[5] The first episode of Neighbours saw many of the male characters attending Des's bucks night, ahead of his wedding to Lorraine Kingham (Antoinette Byron).

"[8] In June 1986, Stephen Cook from TV Week reported that Daphne would accept a proposal from either Des or Shane, which would definitely result in her getting married.

[9] Smith told Cook that she thought Daphne was ideal for Shane, but she loved Des too, as she trusted him and they had become good friends.

[8] The wedding episodes were broadcast in July and Cook noted that from the moment Daphne met Des, there was always a feeling that they would marry.

[11] Keane also agreed that the engagement was good for his character, saying "It's about time Des collected his thought and emotions and got on with life.

[12] In February 1990, David Brown of TV Week reported that Keane had planned to quit Neighbours the previous month, however, he had taken an "unexpected" four-month break instead.

[13] Stefan Dennis told Sarah Ellis of Inside Soap that bringing Keane back was one of his ideas and the producers ran with it.

However, it soon emerges that Paul wants Des to help him break up his nephew Daniel's (Tim Phillipps) wedding to Amber Turner (Jenna Rosenow).

[15] Keane told Ellis that Paul knew Des had experienced a troubled love life while he lived in Ramsay Street, and he wanted to use that to talk Daniel out of marriage.

Lorraine is unimpressed to learn that Daphne Lawrence, the stripper from Des's buck's party is moving in to help him pay off the mortgage and has the furniture repossessed.

Des and Daphne foster Mike Young after his abusive father David (Stewart Faichney) begins beating him and his mother Barbara (Rona McLeod) and they form a family unit.

Daphne reconnects with her estranged father Allen (Neil Fitzpatrick) and learns he is dying and takes Jamie with her to nurse him during his final days.

Des is delighted when Daphne tells him she will be returning home after Allen's funeral, but she and Gail Robinson (Fiona Corke) are involved in a car crash.

Des is devastated and struggles to raise Jamie alone and matters are not helped when Mike's University studies take up a lot of his time and Eileen and Sally relocate to England.

He decides to advertise for a nanny and Bronwyn Davies (Rachel Friend) answers the call, much to Des' surprises as she had earlier admonished him for losing Jamie in a supermarket.

The engagement collapses when Jane leaves for England to tend to her grandmother Nell Mangel (Vivian Grey) who has suffered a heart attack.

However, his boss, Geoff Sinclair (Rod Densley) keeps him on at the firm and sends him on a business trip to Perth.

After Des returns, he puts the house up for sale and announces that he is moving to Perth after meeting a new partner, Fiona, a fellow widow with children of her own.

Three years later, Jane tells Paul that she has been keeping in touch with Des, who has since remarried Fiona and moved back to Perth.

Des attends Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor) and Paige Smith's (Olympia Valance) wedding ceremony at Lassiter's where he runs into Jane who is surprised to see him.

Des visits his old house and thanks Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) for finding the shares Daphne left under the carpet for Jamie, leading them to reconnect.

Des and Jane's ceremony is officiated by Paul and the couple leave agreeing to split their time between Perth and London.

[20] Tony Squires from The Sydney Morning Herald admitted the character was a personal favourite of his, but found Des' luck with women to be "as bizarre as any Peyton Place plotline", as he was "an incredibly average man with the proverbial face of a knee".

"[23] The writer likened Des to a robot because his movements were so clumsy, and thought his overbearing mother was responsible for his "inability to cope with things himself.

[24] Kate Jackson and Sara Wallis from the Daily Mirror branded Des "jug-eared" and a "lovable bank manager".

[25] Claudia Pattison from mobile network operator Orange described Des as a "jug-eared Mr Nice" and stated he was one half of the serial's most popular couples.

"[28] To celebrate Neighbours' 25th anniversary, a writer for British satellite broadcasting company Sky included Des in their feature on the twenty-five characters who they believed were the most memorable in the series' history.

You can't be a happy couple in a soap for long, and the Clarkes were no different, as Daphne was mowed down by a car in 1988.

You also can't be single in a soap for long, either, so it was only a matter of time before Des saw Jane, the ex-girlfriend of his adoptive son Mike 'Guy "out of Memento" Pearce' Young.

", commenting "There's a real blast from the past in Neighbours tonight, as Des Clarke arrives back in town.