Belle Taylor
| Belle Taylor | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jessica Tovey | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2006–2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 3 February 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 11 August 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Julie McGauran | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Waitress Journalist at Coastal News (2007–2008, 2009) Student (2006–2007) |
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| Mother | Amanda Vale |
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| Adoptive father | David Taylor |
| Adoptive mother | Judith Taylor |
| Stepfather |
Graham Walters Peter Baker |
| Brothers | Drew Curtis (Step) |
| Sisters | Beth Hunter (step) |
| Half-brothers | Ryan Baker |
| Husband | Aden Jefferies (2009) |
| Grandmothers | Kitty Landsdowne |
| Aunts | Kelli Vale |
Susan "Belle" Jefferies (née Taylor) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Jessica Tovey. She made her first on-screen appearance on 3 February 2006. Belle's storylines included finding her birth mother, a drug addiction, her relationship with Aden Jefferies and being diagnosed with cancer. In 2009, it was announced that Tovey had quit the show and the writers took the decision to kill off the character. Belle made her last appearance on 11 August 2009.
Tovey joined Home and Away in 2006 when she was 18. The character of Belle was her first television role. On joining the cast, Tovey said she was "overwhelmed" and found it "daunting". She added "It was hard not to feel intimidated and nervous about joining the cast, this was really my first television role, so it was a huge step".
In April 2009, Tovey announced that she had quit Home and Away. On her decision to leave, Tovey said "I can't stress enough what a hard decision it was and that I nearly changed my mind a few times. I still feel sad about it, but I really just wanted a change". Tovey's final scenes were filmed in the same month and shown on Australian screens in August. Tovey said she found filming her final scenes "heartbreaking", but she said that she was happy with the writers' decision to kill off the character.
Belle is described as being a "cheeky, extroverted young girl". She was full of insecurity from her "disciplined and controlling" upbringing. She craved love and attention from her parents, which they never gave to her. Belle's parents were shocked to discover their daughter was rejecting their conservative lifestyle and hanging out with the wrong crowd. On her character Tovey said "Belle is fantastic, she's sassy and fun with quite a mouth on her! We have also seen a more vulnerable side to Belle with her romance with Aden this year and next year, we will see Belle go on a bit of a downward spiral which is a good challenge as an actor".
In 2009, Belle developed an addiction to painkillers. The storyline meant Tovey had to spend weeks crying and shouting, but she was determined to do a good job and worked hard on the scenes. Tovey revealed that the addiction storyline made a bigger impression on her than any of Belle's other plots. She also stated "It was very challenging at points but I have to say I was quite relieved when it was over because it was quite exhausting at points". Belle spent weeks lying to cover up her addiction and she became "erratic". Her painkiller addiction was discovered by her boyfriend, Aden (Todd Lasance), after he gave her a necklace and she used it to buy more drugs. Tovey told Carolyn Stewart from TV Week that it was "a huge deal" for Belle to give up the necklace to her dealer, but she had nothing else to give him.Nicole Franklin (Tessa James) spotted the necklace in a pawnshop and told Aden, who was heartbroken. Tovey explained "He's so in love with her, but by pawning the necklace, she's essentially saying that the drugs mean more to her than he does. She might not think that's true, but the fact is she's put her need for drugs before everything else in her life."
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