Carly Morris
Carly Morris/Lucini (1988-1991; 1997; 2000; 2001; 2002; 2008)
Sharyn Hodgson
Episodes: Pilot–758; 2255–2258; 2853–2855; 3178–3180; 3278–3288; 4608–4609
Date of Birth: 15th November 1970
Parents: George & Susan (deceased) Morris
Foster Parents: Tom (deceased) & Pippa Fletcher
Siblings: Samantha Morris
Foster Siblings: Frank Morgan, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport, Sally Fletcher, Bobby Simpson (deceased) & Sophie Simpson
Marital Status: Ben Lucini (1990-present)
Children: Philippa, Jordy & Michael Lucini (& unnamed other son)
First seen in the pilot episode, Carly appeared at first glance to be a typical teenage girl, leading foster sister Lynn into a series of escapades, desperately trying to get the attention of the local surfers and moaning when things didn’t go her way. She took an instant dislike to Bobby but grudgingly came to accept her inclusion as part of the family. One of her first escapades was to release the handbrake on Martin’s car, causing it to crash into headmaster Walter Bertram’s. Initialy Carly kept quiet but was persuaded by Bobby to come clean and Fisher ordered The Fletchers to pay for the repairs. Within days a cheque arrived for Carly and it was revealed that it was from Carly’s rich father who Carly was blackmailing over the earlier death of her mother. Tom convinced her to return the cheque and some of her traumatic past was revealed. She had grown up adoring her mother and hating her father. Her father owned and ran a very successful advertising agency. Her constant defiance of his authority infuriated him to the point where he started beating her. When neighbours noticed the bruises, her mother lied that they were caused from falls. When her mother died, her beatings continued, leaving her with a fractured skull; as a result, the authorities were brought in. Carly was taken away from her father, despite the efforts of his lawyers to stop the move and was fostered to the Fletchers.
Her first major storyline in the Bay was one that would drag on for weeks when, after hitchiking Carly arrived home, late and in floods of tears. He confided in Lynn, Steven and Bobby that the man who gave her a ride home, srove her off track via what he said was a short cut, and sexually assaulted her. With Frank in on the secret, a family meeting was called over whether to tell Tom and Pippa and the kids eventually voted to stay quiet because it was what Carly wanted. Lynn though accidentally spilled the truth to Celia who wasted no time in telling the whole town. Carly sampled some of Lance and Martin’s home brew and summoned the courage to speak at a school assembly about the dangers of hitch hiking, winning the respect of all her classmates.
Carly’s troubles were far from over though as she grew increasingly dependent upon alcohol and began to fall for new teacher Andrew Foley. She was devastated when she heard him belittling her with his new girlfriend but when he comforted her with a hug Fisher saw and threatened to sack him. He later backed down thanks to Pippa’s intervention but Martin and Lance had already spread the gossip and Andrew decided to leave town as his reputation was in ruins. He gave Carly a kiss to remember him by before he left.
She made a play for Matt once again to boost her ego and pretended that her sister the model was really her but Bobby told Matt the truth and he dumped her setting the two at war with each other. When Samantha turned up in the middle of the night at The Fletchers because her Dad had been hitting her, Carly agreed to help her hide and they manged to keep her hidden by both posing as ‘Carly’ and never apearing together. Carly’s father reported Samantha missing and Carly negotiated with her father that they’d both return home in exchange for a reward prize and the model lifestyle that was being offered if Samantha returned home.
When Lynn’s real parents wanted her to live back with them but Lynn didn’t want to leave so Carly decided to use her newfound publicity to start a media campaign to keep Lynn. It backfired though when Tom and Pippa ended up looking bad. she was also responsible for spreading the news of Alan Fisher’s brain tumour to the whole bay and a furious Tom wripped up her contract and confined her to her room. Carly reported him to the department and Tom told her she was no longer welcome at his house.
