Martin Dibble
| Martin Dibble | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Home and Away character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Craig Thomson | ||||||
| Duration | 1988-90, 2000, 2002 | ||||||
| First appearance | 17 January 1988 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 29 May 2002 | ||||||
| Introduced by | Alan Bateman (1988) John Holmes (2000) Julie McGuaran (2002) |
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| Profile | |||||||
| Occupation | Fish market worker Road worker Office worker Soldier Radio technician |
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| Home | Queensland | ||||||
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| Father | Ern Dibble |
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| Mother | Nola Dibble |
| Brothers |
Erroll Dibble Scott Dibble Marcus Dibble |
Martin Dibble is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Craig Thomson. He made his first on-screen appearance on 17 January 1988, the show's pilot episode. The character was axed from the series in 1989 after producer Andrew Howie decided to focus on new characters. He left the show on 3 April 1990, but returned for guest stints in 2000 and 2002.
In 1987, Home and Away producers asked Thomson to audition for a role, after they watched him in an advertisement for soft drinks. Thomson auditioned alongside Adam Willits, while Thomson secured the role of Martin, Willits went on to play Steven Matheson. Of his casting Thomson said they "went along to the auditions and got the parts, there's not much to tell really". Home and Away was Thomson's first television role.
When Thomson won the role of Martin he was thankful because he had not achieved high grades in his studies. After he had read his first scripts for Martin, Thomson travelled to West Australia to research the role. Martin is portrayed as a "yobbo" and Thomson believed that the area was ideal to observe "yobbos" socialising. He told a writer from Look-in that Martin was directly based on the people he had seen on his trip.
In his book Home and Away Annual, Kesta Desmond describes Martin as a "beach bum" and who a big ego because he sees himself as one of the most attractive men in Summer Bay. When Martin faces rejection from females who do appreciate his "charm", his "confidence remains undented". As Martin is also characterised as a "yob", Thomson said that members of the public assume he is going to behave like Martin. Thomson described Martin as being "completely over the top, and very different from the rest of the cast. I really like playing comedy." Thomson later said that "Martin's like every other bully, he fancies himself as a boxer and thinks he's tough. In fact, he's a coward". In 1990, Thomson said that Martin has a "heart of gold" but is let down by his brain.
Thomson told the reporter from Look-in that he was nothing like his character. Martin does not know how to have a good time because he is a "dag"; and is forever thinking up ideas which eventually fail. Martin also has the tendency to act "quite selfish" and he is "very greedy". Thomson said that he disliked his character's greediness even though he always knew that was how Home and Away intended to portray him. Martin is not "really a bad guy" either, and Thomson said that everyone needed to treat him as "a bit of a joke" and that he would never chose to spend time with Martin.
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