Neighbours’ Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher discuss Darcy’s downfall

As Darcy’s storyline reaches an exciting climax in the coming weeks, Neighbours‘ Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne tell us what’s in store.

Some 20 years ago, the arrival of a young Dr Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety) shook things up for Karl (Alan Fletcher) and Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne).

Susan’s nephew became one of the most memorable characters from the early 2000s, and showed his dastardly streak when he tried to steal Karl’s GP practice from under his nose.

After serving time for stealing from the Kennedys after getting into debt, a return in 2004 saw Darcy partially redeem himself when he uncovered the fact that Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) had been lying about being pregnant with Karl’s baby.

Twenty years later, Darcy returned to Erinsborough claiming to have put his dastardly past behind him.

However, his friendship with Amanda Harris (Bryony Behets) became his downfall – after discovering that she had $2 million worth of shares, he transferred them to himself.

Shortly after, Amanda ended up dead after falling from a cliff in the Dandenongs, and it’s still unclear to viewers whether she was pushed or fell.

As Karl comes closer to uncovering the truth, Darcy attacked him for a second time today, injecting him with a drug that leaves him fighting for his life.

When Susan realises that Darcy is to blame, she turns the tables on her nephew. When he spikes her tea, Susan swaps their mugs, leaving Darcy knocked out cold. In late June, he’ll end up behind bars, as Karl and Jane confront him over his lies.

As the storyline reaches its climax, we sat down for an exclusive chat with Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher to discuss Darcy’s return and what’s in store in the weeks ahead.

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What was it like having Mark Raffety back on set after 20 years?

Jackie Woodburne – “It’s always great when the oldies come back; you get that sense of history that fits in with the show, because obviously in 20 years, he’s gone from an up-and-coming young man to a hardened sociopath. So, that was interesting, you know, it was great.”

Alan Fletcher – “I loved working with Mark, we had some terrific scenes together. The great thing about having Mark back was, because he’s had a break, when he came back he was very receptive to workshopping his scenes.

“So, he would come to work often with a really clear idea of how he wanted to play it. But, you know, working with the other actors and working with the directors, a lot of his material was massaged around and he responded very well to that.

“So, he was really part of the process, which was great.”

Susan was very trusting of Darcy, even when Karl was adamant that he was up to something. Why did she have such a hard time believing that he could be bad?

Jackie – “That’s such a good question. Aside from the fact that that’s what the writers wrote for Susan. Yeah, look, I think I had to find some kind of truth in that.

“And I think it just came down to that familial loyalty, that she hoped that he had turned a corner and that he had been redeemed.

“Her sister [Carmel], Darcy’s mum, said, yes, he has, he’s a different man, he’s put in the work, please give him a chance. So, Susan, being the kind person that she is and wanting to believe that that was the case, did go along with that.

“So, it took quite a lot before she realised that ultimately it was Darcy or Karl and, of course, Karl won.”

Alan – “It is fair to say that when he first arrived, when Karl first started saying ‘this is odd and this is odd’, Darcy always had an answer and was perfectly reasonable. But not just perfectly reasonable, but was actually provable.

“So, when Karl found out, for instance, that he’d been sacked from his job, he jumped to a conclusion. But every time Karl overreacted and then Darcy was able to explain it, I think that kind of made Susan go, ‘Look, Karl, I think you’re being a bit over the top here.’

“So, Karl actually made a bit of a fool of himself and I think that that helped Darcy. But also, most importantly, when Susan found out that Karl had been lying about medicating himself when he came back from overseas, then why would she trust Karl on anything?

“And so, Darcy got a free pass there by manipulating that situation. I think it’s one of our best crafted stories that the show’s had for us.”

Jackie – “It does serve everyone’s point of view, doesn’t it?”

Alan – “It’s got a lot of nuance to it.”

Jackie – “And also, Susan wasn’t aware of the information that Darcy was holding over Karl’s head.

“The whole time he was operating the strings because he could undo Karl at any time. So, Karl had to walk a very fine line between trying to expose the truth, but not before he was ready to.

“But as Fletch says, Darcy always had a very believable, innocent excuse.”

Darcy was genuinely trying to help Karl with the herbal medication. Before he found out that Amanda had money, was he genuinely a reformed character?

Alan – “The reason I think it’s such a good story is that Darcy’s behaviour was very much like Izzy Hoyland. And in that, Izzy, when she got herself into trouble, which happened a lot, she would do bad things and lie, but not because she was a vicious person attempting to hurt people, but because it was the only way of saving her skin. And Darcy was the same.

“He turned up in Erinsborough fully intending to be a reformed person, trying to raise money for a health centre he wanted to build, and he kept coming up against obstacles, and Karl was one of those obstacles. So he was kind of forced by Karl’s pressure to start behaving in bad ways. We can’t deny that.

“But he would have thought he was justified. He was like, ‘Karl is screwing this up for me. So, OK, that’s fine. I’ll keep his addiction going.’ And then when he does something else, he’ll say, ‘Ok, I’m going to reveal his addiction and really shut him down.’ Things like that.

“And then ultimately, we get to a point where Darcy starts really doing harm. So I think it’s a really nuanced story like that. It’s not like Darcy the baddie turns up and goes, I’m going to get everybody.

“I don’t think it was like that at all, which is what makes it clever.”

There’s a moment before he leaves Amanda where he shows genuine empathy about her dementia symptoms. Does it show that he does have a heart?