The rest of the family took a vote and it was fifty fifty over whether to let her move back or not but Pippa’s deciding vote saw her allowed to return but her meddling father tried to stop her. She eventually apologised to Tom and was allowed to move back. Her woes continued when she saw the man she thought raped her on the beach, Gary Samuels, brother of Steven’s PE teacher Jeff. Jeff gave Gary an alibi for the time of Carly’s attack and later the real attacker was found and carly was forced to acknowledge that though her attacker looked like Gary, he hadn’t actually attacked her. She later accepted a dinner invitation from him and grew to like him, even sharing a kiss. He later dumped her though and Carly banded together with the other bay residents to force him out of town. Later his body was found at the bottom of a cliff and Carly, having lost an earring at the scene, became a prime suspect. She attempted to get rid of the other earring but it was found by Sally and Carly admitted that she was on the cliff when Gary died, that he taunted her and ripped off her earring before jumping to his own death. When the police caught up with his partner in crime, the truth about his personality came out and Carly was cleared.
She shocked the Fletchers by announcing she wanted to move out to the city on her 18th and was delighted when her secret admirer, the person who had been sending her cards and presents turned out not to be Gary but long time crush Matt Wilson. Carly struggled with her decision to leave the Bay for life in the city and was emotional as she packed up her things and said her goodbyes. Matt returned to the bay a few weeks later explaining that Carly was hanging around with a bad crowd and pretending to be her twin, the famous model Samantha. Steven went to visit her in the city and was shocked at how she was living and she later turned up at christmas but despite listening at the door of the Flethers she did not go in but left without saying anything.
When Steven and Bobby gave her her HSC results she tore them up in front of them and Pippa was horrified a few days later to receive a phone call saying that Carly had overdosed. Between Pippa and Steven they convinced her to return home but she was scared of what people would think of her and so drank some alcohol to give her courage. She decided to return to school but when Tom opened a bottle of wine to celebrate, Carly was forced to admit she was addicted to alcohol. She began to get her life on track but was devastated when Matt cooled things off and started dating her arch nemesis Alison. They reunited when Matt dumped Alison but Carly became increasingly dependent on Matt who no longer wanted to be with her bout couldn’t face telling her. She found out the truth when she overheard Matt talking and fell off the wagon.
She headed to therapy only to find that her therapist was her ex teacher and crush Andrew Foley but was delighted when, after admitting she still fancied him, he agreed to start a relationship with her. They discussed the possibility of sleeping together and Andrew agreed to wait for Carly to be ready but when she told him she was, he backed off, causing her to give him an ultimatum. He returned to take her to the dance competition and they reunited with Carly agreeing to take things more slowly.
They argued again when Andrew’s dying father came to town and used Carly to get to Andrew but Andrew refused to see him. Carly went to see his father who said that he was a rich man and that if carly could get Andrew to attend his funeral, he’d leave everything to his son. When Andrew Senior died he tipped andrew over the edge and Carly found him drunk. He admitted he was an alcoholic but had been clean for five years. Carly enlisted Tom and Pippa’s help and got him a place to live with Mr Fisher and Andrew apologised with an engagement ring but Andrew got drunk at The Macklin’s dinner party and hit Tom. He apologised the next day but Tom asked him to stay away from Carly. He left her a note with Fisher explaining that he was going away to sort himself out. She caught up with him and he took back his engagement ring, telling her he’d be back for her when he deserved her.
Upset at Celia taking over Andrew’s role as youth counsellor Carly pretended to be drunk to prove a point and her actions caused Celia to walk out. She later phoned Andrew and asked him to come back, he agreed. They drifted apart though and Carly told him she didn’t love him anymore. She got a job working as Stacey and Nina’s assistant in the Record Company they were setting up but became jealous of Marilyn being in the band. She stole Pippa’s car to go and seek out a location to impress Stacey with Adam but the car got bogged and she ended up being sacked by both Stacey and Bobby and having to pay out $150 for the car.
Adam approached Tom and offered to pay his share of the car and Adam told her that he wanted to introduce himself to Tom in case he asked Carly out. When Narelle offered Bobby a chance to go on a skiing holiday she turned it down and Carly asked if she could go instead. She borrowed the money from Andrew but everyone else told her she was selfish because they were busy planning a surprise party for Tom and Pippa. At the last minute she decided to stay home for the party and donated her money towards Tom and Pippa’s present.
