List of Neighbours characters introduced in 1999
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1999, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's then executive producer Stanley Walsh. The 15th season of Neighbours began airing from 18 January 1999. Bess O'Brien, the mother of established character Sarah Beaumont, was introduced in February. May saw the arrival of Peter Hannay, while Martin Chester began appearing from July. [|Daniel Fitzgerald], Teabag Teasdale and [|Teresa Bell] arrived in September. [|Charlie Thorpe] debuted in October, along with the five-strong Scully family consisting of parents [|Joe] and [|Lyn], and their daughters [|Stephanie], [|Felicity] and [|Michelle].
Bess O'Brien
Bess O'Brien, played by Diana McLean, made her first screen appearance on 8 February 1999. McLean was happy to take on the role of Bess and said the cast and crew made her feel welcomed on set. Bess is Sarah Beaumont's mother. She came to Erinsborough to visit her daughter, but their reunion was not entirely happy, as they had some issues to deal with first. McLean explained, "Bess is a highly dedicated environmental campaigner. Over the years she has spent more of her time fighting for various causes than she has bringing up her own daughter." McLean said it was not easy for Bess to make things up with Sarah, but Bess was "a determined lady." Realising that Sarah had been through some tough times, Bess wanted to be there for her.Bess comes to Erinsborough to give a talk and to see her daughter, Sarah. Bess tells Sarah's friends that she had named her daughter Chakira Sunshine, while her sister Catherine was named Chandra Rain. They had both changed their names when they started school. Bess stay with Sarah, who confides in her about her bad year, which culminated in her dismissal from her job at the hospital. Bess speaks to the director of nursing at the Hospital and gets Sarah's appeal brought forward. Bess befriends Susan Kennedy and learns that Sarah had an affair with Susan's husband. Sarah becomes frustrated with her mother and when Bess suggests that maybe she should get a job with Greenpeace. A furious Sarah tells Bess that she wants to help people. She then admits how angry she and Catherine were at Bess for never being there for them while they were growing up. Bess cooks dinner for Sarah as a peace offering, and Sarah forgives her.
Bess and Sarah go to the country together to visit some of Bess's friends. Back in Erinsborough, Bess receives a call asking her to attend a conference in New Zealand. Realising that her daughter needs her, Bess decides to stay with her. Bess helps Sarah raise money for a hospital fundraiser and helps Sarah's housemate Joel Samuels get his job back. Bess is grateful that she has mended the rift between her and Sarah and she leaves for home. A few months later, Bess sends her friend Peter Hannay to visit Sarah and they become engaged. Bess fails to make it to the wedding after missing her flight.
Peter Hannay
Peter Hannay, played by Nick Carrafa, made his first appearance on 17 May 1999. Carrafa was contracted for a twelve-week guest stint. He previously appeared in Neighbours as Tony Romeo in 1987 and is married to Fiona Corke, who played Gail Robinson. He told Belinda Young of TV Week that he had been "an occasional Neighbours watcher" and joked that when he was younger, Gail was his favourite character. Peter is introduced as a love interest for Sarah Beaumont and helped facilitate her exit from the serial. Carrafa explained that Peter knows Sarah's mother and when he mentions that he is going to be spending time in Erinsborough, she tells him to visit her daughter. Of Peter and Sarah's first meeting, he said "The mother is a bit of a hippy, so Sarah is expecting my character to be a hippy... and I am expecting her to be a hippy, too. We are both relieved when we discover we're not, so go to a restaurant, have a good time and talk about our childhoods and the things we have in common, because I'm a doctor and she's a medical receptionist. The relationship goes from there."Following a "whirlwind romance", Peter and Sarah get engaged. Ahead of the proposal, Sarah and Peter declare their love for one another and Peter decides to stay on in Erinsborough. He then "whisks" Sarah away on a camping trip, where he proposes and she accepts. Peter later presents her with a $40,000 engagement ring, which is coincidentally similar to Susan Kennedy's. Sarah initially has reservations about marrying Peter, as she still has feelings for Susan's husband Karl Kennedy. During the episode broadcast on 13 July 1999, a "lovestruck" Peter and Sarah exchange vows and marry a month. Peter almost catches Sarah sharing a goodbye kiss with Karl, before they depart for their new life overseas. This marked the departure of both characters. A writer for Inside Soap called Peter "dashing" and "hunky". Another columnist hoped Peter was the one doctor to "finally mend Sarah's broken heart."
When Charles returned to Neighbours in 2013, she revealed that Sarah and Peter had two children and had since separated. Carrafa briefly reprised the role for "a surprise return" in November 2016. Peter returns to Erinsborough to collect his son Angus Beaumont-Hannay and escort him to Sydney. Angus is angry with Peter for not caring that he went missing on the Gold Coast. Peter apologises for not being there for him and they reconcile. Peter thanks Karl and Susan for taking care of Angus. He tells Karl that he will be based in Sydney for the foreseeable future, as he has a job with the Flying Doctors.
