Susan Kennedy
Susan Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jackie Woodburne. The character and her family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Susan made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 October 1994, debuting alongside her on-screen family. The storyliners made Susan a teacher at Erinsborough High to give her immediate links with other characters. Since her introduction, Susan's personality and appearance have been through several changes.
Her storylines have seen her begin a relationship with a priest, being married, divorced and widowed. Susan has become a stepmother and a grandmother and she has been central to three plots revolving around health issues – retrograde amnesia, multiple sclerosis and surrogacy. She has also been central to a cyber-bullying plot. In October 2007, Susan became the longest-running female character in the show's history, having been in Neighbours for thirteen years. Woodburne has garnered various award nominations for her portrayal of Susan and the character has been well received by viewers and television critics. Susan delivers a closing monologue in the serial's finale, which was lauded by critics for encompassing the ethos of Neighbours.
Creation and casting
In 1994, the Neighbours storyliners decided to introduce a new "solid" family called the Kennedys. The family, which consisted of five members – a mother, father, two sons and a daughter – moved into Number 28 Ramsay Street. The storyliners felt that they needed to take the show back to its roots, as it seemed that all the houses on the street were populated with misfits and distant relatives. Alan Fletcher was cast in the role of Karl Kennedy and Benjamin McNair, Kym Valentine and Jesse Spencer were cast as teenagers Malcolm, Libby and Billy respectively. Woodburne was cast in the role of Susan, the matriarch of the family. The actress revealed that she only intended to play the part of Susan for twelve months, but she fell in love with the show and stayed. Actress Ailsa Piper was also considered for the role of Susan. She would later portray Ruth Wilkinson.When asked if she remembered her first day of filming, Woodburne recalled "Yes - I remember it perfectly. We were unpacking stuff from the car and moving into No 28. I already knew Alan, but I didn't know the kids. It all just meshed, though, and we knew immediately what type of family we were going to be." Susan was given a teaching job at the local high school and Karl became the local GP, giving the family immediate links with other characters. In 1995, Rainey Mayo portrayed a teenage Susan in a daydream. In 2009, Woodburne celebrated fifteen years in the programme. Of her television milestone, Woodburne said, "It seems both bizarre and wonderful to me that I'm coming up to 15 years on the show, even though the world of Neighbours feels instinctive and familiar, I'm still challenged and rewarded by the work."
Development
Characterisation
On her arrival, Susan was described as being "staid" and more open-minded than her husband, Karl. Woodburne told the Soap Show that Susan is a "good mum" who means well. Her children are her number one priority and she overcompensates for her husband's disciplinarian style. This has led to a Holy Soap writer describing Susan as "the mother hen of the street". Network Ten say that Susan is the "heart and soul of Erinsborough", with a good sense of humour and the skills of a ninja. Susan has been through a "rough ride". She has had to cope with Karl's infidelity, a divorce, her second husband dying hours after their wedding, being betrayed by her nephew and revealing that she killed her mother. TV Week said "But, through it all, Susan has often provided a home for people in trouble, including a number of the Timmins kids and the kids of her dead husband." This has made her one of the most "enigmatic and appealing characters" within the show.In 2004, Susan's appearance changed and she was seen having her long hair cut when she wanted a fresh start following a split from Karl. Woodburne has revealed that there is no chance of Susan growing her long hair back. She said "I could never grow it long again. I love the ease of having short hair. Back when it was long, I used to wash and dry my hair every morning at home before going into work. That added an extra half-hour to my day". She also added that the Neighbours
Woodburne has said she never gets bored of playing Susan as she changes all the time. She added "One of the upsides of this job is that in a week you might be doing absolute slapstick comedy, you might be doing high drama/tragedy and in between maybe some nice subtle interesting stuff as well, the character keeps changing and evolving depending on who she is interacting with". Woodburne has said that her favourite storyline has been the Susan, Karl and Izzy love triangle. As Susan is normally a good person, it gave her a chance to have a character that she could hate. Woodburne added "It was good to play those much meaner, darker, angrier, cruel moments than always to be the kind character. It was good to see those dents in her armour I think".
Towards the end of 2009, a change occurred in Susan's personality while she acted as a surrogate mother for Libby and Daniel Fitzgerald. During clashes with Daniel, Susan was seen becoming controlling and bossy, which Woodburne found challenging to play. Woodburne said "As the story progressed it became apparent that we were going to have to go to the extremes of the less attractive qualities of our characters. We talked about it and decided to go for it – he would be the overbearing husband and Susan the mother-in-law from hell". Woodburne added that Susan is acting out of love for her daughter and for Libby's desire to have a child. In July 2011, Woodburne told a writer for Channel 5 that she still found the role of Susan challenging. She explained that she likes Susan because she adapts well and takes all the things that happen to her in her stride. Woodburne said Karl and Susan are now less naive and exuberant due to the things they have gone through. When asked what the future holds for her character, Woodburne stated "You know, I'm kind of with Susan. I like the Kennedy house when it's full of noisy kids, being naughty and creating havoc. I like it loud and messy. So that would be my hope, that we get a bit of that happening again."