She got a job working as Nina’s PA for Image, the pop band she was forming but was sacked almost before she started after Stacey came on board aswell. Adam finally asked her out and after a mix up where he thought she was two timing him with Danny, Bobby’s new boyfriend, they began dating. Adam took some rich passengers out on his boat and lied to Carly about it but when he failed to return she was worried about him and organised a search. The police came looking for Adam in relation to smuggling charges and Carly realised he’d lied to her. She, Bobby and Matt went looking for him and eventually found him on a deserted island. Carly greeted him by hitting him and hit him again a few days later after seeing how attractive the woman on the boat had been.
Carly refused to talk to him and when she finally seemed ready to forgive him, Adam was too distracted by his own problems to care and told Rory that Carly was a free agent. Rory conspired with Matt to get them back together and they went on a disastrous date to a posh restaurant where they argued all night. After a chat with Pippa, Carly went looking for Adam and found him teaching Rory to surf. She softened towards him and they reunited.
Carly became convinced that Pippa was having an affair with the shark hunter Zac after he bragged to her about the affair and showed her an earring he claimed Pippa had left behind. Carly confided her fears in Bobby who warned her to keep quiet but she continued to be cold towards Pippa. When Pippa finally found out what people were saying she convinced the kids that she had been set up and Carly conspired with Steven and bobby to help get Tom and Pippa back together. Their plan initially failed but tom and Pippa eventually reconciled. Her own relationship with Adam wasn’t so lucky and they both grew distant from each other with Adam kissing Emma behind her back. They finally got together to talk about things and split by mutual consent.
Despite insisting that she wasn’t interested in another boyfriend, she turned her attentions to Grant Mitchell the minute he arrived in town but he snubbed her efforts too date him. When Ben Lucini arrived in town there was an instant attraction and she directed him to The Caravan Park for a place to stay. She agreed to go out with him and Dave for a night out but Dave got blind drunk and ruined the evening so Ben asked her out again, this time just the two of them and she accepted.
Their date at a posh restaurant went really well and they returned home and began kissing on the couch but were interrupted by a drunk Dave. when Tom arrived home a drunk Dave warned Tom to keep Carly away from Ben and tom kicked them both out, warning Carly to stay away from them both. Ben laid into Dave for his actions and raved about how much he liked Carly but when he went to The diner to try and make up with her she told him she’d only go out with him if he sent his mate packing. Ben refused to send Dave away and Carly refused to go out with him leading to Ben calling her the most selfish person he had ever met.
Carly accepted a date with Grant but after he and Ben bonded, he stepped aside and agreed to help Ben win her back. He and Grant staged a fight whereby Grant beat up Ben, allowing Carly to feel sorry for him and nurse him better despite realising it was a set up. telling Carly he had never felt like this for anyone before, Ben asked Carly to marry him and she agreed. Tom was shocked at the speed of their relationship and warned Ben to take care as Carly had been hurt in the past but Ben insisted he loved her and the lovebirds quickly won everyone round. Ben returned to Perth to tell his family about his engagement but not before giving Carly a ring and promising to be back.
He returned and won Carly’s family over but their plans hit a snag when Ben wanted to marry in Perth with his family and Carly wanted to marry in summer Bay with her family. Ben gave her an ultimatum, either marry in Perth or wedding off and Carly left him, insisting that he wanted a slave not a wife. After Carly threw his ring back him they made up and reached a compromise of a wedding in the bay and a vow renewal in Perth. Carly had doubts about sleeping with Ben but eventually changed her mind and seduced him only to find that he had promised his family he’d stay a virgin until he married. Carly agreed to wait for him.
With Carly wanting a big house they both agreed to take on extra jobs to earn the money but Carly was suckered into working for a conman and ended up owing Adam $500. Adam eventually went to Ben to ask for his money back, leaving Carly convinced that she’d blown things but Ben chose to forgive her. Wedding stress got to Carly as she lashed out at Bobby before making her her Maid of Honour and snapped at Sally before asking her to be a flower girl. Sally agreed but only if Carly promised to be nice to everyone and Carly agreed to her terms. Just as things were back on track tragedy struck and Tom was killed in a car accident leaving the whole family devastated and Carly and Ben with a decision whether to cancel their wedding or not.
