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Character Profiles > Jane Harris Annie Jones

Jane Harris 1986-1989
Lived: 32 Ramsay Street
Born: 1969
Parents: Peter and Amanda Harris
Family Tree: Harris
Occupation: The Daniels/Robinson Corporation Secretary/Personal Assistant, Model

Born in Erinsborough in 1969, Jane Harris grew up in the shadow of her glamorous mother, Amanda. Not wanting her daughter to outshine her, Amanda always made sure that Jane was dressed simple and dowdy. Her parents were so wrapped up in their careers that they never had much time for Jane and as a result, Jane always went to her grandmother, Nell Mangel, if she had a problem. At the age of 16, she was sent to stay with her nan at No. 32 Ramsay Street when her parents went to Hong Kong on business. Living with her grandmother was a mixture of things for Jane. On one hand, she was annoyed at the way Mrs. Mangel ruled over her with a rod of iron but at the same time, Jane was finally in a loving and stable home - something she had never enjoyed before. It was here in Ramsay Street that Jane became best friends with Charlene Mitchell and her boyfriend, Scott Robinson, and fell in love with Mike Young from No. 28.

But because of her plain image, studious nature and geeky glasses, Jane was given the nickname of 'Plain Jane Superbrain' at Erinsborough High School and lacked the confidence to even speak to Mike. But Mike saw beneath her plain exterior and asked her to the end of year school dance. A thrilled Jane was given a makeover by neighbours Helen Daniels and Daphne Clarke and finally proved to the students of Erinsborough High that she was more than just a brainbox. She and Mike started seeing each other but Mrs. Mangel, believing Jane should only be concentrating on her schoolwork and not boys, objected to the relationship from the start. She banned Jane from seeing Mike after Jane's arch-enemy at school, Sue Parker, began sending poison pen letters about Mike to Mrs. Mangel. But after Sue was exposed as a liar by Daphne - who was Mike's legal guardian - Mrs. Mangel had no choice but to let Jane and Mike continue seeing each other.

The relationship between the two experienced plenty of turbulence, such as the time Jane was lost in the bush with Charlene's cousin, Shane Ramsay, and Mike was jealous of the bond that developed between the two after the experience. Jane underwent more difficulties with Mike when his ex-girlfriend, Nikki Dennison, returned to Erinsborough still believing she and Mike were an item. As Nikki sought comfort from Mike over her mother's illness, Jane became increasingly jealous but Mike soon made it clear to Nikki that he was in love with Jane now and she joined her mother in America soon after. Mike and Jane's relationship eventually ended after Mike cheated on Jane while on a school trip to Canberra.

After successfully completing her HSC, Jane deferred her place at university to work as Paul Robinson's secretary at the Daniels Corporation. It was here that Jane's beauty finally got its chance to shine when she became the first 'Lassiter's Girl', the model around whom an important advertising campaign was built. Mrs. Mangel was horrified that her granddaughter was taking part in something so tasteless, but was primarily concerned that if a career in modelling took off for Jane, it would take her further away from her university place. It soon became clear, however, that university was no longer part of Jane's ambition as her career with The Daniels Corporation took off. Clients were impressed with her looks, and her keen head for business, and it was obvious that Jane would need no further education to make it in the business world.

Just as Jane's career was taking off, however, Amanda returned to Erinsborough after Mrs. Mangel was hospitalised following a heart attack. Glamorous Amanda couldn't stand the fact that her once dowdy daughter was now even more attractive than she was, and forced Jane into removing her make-up, tying her hair back up, and wearing her glasses again. Jane's confidence took a severe nosedive in the wake of her mother's return, but Jane failed to see any bad in her mum, such was her delight at having her home again. However, Amanda soon showed her true colours when it turned out that she'd stolen money from husband Peter before leaving Hong Kong. When Peter forgave her and asked her to return, Amanda promptly left, telling Jane that she did actually look better with make-up and more fashionable clothes, but reminding her that her looks would still fade with time.

When Scott Robinson needed help revising for his HSC retakes, he turned to Jane for tutoring. Unbeknown to Scott, Jane had had a crush on Scott ever since they were at school together but she had always hidden her feelings since she knew Scott and Charlene - now married - were devoted to eachother. But at the time of the tutoring, Scott and Charlene's marriage was going through a rocky patch and Scott confided in Jane about his problems. Before long, they realised there was chemistry between them and they kissed. Their clinch was witnessed by Charlene's brother, Henry, who forced the pair to come clean to Charlene. Hurt and betrayed by two of the people closest to her, Charlene threw Scott out and refused to speak to Jane. With a guilty conscience, Jane jumped at the opportunity to leave Erinsborough for a month on business. She was shocked, however, to find that Scott and Charlene were still separated after her return. In a last ditch effort to save the marriage, Jane knocked on Charlene's door and told her that she was being foolish to let Scott slip away and, bluffing, Jane threatened to take Scott for herself unless Charlene acted fast. Charlene admitted she still loved Scott and they got back together. But Jane was still given the cold shoulder by Charlene, and decided to leave Erinsborough for good when she was offered a job with Rosemary Daniels in the New York offices of The Daniels Corporation. But Jane didn't want to leave her family and friends, and when she had an accident on Mike's motorbike on the way to the airport, Charlene rushed to her side and admitted she was wrong to treat her so harshly. They reaffirmed their friendship and Jane decided to stay in Erinsborough.