Martin Chester
Martin Chester, played by Gil Tucker, made his first screen appearance on 29 July 1999. Martin was an old friend of Karl and Susan Kennedy. After he arrived in town, he took Susan out to dinner. While Karl was aware that his friend and his wife were out to dinner, he did not think Susan would be capable of cheating on him. Woodburne explained, "Susan is very attracted to Martin, but she wouldn't be aware of it if her marriage was more solid and she wasn't feeling so unloved." Woodburne added that Susan was attempted to have an affair with Martin, but she ultimately wanted her marriage to survive. Woodburne was good friends with Tucker before his Neighbours appearance, having appeared with him in Cop Shop thirteen years previously. She thought their friendship made it easier to play ex-lovers on-screen.Martin is an old university friend of Karl and Susan Kennedy. Martin had been a member of Karl's band The Right Prescription and had dated briefly dated Susan. When Martin comes to Erinsborough as part of his job, he comes into contact with Susan and they grow close. Martin explains that he has recently split up from his wife, while Susan was recovering from Karl's affair. After spending a few evenings together, and with Karl away, Martin admits to Susan that he is in love with her. Karl is pleased to see Martin and insists on taking him out to lunch, so they can catch up. Martin and Susan meet up in secret to talk about things. They are spotted by Tad Reeves and Susan realises that it would look bad to Karl if he found out. When Karl suggests reforming The Right Prescription, Martin tells him he is leaving for Alice Springs. Susan later admits to Karl that she was tempted to have an affair with Martin.
Daniel Fitzgerald
Daniel "Dan" Fitzgerald, played by Brett Tucker, made his first screen appearance on 1 September 1999. Tucker played the role of high school teacher Dan for a brief period. His major story arc was a romance with his housemate [|Tess Bell]. Tess had a crush on Dan, but was heartbroken when he dated [|Steph Scully]. When Tess eventually told Dan about her crush, he admitted that he liked her too, but did not want to pursue his feelings as she was married. Dan later moved out to give their relationship a chance. Vendy was unsure if the storyline would continue as Tucker was not a regular cast member. Tucker reprised his role in 2007, when Neighbours shifted its focus back to character driven storylines and family values. Dan took on a counselling role at the high school. Michael Lallo from The Age said Tucker raised "the hunk quotient" as Dan.Teabag Teasdale
John "Teabag" Teasdale, played by Nathan Phillips, made his first screen appearance on 3 September 1999. Phillips made his acting debut on Neighbours. He was a drama student at the time of his casting, and had only just decided to become an actor. His character was meant to have one line, but he was later given a two-month contract. Sacha Molitorisz from The Sydney Morning Herald thought Teabag was "unlikely". Tony Johnston, author of Neighbours: 20 years of Ramsay Street, wrote that Teabag was, for a time, the show's "resident bad boy" and that he was "nothing but trouble". Phillips later said that he still gets recognised for his role as Teabag.John Teasdale or Teabag, befriends Hannah Martin, Paul McClain and Tad Reeves after they turn a local allotment into a BMX track. Tad tells Teabag that he is going to make a film about BMXing and Teabag agrees to help. He throws a brick through the window of Grease Monkeys as part of the opening shot, and he and the others have to run when the police turn up. Teabag is impressed by Hannah when he sees her performing some BMX moves. He gives her his old BMX bike as a gift and they grow closer. When Hannah learns that her family are planning to move away, she becomes desperate to find somewhere to stay in Erinsborough. Teabag offers her a place at his share house. Paul is not happy with Hannah's growing relationship with Teabag and he confronts him, which leads to Teabag punching Paul.
Teabag brags about committing several local robberies and he later admits to Hannah that he broke into Billy Kennedy's workshop. Hannah, Paul and Tad tell Billy the truth and he reports Teabag to the police. Realising that Teabag is not the guy she thought he was, she decides to move away with her family. Teabag learns that Paul and Tad told Billy about the robbery and he makes their lives difficult by harassing them. He also admits to Hannah that the bike he gave her was stolen. Teabag continues to harass the Bishops by sitting in the Coffee Shop playing loud music and not ordering anything. He also phones in a fake order for food and cancels it once it is prepared. He also has a large number of pizzas sent to the Bishop house. Paul and Tad decide to get their own back by pulling apart Teabag's bike. Teabag goads them into returning to his house and Paul and Tad throws things at it. When Tad smashes one of the windows, a police car arrives and Teabag is pleased to get one over on them. Paul and Tad decide to stop trying to get even with Teabag. On Hannah's last day at school, Teabag gives her a bracelet and he gives up harassing the Bishops.