't know Paul at all. Mr. Robinson, unable to keep it in his pants, slept with Diana Marshall - and she was only too happy to reveal that information to a devastated Rebecca. This revelation led to a confrontation between Rebecca and Paul on the mezzanine at Lassiters' - where Paul ended up on the ground in a whodunnit in which Rebecca was eventually revealed to viewers as the culprit.
But the ever-lovely Paul on waking up from his coma, used this information to blackmail Rebecca into staying with him. For a while his ploy worked even though Rebecca did begin an affair with Michael Williams. But Rebecca's eldest son Oliver wasn't going to sit by and watch Paul Robinson stomp all over his mother, so he flew back to Australia to rescue her and Declan and take them back to Portugal.
However it seems as though some people never learn and when Rebecca was next in Erinsborough on business, she couldn't help but fall for the charms of her former husband again, and even considered giving it a go once more. But common sense prevailed and knowing that it was never going to work with Paul, Rebecca left Erinsborough once again.
Who was your favourite out of all of Paul's wives?
Photos from YouTube
Word Cloud by Angel Noire
I was definitely Team Gail!
@LucieD: I did like Rebecca. I thought she was a great character but Gail was always my favourite Mrs. Robinson. However, her brief return to the show last year made me see how different she and Paul are now. I doubt a relationship between them would work today, and I think Paul and Therese are probably better suited. But I still live in hope that Gail will return to the show as a regular.
I really liked Rebecca and thought that she would be the Mrs. Robinson that would last. Lyn Scully must have been delusional if she thought marriage to Paul would work. They had no chemistry at all!