Jane was furious when garage mechanic Tony Romeo used a photo of her to send to his mother, passing her off as his fiancee. And when Mrs. Romeo arrived in Erinsborough wanting to meet Tony's fiancee, Jane forced Tony to tell his mother the truth. Tony continued to pursue Jane even after his mother returned to Perth, however, but she was not interested in a relationship with him - particularly since he was after Sally Wells too.

Mrs. Mangel finally approved of a potential suitor for Jane when their lodger Harold Bishop married Madge Ramsay, and Harold's son, David, fell madly in love with Jane while in town for the wedding. Mrs. Mangel was delighted by David's pursuit of Jane, even if Jane wasn't the slightest bit interested in the idea of a relationship with him. But David eventually realised that Jane was only interested in friendship and Mrs. Mangel changed her mind about him after he had the audacity to defend Madge following Mrs.Mangel's snide remarks about his new stepmother.

When Henry Ramsay found a gun buried in the Mangels' back garden, Mrs. Mangel was forced to admit to Jane that it belonged to her son - Jane's Uncle Joe. Joe had hidden the gun for one of his mates years before, after he had held up a petrol station, and Mrs. Mangel was so ashamed of her son's involvement with the robbery, she disowned him. Jane felt the time was right to track down Joe, and try and patch things up between him and Mrs. Mangel. She and Henry finally succeeded in locating Joe, but he was initially reluctant to speak to them. However, he eventually came round, and after being reunited with Mrs. Mangel, Joe moved into No. 32 with her and Jane.

Mrs. Mangel left Erinsborough soon after for a new life in England, after marrying retired dentist, John Worthington, and Joe and Jane stayed on at No. 32. Jane initially had problems with Joe's laziness and lack of interest in maintaining a tidy house, but they eventually sorted out their differences in time for the arrival of Joe's eight-year-old son Toby.

After a business trip to the States, Jane stunned the residents of Ramsay Street when she returned engaged to a wealthy American businessman, Mark Granger. But Mark's snotty mother took an instant dislike to Jane, and stunned her by asking Jane not to marry Mark due to their class difference. Jane was disgusted by her would-be mother-in-law's demand, and vowed to continue with the engagement. But Rosemary, who often did business with Mark in the States, tried to talk Jane out of the marriage also, telling her she would be making a huge mistake by marrying Mark. Jane eventually decided to call off the engagement, but was bitter towards Rosemary as a result. After Jane accused her of being jealous, Rosemary ordered Paul to sack her, but Jane resigned before he could. However, they eventually patched up their differences, and Jane returned to work with Paul.

Jane's next relationship came in the unlikely form of widower Des Clarke. Their romance began after Des took Jane to the hospital after she suffered an electric shock. Although there was a slight age gap between the two, it was actually Des' relationship to Mike that caused the couple's most problems. Des - along with his late wife, Daphne, had been Mike's legal guardian while he was still at school, and Mike was unable to handle the fact that his ex-girlfriend was now going out with Des. However, it soon became apparent that Mike was still carrying feelings for Jane, and he did everything he could to make her finish her relationship with Des. But Jane was in love with Des, and when Des proposed to Jane, she accepted and they became engaged. Mike had been away while the engagement took place, and on his return, he was disgusted to find the whole street gathered at the Robinson house to celebrate Des and Jane's engagement. But after causing a scene at the party, Jane was forced to finally have things out with Mike, and once he accepted that she and Des were happy together, Mike agreed to lay off them.

Joe got engaged to Kerry Bishop around the same time as Jane and Des, and the two couples made plans to have a double wedding. But when Mrs. Mangel suffered a heart attack while leaving England for the weddings, Jane immediately made plans to fly over to the UK to be by her nan's side. Des accepted Jane's decision, and she promised to return as soon as Mrs. Mangel was better. However, Des feared that Jane's departure from Ramsay Street was final, and Jane called Des a few weeks later, to tell him she couldn't go ahead with the wedding, and was going to settle in England instead.

Trivia Notes
• In 2005, Jane made a cameo appearance in Annalise's 20th Anniversary Documentary

Tenure
308-1043, 4773

Magic Moments
Episode 1043: Jane's Departure

Biography by Moe

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