Marriage to Karl Kennedy
Susan and Karl were childhood sweethearts who married in 1978, before they both graduated from university. Karl has cheated on Susan with Sarah Beaumont, and left her for Izzy Hoyland. The couple have broken up and divorced, but have later reunited and remarried. Woodburne has named the Karl, Susan and Izzy love triangle as one of her favourite storylines. Woodburne believes that Karl and Susan have a strong connection that is "based upon such a good grounding". Karl and Susan are best friends who enjoy each other's company, share a deep connection and take joy in each other's quirks and ways. Woodburne described them as having a "really solid foundation for a marriage" and she has said that she does not want to see Susan and Karl's relationship break up again. Holy Soap have called Susan and Karl "contenders for the friskiest couple on Ramsay Street". Following their "passionate arguments", the couple enjoy making up together. They have a healthy attraction for each other. Fletcher says he and Woodburne find the scenes "funny". Fletcher said "Karl and Susan every now and again do go through a phase where they become slightly more amorous than in their tougher times and tougher storylines – suffice to say it's not bawdy, but I think the audience will enjoy the fun aspect". Karl and Susan have been caught in the nude together on three occasions; at the beach, in Lou Carpenter's spa and when they went skinny-dipping in the bush. When asked what makes Karl and Susan popular with viewers, Woodburne said "Because I think they're so flawed. There's two things: they make horrendous mistakes, both of them, but they both are coming from a place of well meaning. They're both wanting to try and do the right thing and be helpful, but so often they get it so terribly wrong, and I think we can all relate to that."File:Alan Fletcher 2001.jpg|right|thumb|170px|Alan Fletcher plays Susan's on screen husband, Karl Kennedy.
In May 2011, it was revealed that Susan and Karl's marriage would be run into trouble, when Susan becomes emotionally involved with another man. Susan strikes up a friendship with local builder, Jim Dolan, as he fights cancer, causing problems between herself and Karl. When asked by Channel 5 about her reaction to the storyline, Woodburne said "I think it's a great story. Karl and Susan are both in their 50s; they've been married together; they've raised a bunch of kids; they’ve had careers and jobs. And to use the popular term 'empty nesters', that's what they’re looking at. For him he thinks, 'That's great, terrific! More time for us; we can travel.' But for her it's, 'Well, I don't know how to be that person. I know how to be this person, who's someone who's wrangling kids and busy doing things.' But her challenge I think is going to be to find out who she is as one half of a couple, as opposed to being the hub of a wheel." The actress revealed she and Fletcher were both worried about Susan and Karl breaking up and having to work with new people, but they believe any new development for the characters is good. Woodburne told Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy that she thought the new storyline was great and said any relationship which has been going for as long as the Kennedys' has, will have its "turbulent patches". Woodburne said Susan develops a very strong attachment to Jim because of her desire to help and be needed. When asked if she was worried about revisiting old ground with the storyline, Woodburne said the new conflict, which arises within Karl and Susan's relationship, is "very appropriate" for the time of their lives and where they are at.
Susan meets Jim at the hospital and remembers him from the work he did on Lyn Scully's house. They get talking and Jim reveals he just had a melanoma removed and he is a bit "bewildered" by the hospital process and Susan helps him out. Jim's condition grows worse and he is diagnosed with terminal cancer. Susan learns he has no family and Woodburne said she instinctively wants to look after him. The actress said Susan crosses boundaries as she starts to neglect certain areas of her life, like her marriage. She tells Karl not to be selfish and that the situation is not about him or her, it is about Jim. Woodburne explained to Channel 5 that Karl's reaction to Susan's friendship with Jim changes and he starts thinking he should not be selfish. However, when he notices his wife becoming more involved with Jim and neglecting her responsibilities, Karl gets angry as she is not thinking about anything else. Susan and Karl's eldest son, Malcolm, returns to Erinsborough to help his parents work through their issues. Woodburne thought Malcolm was initially on Susan's side because he can see she is helping someone who is ill, but as he looks more closely he understands why his father is so upset with Susan's behavior. Susan is upset when she misses Jim's last moments and blames Karl. They begin rowing, which becomes worse due to Susan's grief. Karl and Susan decide to separate following a make-or-break holiday. Their decision leaves Malcolm devastated and he takes his anger out on his mother, but Karl then admits it was his decision to end the marriage.