My life as Paul Robinson, Australia’s longest-running TV villain

For some time I have joked with family and friends that my job is to go to a workplace and spend the day pretending to be someone else. After the chuckling subsides, I reflect on the fact that pretending to be “Paul Robinson” on Neighbours over nearly 40 years has been one of the greatest privileges in my life.

If you had told me in 1985 that I would be playing the same character on a soap for most of my days, I would have laughed maniacally (with that laugh, maybe “Paul” was there already) and, yet, here I am, the physical home of possibly the best loved and longest serving villain in Oz television history.

Stefan Dennis starred as Paul Robinson in the long-running Channel 10 soap opera Neighbours.

Paul’s nefarious deeds are many: he tried to poison Erinsborough’s drinking waterways, he set fire to Lassiters and killed Gus Cleary in the process, attempted to bulldoze Ramsay Street and everything in it, and, horror of horrors, blew up a beautiful 1960s convertible E-type Jaguar. That’s not even to mention his six marriages.

He is the villain we all love to hate. In fact, in the late ’80s I was dubbed “The Junior JR”, which I wore as a bit of a badge.

One would think living with this dastardly character would create all sorts of problems for me in the real world, but it’s always the opposite. Rather than booing, hissing and stone throwing, I’m normally met with “Hey Paul … legend!” Funny old world, isn’t it.

It is a rare thing for a professional actor to be gainfully employed for most of their life. Though it’s fairly well known that I left the show and returned 12 years later as the same character, it was directly on the back of my profile from Neighbours that I was able to get consistent high-profile work in the UK for all of those 12 years. Many, too, have rocketed to global superstardom from that wonderful training ground, among them Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe and Margot Robbie.

The cast of Neighbours in 1989, including Stefan Dennis (far right), and Guy Pearce (back right).

Neighbours is renowned for its trend-setting (remember Scott’s mullet?), moral conscience, groundbreaking narratives, and mentoring and training, not to mention the impact on Australian tourism. It gives me a huge sense of pride knowing that this little show from Melbourne went on to become one of the most talked about and successful soaps of all time.

So why is such a show coming to a final close? Simply put, it is all about the quickly changing landscape in the way we view our favourite TV shows. Drama on free-to-air television is dying a rapid death because nowadays viewers are used to being able to watch what they want when they want.

The boom has swung towards streaming and catch-up viewing, and hence sponsorship revenue is directed at these avenues rather than the traditional free-to-air TV.

Though I would have loved Neighbours to set another trend and be the first recognised commercial soap to make the switch to a streaming channel, sadly there were no takers. My concern is that if a soap does not soon make that transition, we will start to see the demise of these beloved programs around the world.

Neighbours cast on set: Kym Valentine, Margot Robbie, Stefan Dennis, Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne.Credit: Justin McManus

That would be an incredible shame because, like them or hate them, they bring viewers great pleasure and they provide a plethora of work and training for those in the industry.

The upshot of all this is I am very upset that Neighbours is finishing both for selfish and selfless reasons. But no amount of trendsetting, mentoring or shaping our national brand – or wailing and upset from fans – is going to stop what was an extremely tough economic decision that Channel 5 in London never wanted to have to make.

Ultimately, Neighbours is a product in the big business of film and television and like any other business, if a product isn’t making money it will make way for one that will.

All TV shows come to an end – even the likes of longtime legends such as Coronation Street and Days of Our Lives will eventually cease. Survival of these shows is in the viewers’ hands.

On a final note, it is very sad that such an iconic piece of television history is being lost all over the world because of the abandonment of its home country, not understanding what it truly offers other than very watchable entertainment.

The final episode of Neighbours will air on 10 Peach on August 1.