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Character Profiles > Wayne Duncan Jonathan Sammy Lee

Wayne Duncan 1993-1994
Lived: 26, 30 Ramsay Street
Parents: Thelma Duncan
Siblings: Troy
Family Tree: Duncan
Occupation: Teacher at Erinsborough High School

Articulate, intelligent and at times arrogant, Wayne Duncan and his younger brother Troy were raised by their widowed mother Thelma in the country where Wayne grew into an ambitious young man who became a teacher much to the delight of his mother.

When he landed a teaching post at Erinsborough High School, Wayne thought he'd look up his relatives who lived in the area, on Ramsay Street. His mother's cousin, Helen Daniels, lived at No. 26 with her son-in-law Jim Robinson and when Wayne arrived on their doorstep, Jim mistook him for a prospective house buyer. Wayne quickly explained who he actually was, and after the misunderstanding cleared up, Jim and Helen insisted he stay with them, especially since all of Jim's brood had now left home and there was plenty of room at No. 26.

Wayne got off to a bad start on Ramsay Street when he clashed with next door neighbour Gaby Willis. She thought he was coming on to her in The Waterhole pub where she worked and promptly topped a glass of beer over him. Wayne, in turn, thought Gaby was precocious but deep down, they were both attracted to each other. Gaby's grandfather, Bert, finally got the couple together but Gaby's mother, Pam wasn't impressed with Wayne. The tension started between the pair when Wayne came to dinner at the Willis house one night and engaged in arguments with Pam about politics all evening. Pam's dislike for Wayne worsened when she found out he owned a gun and kept it next door at No. 26. Although he tried to explain that being brought up in the country and having to protect your property was the reason he owned the gun, Pam remained unimpressed.

Wayne's arrival at Erinsborough High got off to a similarly difficult start when he clashed with sultry Year 12 student Annalise Hartman. When he gave her detention, Annalise sought revenge by spreading rumours around the school that they were having an affair. The principal, Mr. Knotts, had no choice but to suspend Wayne - especially after the revelation that Wayne had left his last school due to similar rumours. As a result of Annalise's smear campaign, Wayne's name was blackened around the community, and even members of his own family turned their back on him, most notably Julie Martin. But guilt eventually got the better of Annalise and she admitted she had lied about the affair. Wayne demonstrated an enormous amount of decency by forgiving Annalise - and even later became good friends with her after she finished school and lodged with Helen and Wayne at No. 26.

When a gang of bikers mistook Wayne for the Gottilebs' unstable lodger Russell Butler and beat him up, Wayne went back to his mother's farm to recuperate after the attack. However, days after his return to Erinsborough, Wayne was shocked to learn that the biker leader Cactus had been shot dead. When the police started asking him questions about where he had been at the time of the murder, Wayne lied and told them he had been with Lou Carpenter, because he knew if he told the police the truth - that he was alone and had no alibi - they would suspect him of the murder. However, Wayne's alibi was ruined when the police quizzed Lou's assistant, Alex, at the car yard about where Lou had been at the time of the shooting and Alex unwittingly revealed Lou had been with him at work. The police confronted Wayne about Alex's statement and he admitted that he used Lou as an alibi because he thought it would look more suspicious if he didn't have one. The odds continued to stack up against Wayne when an old lady, Mrs. Halliday, came forward as a witness and the description she gave of the suspect matched Wayne. With Wayne under suspicion of murder, he was suspended from school by the new principal Vince Roland, and many of the neighbours - particularly Pam - believed Wayne had shot Cactus. However, when Wayne realised that the day the witness supposedly saw him outside Cactus' house it was raining and she was carrying an umbrella, yet on the day of the murder it was sunny, a way out of his predicament surfaced. Wayne then worked at persuading Gaby to try to convince the witness to go to the police and admit her mistake. However, Gaby was reluctant to approach the witness, and Wayne instead tried calling her under the guise of a reporter from the Erinsborough News in an attempt at getting her to realise she had confused things. His plan backfired though when Mrs. Halliday refused to talk to him. Just as it looked like he would never clear his name, Wayne was told that the case against him had been dropped and a fellow biker had confessed to the murder. Although he was delighted and relieved to be cleared of the crime, Wayne refused to continue his relationship with Gaby after the lack of support she had shown him during the ordeal and they broke up.