Jackie – “I don’t know. I think his pathology is that he will do whatever is required to attain his objective. And if that means showing compassion or kindness or empathy, then he can make that face, that empathetic face.

“But I think it’s all in pursuit of his main objective.”

Alan – “Yes, that’s exactly right. Empathy is only possible in a person who’s prepared to subdue their own desires in order to help someone else. In Darcy’s case, he’ll go through the motions.

“‘Oh, can I help you,’ or whatever? He’s a doctor, he’ll do that. But if someone finds out about money, then his own objectives will always be pre-eminent.

“In that sense, he is not a reformed person. But that sort of behaviour is very common in people. It’s very common for people to put their own interests ahead of anyone else.”

How does Susan finally realise that Darcy was to blame for everything that’s going on?

Jackie – “I think once there are drugs missing from Eirini Rising, and Karl’s had the episode where he’s unconscious and got his locked-in syndrome, and he has those drugs in his system, then that, for her, is a lightbulb moment that this is wrong.

“And then she realises that it’s a cat and mouse game. And she can’t confront Darcy, she’s got to do it with stealth.

“And she teams up with Paul to find out, to confirm that those drugs are in fact the right ones.

“And then she’s got to try and stall Darcy because she sees that he’s about to fly the coop, and she’s got to keep him there. But knowing that in doing that, she’s putting herself in danger as well.

“Because she understands that, again, in the quest for his ultimate objective, he won’t care that it’s Auntie Susan. She’s just an obstacle.”

Apart from Holly, Paul is one of the few people who believes Karl. Why do you think Paul is so anti-Darcy?

Jackie – “Because of his history, I think. I don’t think he’s got any familial loyalty, as we might. It’s just for him, Darcy was the person that did these things.”

Alan – “And also, I think it’s kind of like ‘takes one to know one’.

“He’s very astute, and a great observer of human nature. So I think Paul sees things in people that others are easily deluded. [He’s] quite a cynical man who can analyse people really well.

“And I think [he’s] looking at Darcy, going, ‘Mate, you’re just a little bit too slick for me’.”

Karl’s addiction has been a major focus of the storyline, and Susan recently told Karl that it’s something that would be part of him. Is there going to be more around the addiction storyline?

Alan – “I shouldn’t think so. The thing is, Karl did actually manage to get off the drugs. And he did it with Darcy giving him a herbal medicine, which Karl felt helped.

“And it probably did help because when Darcy first gave him the herbals, he genuinely was trying to help Karl get off the drugs. It wasn’t until Karl started to investigate stuff that Darcy said, ‘Okay, this is no good.’

“So, he started to slip Karl drugs and slip him opiates and keep his addiction going. [But] he always wanted to give them up, and he did manage to get away from them. And they’re not part of the character in an ongoing way.”

Susan being too trusting of Finn Kelly led to Gary Canning’s death, which Sheila blamed her for. Will Jane have any resentment towards Susan after she finds out that Darcy could have been responsible for Amanda’s death?

Jackie – “I think the Finn Kelly thing [is a] slightly different situation, and Finn, what he did and what he was prepared to do and what he was preparing to do – to kill me – he was a next-level psychopath, you know.

“And I totally get that Susan was to blame for Gary’s death and I think that’s a guilt that she carried with her and she will carry with her forever. I don’t think Jane blames Susan in the same way.

“I think Jane was aware of all the machinations around what was going on and she learns what happens. So, no, I don’t think she blames Susan in the same way.”

Alan – “Also, it can’t be substantiated what Darcy’s involvement in Amanda’s death is. So it’s a bit different. Whereas Finn Kelly shot Gary with an arrow.”

Jackie – “[And] tried to kill several other people.”

Jane was desperate to have a better relationship with Amanda in her final years, and Amanda gave a touching speech to Darcy which was intended for Jane. Will she ever get to find out Amanda’s true feelings?

Jackie – “There’s scenes where some of us get to go to prison to talk to Darcy and it’s his opportunity to say, ‘this is what I did and this is why I did it.’

“So he does have that confession, if you like. So I think we all get to walk away with a sense of not necessarily closure but an understanding of what he did and why.”

Alan – “Those scenes in the prison, which haven’t been aired yet, I hope people watch them because it’s beautiful writing.

“And one of the scenes we actually changed a lot to give a rounding to everyone’s behaviour. So the nuance and complexity of the arrangements, the relationships between people, becomes very clear.

“So Darcy’s scene with Karl is vastly different than his scene with Susan or Jane. It’s almost like a little triptych of who is really to blame here.

“I’m very fond of it because it gave Darcy the opportunity to realise how his hubris had contributed to his own downfall which is really important in the story.”

Will Karl get his job back at Eirini Rising?

Alan – “Post-Darcy, he is really crippled with self-doubt. And I think the only way past that self-doubt is actually to say, ‘No, I have to do something fresh’. And his realisation of that is pretty strong.

“Karl is naturally a carer, so it’s not as though he’ll completely disappear from Eirini’s life. His beautiful wife works there.

“But I think Karl’s going to move into a new phase, which is fun because it becomes involved with some of the movement towards the end of the show.”

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We’ll be publishing the second half of our chat with Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne in the weeks ahead, where they discuss what’s coming up for the Kennedys in the show’s final months, and their feelings on saying goodbye to the show once again.

To be the first to know when the second half of the interview is published, subscribe to our newsletter below.

Neighbours airs Monday–Thursday on Network 10 and 10 Peach in Australia, and on Prime Video in the UK.

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