David Croft

When Fisher received a call from David, who was on his way to Summer Bay, it became clear that there was animosity between him and his sister Lucinda. She revealed that David had graduated an economics degree with honours three years earlier and talked his parents into remortgaging their home in order to make them millionaires. However, when the market crashed, they lost their house and David disappeared, leaving Lucinda to help her parents pick up the pieces. David arrived, and immediately clashed with Lucinda. He explained that he had been working in the mines to make up the money his parents lost, but Lucinda didn’t want a bar of it. He decided to hang around, moving into the caravan park. He quickly forged a friendship with Nick, despite Lucinda’s hesitation.

Sophie and Sally came across a cockatoo that was hurt, and David helped them rescue it. He kept the cockatoo and nursed it back to good health. He announced that he was leaving, leaving Sophie forlorn. Fisher had other plans, telling David to stick around and he will convince Lucinda to forgive him. His plan failed, but after a chat with Nick, Lucinda stopped David leaving town, convinced she should give him a second chance. David moved into Fisher’s house soon after. When Sophie needed a partner for her birdwatching assignment, she asked David to join her and the pair bonded. The following day, David celebrated his 26th birthday. Fisher organised a birthday party for him, which saw Sophie give him an akubra.

After the cockatoo had mended, David and Sophie let it go at the headland. From afar, Marilyn admired David and with a push from Bobby, decided to ask him out. When Sophie got wind of this, she blasted Marilyn for moving in on her man. When Marilyn comforted her, Sophie asked her to find out how David felt about her. Marilyn relayed he only had good things to say and the next time they went birdwatching, she kissed him. David was initially taken aback and let Sophie down gently, but admitted to Marilyn that he has feelings for Sophie. Despite the age gap, David gave into his feelings and the pair kissed, concurring with her that he was falling in love. David found himself the victim of Haydn’s taunts after he learnt of his and Sophie’s romance.

When Michael caught the pair kissing, he and Pippa banned Sophie from seeing David. Pippa went to visit David and told him to tell Sophie it was over. Pippa explained to Sophie that he was leaving town and later exploded at her when she set out to find him. Sophie rang David to talk to him, but he told him that it was his idea that they stop seeing one another, not Pippa’s, breaking her heart. Following this, David found Sophie at the headland, where they first kissed, and agreed to spend one final day with her. After spending the day at Fisher’s house with Sophie, David called Fisher, Lucinda, Pippa and Michael and organised to meet. Together, David and Sophie told them they were going to pursue a relationship, regardless of what they wanted. Michael and Fisher forced David out of the house, but Sophie was adamant they wouldn’t be stopped.

Pippa convinced Sophie to stay with her parents for two weeks to decide what to do about her relationship with David, telling her if she wanted to be with him after that period, she could. David accepted this, but after a fight with Fisher, he decided to go camping for the two week period. After saying his farewells, and receiving a tape from Sophie, he left. Whilst driving, he listened to Sophie’s tape, where she said how much she loved him. As he rounded a corner, Karen, driving fanatically, crashed into him, killing him instantly. His death was felt for weeks after it, with Sophie blaming Michael and Pippa and his best friend Ryan arriving to comfort Lucinda. Three months later, Sophie learnt she was pregnant and later, gave birth to David’s daughter named Tamara.

When Sophie and Blake had a baby in 2003, they named him David in his honour.