Wayne soon found himself falling in love again, however, although he had a tough battle on his hands to win her over. Beth Brennan had been engaged to Gaby's brother, Brad, and although their engagement broke up when Beth discovered Brad had been having an affair with Lauren Carpenter, they went on to salvage their friendship. However, Beth and Brad soon became fed up with everyone in the neighbourhood thinking they were an item again, and Brad came up with the idea of them both going on a date with someone else in full view of the neighbours so that people would get the point once and for all. Brad asked Wayne if he would be Beth's date, and Wayne happily obliged. They chose Lassiter's Lake as the perfect place to have a 'romantic' picnic and it proved to be a success when a good few of the neighbourhood saw them enjoying the romantic lunch. Wayne and Beth even kissed when they saw nosey Julie passing by, because they knew she would be sure to spread the word that Beth was seeing someone else. However, Brad - clearly still in love with Beth - was furious when he heard about the kiss and confronted Wayne about it when he caught up with him at the pub afterwards. Wayne insisted there was nothing romantic going on between him and Beth and stressed that they had simply kissed for Julie's benefit.

However, Wayne and Beth had actually enjoyed each other's company so much, they began to spend a lot more time together. As Beth developed stronger feelings for Wayne, she admitted that she also still held feelings for Brad and Wayne suggested they cool things down for a while so that she could sort herself out. Beth agreed, and decided to go out on a date with Brad to see if there was any future between them. In the lead-up to the date, Wayne demonstrated his cunning side by advising Brad not to appear to keen on getting back with Beth because it might scare her off. Brad took Wayne's advice as genuine, not realising that Wayne was actually doing his best to ensure Beth wouldn't get back together with him. Wayne's tactics worked when Beth, after seeing very little displays of affection or interest from Brad during the date - chose not to pursue their relationship and opted to date Wayne instead. Brad was disgusted with Wayne when he realised what he had done, and accused him of being two-faced for warning him not to show Beth any commitment purely so he could have her to himself. A tense rivalry developed between Wayne and Brad as a result, with both men determined to keep Beth for themselves. The competition came to a head after the Ramsay Street triathlon, in which Wayne beat Brad in the marathon and feeling incredibly satisfied and confident with himself, proposed to Beth. Beth was stunned, especially when Brad proposed to her minutes later too. Having been put in an incredibly awkward position, Beth fled Erinsborough and stayed at a beach house for a while to think over her options. Brad managed to track her down and confess his undying love for her, prompting Beth to agree to marry him. Wayne bravely accepted Beth's decision to get back together with Brad and when Brad met him in the street and extended his hand, Wayne shook it and agreed to put the past behind them. But he revealed the extent of his hurt to Helen, who suggested he visit his family in the country to help him get over things.

Wayne's return to Erinsborough coincided with Beth and Brad's wedding, and keen to avoid any awkwardness, Wayne stayed away. Wayne wasn't alone in his desire to skip the nuptials because Lauren also steered clear of the event. In fact, Wayne and Lauren were thrown together on a blind date Wayne's brother Troy organised when he visited Erinsborough. Keen to spark some romance between the couple, Troy sent Lauren a bouquet of flowers 'from Wayne' the day after the date. But both Wayne and Lauren realised they were being set up after she called over to thank a puzzled Wayne for the flowers. A few days later, Lauren and Wayne found themselves thrust together once again when Lauren drank one too many cocktails at a dinner party hosted by Annalise. Wayne brought Lauren home, and she kissed him on the doorstep before he let her in and returned home. The next day, Lauren couldn't remember what happened after she kissed Wayne, and thinking she had slept with him, avoided him all day. Wayne finally set her straight when he caught up with her towards the end of the day, and they were able to laugh off the incident.

More problems arose for Wayne at school when the ever-unreasonable Mr. Roland landed him with an extra subject to teach with no pay increase. This combined with the tensions he had had with Roland ever since the murder enquiry meant Wayne was coming dangerously close to losing his rag with him. The headmaster finally pushed him to the limits after he told him off in front of his class for being late despite Wayne's car tyres being slashed, and Wayne punched him. Roland suspended Wayne from school and warned him that his actions would have a serious effect on his career. Wayne was disgusted with himself for almost wrecking his career over Roland and admitted to Helen that he felt his teaching days were over. His mood was worsened when Lauren, after Pam expressed her belief to her that Wayne had a violent streak, doubted that Wayne's actions were spur of the moment.

Disillusioned with life in Erinsborough, Wayne decided a change was needed and resigned from Erinsborough High to return to the family farm for the harvest and re-evaluate his future from there. He planned to bow out of Erinsborough as quietly as possible, but Helen surprised him with a going-away party where the students of Erinsborough High presented him with an 'Outstanding contribution in the classroom' trophy, and thanked him for being such a great teacher.

Trivia Notes
• Jonathan Sammy Lee was originally credited as Jonathan Lee, but had to change his name because of the American actor with the same name

Tenure
1844-2100

Biography by Moe

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