Rebecca Napier
| Rebecca Robinson | |||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Jane Hall | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 2007–2011, 2014 | ||||||||||||
| First appearance | 13 July 2007 | ||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 20 March 2014 | ||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Ric Pellizzeri (2007) Richard Jasek (2014) |
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| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
| Profile | |||||||||||||
| Occupation | Legal secretary Manager of Charlie's PirateNet CEO Twin Cities coordinator |
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| Home | Sydney | ||||||||||||
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| Family | Robinson |
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| Father | Alan Napier |
| Brothers | Marcus Napier |
| Husband | Paul Robinson (2009–; divorced) |
| Sons |
Oliver Barnes Declan Napier |
| Granddaughters |
Chloe Cammeniti India Napier |
Rebecca Jane Napier (also Robinson) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jane Hall. The show suffered a ratings decline in early 2007 and plans were put in place for storylines to focus more on relationships and family dynamics. During this period, the character of Rebecca was created and introduced. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 13 July 2007. Rebecca is the mother of Oliver Barnes and Declan Napier. Rebecca departed on 15 March 2011 and returned on 26 February 2014.
In 2007, Neighbours suffered a ratings decline and plans were put into place to take a "back to basics" approach where storylines would become less controversial and return to the focus on relationships and family dynamics. It was at this point that the character of Rebecca was created, and Jane Hall was cast in the role. The character was to create a family unit for existing character Oliver Barnes (David Hoflin). Of her casting Hall said "Neighbours is a legend of a show, and now, it's getting back to the heart-land, to relationships and family and the ins-and-outs of life." Hall later commented that her character had "shaken up" the series and made it more interesting, she also said that Rebecca has been on tumultuous journey since her inception.
Before the character had appeared on-screen there was speculation that Hall wanted to leave after only one day of filming as Rebecca. During an interview on Rove, Hall spoke about her melt down and what had caused her upset, saying "There is about fifteen to twenty minutes in the studio, per scene to shoot it. So I come in and it's my first day in studio and they have probably my most crucial scene, which is where I [Rebecca] met my son, I've never seen him before, I gave him up when I was 17. A pivotal scene and they say can we shoot it in five minutes, cut along story short I was crap, I went into the producers office and said you've made a terrible mistake, sack me now, we had to re-shoot it, and I wasn't much good the second time around either." She also said that in time she got to grips with her character and managed to portray her to an extent she was herself, happy with.
In her fictional backstory, Rebecca became estranged from her family after she became pregnant at seventeen. Rebecca's father, Alan (Barry Friedlander), pressured her into giving her baby son to Clifford (Andrew Wemyss) and Pamela Barnes (Brooke Nicol) to raise as their own. This forced Rebecca to grow up quickly. Unable to watch her son grow up with another family, Rebecca moved away. She later gave birth to another son, Declan (James Sorensen), and raised him alone. She did not stop thinking about the son she gave up years earlier. Rebecca raised Declan on her own and refused to accept charity from anyone.
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