Post by Cornwallgirl on May 24, 2007 12:29:15 GMT 1
Sting in the tale
Kerry is saved - but Stingray won't live to see his niece grow up...
Erinsborough's Timmins family are in the mood for rejoicing this week, as baby Kerry is given the all-clear following a life-saving bone-marrow transplant. And since it's also Janelle's birthday, the rowdy clan decide to have a street party - but there's a tragic twist is store when the hero of the moment, bone-marrow donor Stingray, doesn't survive the festivities...
"One minute, they're all laughing and dancing around outside, and the next, Stingray has passed away," sighs Nell Feeney, who plays Janelle. "It happens totally out of the blue. It's almost not real - his eyes simply close, then he's gone.
"After it's clear that the transplant's been a success, everyone's lulled into thinking the danger period has passed," she adds. "Stingray's obviously a bit weak, but there are no other warning signs. The medical explanation for his death is that he suffered a brain aneurysm - something nobody could have predicted."
The unexpected tragedy is devastating for Stingray's family and his girlfriend, Sky.
"Janelle goes into complete denial," Nells reveals. "She can't believe that her Scotty - she never called him Stingray - is dead. Dylan, meanwhile, is guilt-ridden. He thinks he's to blame for his daughter contracting leukaemia in the first place, as he suffered toxic poisoning a few years ago. So Dylan's now after revenge on Paul, whose waste-dumping practices were responsible for him falling ill. And who knows whether Paul will survive?"
Meanwhile, Stingray's friends and loved ones sit down to watch a touching video diary made by him before his death.
"Stingray was a film student, so he made the tape for Kerry to watch when she's older," shares Nell. "He talks about the people he loves, and it's almost a retrospective for all of the Timminses."
However, stunned Janelle needs more proof before she can accept that her beloved son is actually gone.
"We added a scene that wasn't in the script, where Janelle comes out of the morgue after seeing Stingray's body," explains Nell. "That's the moment when she's forced to accept that he's dead. I thought it was very important that happened, to make sense of how she makes the leap from denial."
The beginning of the end
Enjoy the Timmins clan while you can, as Ben Nicholas' (Stingray) departure will be followed by the exit of Damien Bodie (Dylan) next week, with Sianoa Smit-McPhee (Bree) and Nell also set to disappear from our screens in three months' time.
"The day we filmed our first scenes in the house without the boys was the same day that Sianoa and I were told our contracts weren't being renewed," says Nell. "It was very sad. From that point on, it felt like the lights had gone out in the Timmins household.
"It's frustrating and a bit irritating. I don't want to go, and the audience don't seem to want us to go, either," she adds. "It's as if the Timmins family has been written out for no reason."
Inside Soap, 26 May - 1 June 2007
By Jason Herbison
Page 25
