retro sunday - for anyone who remembers or even cares

DARIUS PERKINS

This name probably won't ring too many bells to many people. Darius is best known as the first Scott Robinson on Neighbours and I absolutely loved him. Still have his autograph that I got fom the set of Ramsey St a very long time ago.

"Darius Perkins is an Australian actor, most well known for his longest-running role, Scott Robinson in soap opera Neighbours, in 1985.[1] His first role was on The Sullivans in 1976. He played "Charlie" in All The Green Years and played guest roles in Prisoner and A Country Practice. He also played "Ben" in the HBO movie, "All the Rivers Run" in 1983.

He was the original actor to play the role, but appeared for only the show's first year. When the series moved to Network Ten at the start of 1986 Perkins was fired due to problems with his behaviour on the set including lateness, and Jason Donovan took over the role. The character remained in the show until 1989 and would marry Charlene Mitchell (played by Perkins' former Sullivans co-star, Kylie Minogue).

After leaving Neighbours in 1986 Perkins played Gary Samuels in Home And Away, a new soap opera devised as a rival for Neighbours. He subsequently appeared once again on A Country Practice in the mid-1990s, and more recently has been seen working behind the scenes, most notably in the art department for the TV series Crashburn."

When Neighbours was cancelled by the Seven Network in 1985 after only 170 episodes and picked up by Channel Ten, it gave producers an opportunity to re-cast the role of Scott Robinson. Darius Perkins had proved to be a problematic actor, and it was decided that it would be best for all concerned if Scott was played by a different actor when it returned on Channel Ten. The part went to Jason Donovan, who had previously auditioned for the role of Danny Ramsay in the original series. In order for the changeover to be less noticeable for viewers, Scott wasn’t immediately seen on screen when Neighbours began on Channel Ten, and by the time he finally did turn up - in a hospital bed after going missing on a school trip - Darius Perkins had been forgotten. Indeed, Jason Donovan - and Scott - went on to become so successful and beloved by viewers in the late 1980s, it was hard to imagine the character being played by anyone other than Mr. Donovan."

These days he is more involved behind the scenes than in front of the camera.