Sarah Beaumont
Sarah Beaumont is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Nicola Charles. Shortly after Charles moved to Australia, she was encouraged to try out for a part in the serial by a drama coach. The actress received the role of Sarah and made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 25 September 1996. In January 1999, it was announced that Charles had decided to quit Neighbours to move to London with her then fiancé. She filmed her final scenes in April 1999 and Sarah departed on-screen on 13 July 1999. Charles later appeared in the show's 20th anniversary episode, which was broadcast in July 2005. Charles reprised the role in 2012 and Sarah made a six-week return from 4 February 2013. She returned again from 5 April 2016.
Sarah is Bess O'Brien's daughter and Catherine O'Brien's half-sister. She returned to Australia shortly after she jilted her British fiancé. Charles' British and Brazilian heritage was incorporated into Sarah's background and personality. One of the character's most notable storylines saw her fall in love with and share a kiss with Karl Kennedy, a married doctor. Charles wrote the storyline between Sarah and Karl and it provided Neighbours with an increase in ratings. Peter Hannay was introduced as a love interest for Sarah in May 1999 and they went on to get married. Sarah shared another kiss with Karl, before departing Australia with Peter. Off-screen, Sarah moved to London and had two children.
Creation and casting
Charles landed the role of Sarah shortly after moving to Australia to be with her then boyfriend, Scott Michaelson. A drama coach suggested that Charles try out for a part on Neighbours and when she did, the producers were so impressed that they created the role of Sarah for her. Charles commented that it was "very exciting" to be joining the cast of Neighbours and added "At home in England I was a big fan of the show. I used to rush home from school to watch Jason and Kylie." Of Charles' casting, a spokesperson stated "Nicola has real star potential. We think she's going to be a big hit." Charles initially trained to be an actress and a dancer, but she spent six years modelling. Of her struggle to fit in and be accepted by the cast of Neighbours, Charles revealed "I was seen as an ex-model and no one expected I'd be able to act. But I knew I could do it and I think I shocked them all. Soon after I joined, the script editor told me he thought I could handle any storyline he threw at me, which was a huge compliment."Development
Background
The writers incorporated Charles' British and Brazilian heritage into Sarah's background and personality. Dave Lanning from The People commented that Sarah was "a Tasmanian-born half Brazilian raver". Sarah relocated from the UK to Erinsborough as she was "trying to escape a tortured past." She had been engaged to Lord Steven Harrow, but she jilted him and fled to Australia. Sarah is the daughter of Bess O'Brien and half-sister to Catherine O'Brien. Bess was a "dedicated environmental campaigner" who spent more time fighting for causes than bringing up her daughters. When Bess visited Sarah, the reunion was not a happy one, as they had a few issues to deal with. Bess realised that it was going to be hard to make things right with Sarah, but she knew that her daughter was going through a tough time and wanted to help her.Matt Compton
Sarah's first romance was with her housemate, Matt Compton. Matt was a policeman who came to Ramsay Street to rent the spare room at Number 30. Charles revealed that there was an instant attraction between Sarah and Matt and she jumps at the chance to have him as a housemate as soon as she sees him. Sarah's other housemate, Ben Atkins, is not so keen as he does not want to live with a policeman. However, Sarah gets her own way and Matt soon moves in. Charles explained that she was "really pleased" to finally have a love interest, but did not want her character to settle into a long-term relationship. She said "the ups and downs are much more interesting to do than the smoochy scenes." Sarah and Matt soon began dating and their romance marked Charles and Kovac's first on-screen love scenes.Affair with Karl Kennedy
One of Sarah's most notable storylines saw her fall in love with and kiss Karl Kennedy. Sarah and Karl revealed their feelings for each other at the end of the 1997 season and Craig Platt of The Age called it one of the serial's "most memorable" cliffhangers. Sarah and Karl's sexual tension became central to the show throughout 1998 and the storyline gave Neighbours a large ratings boost.Karl was married to Sarah's friend, Susan, and when she found out about the affair, she was devastated. Karl and Susan's daughter, Libby, was also upset, as she was close friends with Sarah and knew that she had been in love with a married man. Sarah's life started to fall apart when she was unable to let go of Karl and Susan was not happy with Karl maintaining a friendship with her. Charles wrote the storyline between Sarah and Karl, but not the script. She told an Inside Soap writer that she had no idea it would be so successful or have such an impact.
