Des Clarke (Neighbours)
| Des Clarke | |||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Paul Keane | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985–1990, 2015 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 18 March 1985 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 17 March 2015 | ||||||||||||
| Created by | Reg Watson | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Reg Watson (1985) Jason Herbison (2015) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Bank manager (until 1989) Co-owner of Daphne's coffee shop (1988–90) |
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| Home | Adelaide | ||||||||||||
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| Father | Malcolm Clarke |
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| Mother | Eileen Clarke |
| Half-sisters | Sally Wells |
| Wife |
Daphne Lawrence (1986–88) Fiona (1991–?) |
| Sons | Jamie Clarke |
| First cousins | Sarah Richards |
Desmond Kingsley "Des" Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Paul Keane. Des was created by Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' twelve original characters. He made his first on screen appearance on 18 March 1985, the show's first episode. Des departed during the episode broadcast on 11 October 1990. Keane later reprised the role for one episode as part of Neighbours' 30th anniversary celebrations in March 2015.
Des is one of the twelve original characters conceived by the creator and then executive producer of Neighbours, Reg Watson. Actor Stefan Dennis originally auditioned for the role, before he was cast as Paul Robinson.Paul Keane was then cast in the role. Keane suffered with depression and anxiety, and was happy when Channel Seven cancelled the show. He explained "Neighbours was my first job. I couldn't believe how hard it was. I was exhausted. When it ended at Channel Seven I thought, 'Thank God, I can go home.' But then Ten picked it up. I was devastated."
In 1990, after running his course, Des was written out of Neighbours. Off-screen, Keane struggled with his sudden fame and had developed a problem with drugs. He later stopped working in the acting industry.
The first episode of Neighbours saw many of the male characters attending Des's bucks night, ahead of his wedding to Lorraine Kingham (Antoinette Byron). The party is where Des first met Daphne Lawrence (Elaine Smith), who was hired to perform a striptease routine. When Lorraine called off the wedding the following day, Daphne moved in to help Des pay off the mortgage. Des was immediately attracted to Daphne, but he tried to hide his feelings for her, resulting in him becoming awkward around her. Daphne soon began dating Des's friend Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien). By the end of 1985, Daphne had broken up with Shane and proposed to Des, who accepted. However, on the day of their wedding, Daphne's bridal car was hijacked by a bank robber and she was late. Having been stood up five times in the past, Des gave up waiting and left the church. Their relationship ended when they failed to sort out exactly what had happened. Daphne later got engaged to Shane, while Des's mother, Eileen (Myra De Groot), and friend, Clive (Geoff Paine), persuaded him to "woo Daphne back."
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