They eventually decided to press ahead and Carly asked Alf to give her away only to decide a few days later to postpone it. He and Carly argued over her snobbishness when she spent money they didn’t have on extravagant curtains and turned her nose up at the bed he bought for them. They went on a date with Carly’s rich friend and her boyfriend and after watching them bicker about money and materialistic things Carly and Ben agreed that their relationship was more important than money.
Their vow didn’t last long as Carly continued to spend, leading to more rows but they patched things up by going for a romantic date skinny dipping. It ended in disaster when their car and clothes were stolen and they were arrested by the police. They had another row when Carly thought Ben was flirting with new police woman Jane but they reconciled after Jane hooked up with Grant instead. After a stripper turned up at her hen party and pictures were taken of her dancing with him, Carly thought Ben was going to end things but he forgave her. She stressed herself out in the run up to his family arriving but when they arrived early to find her shouting at Steven they welcomed her with open arms, causing her to relax a little.
Typically with a Home and Away wedding, everything went wrong for Ben and Carly. The best man got into a fight with Steven and wound up with a black eye, then Ben got food poisoning and was warned by The Doctor not to mix alcohol with the pills he was given. Ben ignored the warning and ended up semi conscious and dumped in a forest wearing only his underwear. He managed to hitchhike back but Carly had already turned up at the church and on finding him not there had left again. Ben convinced her to return and after she kept him waiting to make him sweat they eventually married.
Carly was told her grandmother was sick but refused to go and see her. When her grandmother died, an obituary from carly appeared in the paper and she was furious to realise that Ben had wrote it. Her grandmother’s solicitor came to visit her and explained that her grandmother had left her jewellery but Carly didn’t want to accept it and was unable to forgive her grandmother for letting her father abuse her. Pippa had the broach valued and they were astounded to realise it was worth enough to buy the boatshed for them but Ben and Pippa talked Carly out of selling it. Instead they tried to use it as a guarantee against a loan but were turned down. Her broach went missing and carly received a cheque fronm the insurance company for it but it later turned up and carly faced a dilemma over whether to say anything. She eventually did the right thing but was gutted over the loss of the boatshed. Pippa came to her rescue by offering to invest as a partner.
Delighted at getting the boatshed, Carly quit her job in The Diner only to have to ask for it back when Ben insisted that the Boatshed wouldn’t make enough initially to support them both not having jobs. After a row with Bobby and a miserable shift, Carly quit the Diner and applied for a job as Fisher’s secretary instead but failed to get the job. The boatshed also fell through leaving both Carly and Ben on the dole. Eventually he took a job with Michael Ross and she took her job back at The Diner.
Their next argument was about kids when Ben announced that he wanted them but Carly didn’t they rowed about it and both set up surprise meals as an apology but both ended up being at the meal the other had prepared. They later talked and Carly admitted that she didn’t think she could handle the responsibility of kids right now so Ben agreed to wait. Carly was in for a shock when the military police arrived looking for Ben and it was revealed that he had been awol and not discharged as he had told her. He was arrested at Pippa and Micheal’s wedding and sent back to his army base in Perth. After some soul searching, Carly agreed to go with him and departed the bay after being farewelled by her family.
Around 1997, Carly returned briefly for Steven’s non-wedding to Selina. In 2000, she returned again for Sally’s wedding which did not finish and was there to reminisce with Pippa as the Caravan Park was handed over to the Sutherlands, marking the end of the Fletcher family living and fostering there. She confided to Pippa that she felt guilty about how she had treated Bobby and was there to support Sally when her wedding didn’t go ahead. She later returned in 2001 to check up on Sally following Sally’s cancer scare and the realisation she wouldn’t be able to have children, and returned again in 2002 to help celebrate Summer Bay’s sesquicentenary.
She was last seen when returned to the bay for Sally’s leaving concert in 2008, and ate dinner off the floor after the Caravan Park furniture was stolen. She revealed that very little of her nature had changed when she teased Miles over Milco being real.