Relationship with Peter Hannay
Dr. Peter Hannay was introduced to Neighbours in May 1999, as a love interest for Sarah. Peter knew Sarah's mother and when he mentioned that he was spending some time in Erinsborough, she suggested that he visited her daughter. Peter took Sarah out to dinner and after getting on well, they began a relationship. Peter shocked Sarah when he asked her to marry him after five weeks, but she accepted. A writer from Inside Soap proclaimed that Sarah had not had much luck with men in the past, but they hoped that Peter would break the pattern and mend her broken heart. Sarah asked Lou Carpenter to give her away and Amy Greenwood to be her bridesmaid at the wedding. Charles helped design her character's dress at the same time she designed her own gown. She commented "I was working on both gowns at the same time and trying to keep them different." When Sarah was left stranded and late for the ceremony, Karl came to her rescue and gave her a lift to the church.Of the wedding, Sydney Morning Herald writer Doug Anderson said "Can Sarah Beaumont make it to the altar on time to tie the knot, with Dr Peter Hannay? All the leftover mishaps from the stage play, Secret Bridesmaid's Business, are slathered over the screen as Karl sulks darkly somewhere and Lou carries on like a counter lunch. Not for the fainthearted." During the ceremony, a specially-written song called "Flowers", sung by Janine Maunder, was played. The single was made available to purchase from the Neighbours website after the episode aired. Shortly after she married Peter, Sarah kissed Karl in the vestry and Peter very nearly saw. An Inside Soap columnist explained "Sarah and Karl give into the feelings they've been stifling for months, and share an illicit passionate kiss." Sarah then left the country with Peter, so she could accompany him as he treated patients around the world.
Departure and cameo appearance
On 7 January 1999, Matthew Wright from the Daily Mirror reported that Charles was quitting Neighbours to move to London with her new fiancé. Charles had gotten engaged to London-based actor Jason Barry, while she still had a year-long contract with Neighbours. Charles then had to choose whether to continue with Neighbours or quit to be with Barry. The actress decided to stay and see her contract out as she did not want to let anyone down. Charles filmed her final scenes in April 1999 and Sarah departed the show after marrying Peter.In January 2005, Neil Wilkes from Digital Spy reported that producers were trying to get Charles to return to Neighbours for a cameo appearance in their 20th anniversary episode. A month later it was confirmed that Charles had agreed to reprise her role. Charles revealed that she was "thrilled" to be asked to return for the anniversary special, but she equally "horrified at the prospect" because she had recently given birth to her daughter and felt overweight. The actress was happy when the producers suggested that she filmed her scenes in her back garden. Charles explained "The storyline saw an old character, Annalise Hartman, making a video documentary about all the old Neighbours characters and what they are up to now. A lot of us have moved to London so it made sense to film it here. It was very exciting and it was great to be part of such good show again. It made me very nostalgic."
Return (2013)
In a 2011 interview with Jason Herbison from Inside Soap, Charles revealed that she would love to return to Neighbours. The actress said "I've always felt that the loose ends between Sarah and Karl weren't tied up. I'd love her to return with a son who turns out to be Karl's!" On 4 November 2012, it was announced that Charles had reprised her role and Sarah would return to Neighbours for six weeks. Speaking to Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy, Charles said that she received an email from the serial's executive producer after the Inside Soap interview was published and she "made it quite clear" that she was open to a return. When asked if a return was something she had to take time to think about, Charles told Kilkelly "When the magazine first posed the question I was stunned. I had never imagined a return would be possible. But my husband Mark had always felt that I should revisit Sarah and so I had pondered it for a while. The answer was always going to be yes." Charles began filming her return scenes in October and commented that she was open to a longer stint with the show in the future. Sarah returned on 4 February 2013.Charles told Kilkelly that she found it easy to slip back into the character of Sarah and thought that it was more fun now she is "a grown-up". Describing how her character's personality had changed, Charles stated "Sarah has changed immeasurably. She is smarter, thinks faster, knows herself better and has a valid perspective on what happened. Being a mother seems to have been the making of her, and I can easily draw parallels from my own life for that." Sarah now has two children, but Kilkelly reported that while she would make references to them, neither one would be seen on-screen. Charles admitted that while Karl is not the reason Sarah returns to Erinsborough, she would be catching up with him and Susan. When asked if Sarah is over Karl, Charles said "Is Sarah over Karl? Gosh, that's an eternal question, isn't it? Are we really ever over our exes? Sarah is separated from her husband Peter Hannay and is therefore single." The actress added that there would be tension between Sarah and Susan, while any questions about what happened between Sarah and Karl would be answered.