Producers were impressed by Ellis and the role was rewritten so that he was the son of established character – David Kearney (Peter Elliott) and he was reintroduced several months later.

His story lines were at times, highly topical, these included ethical scenarios such as: homelessness, the diagnosis of Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Neo-Nazi cultism and illegal immigration.

He had two long running romances including a teenage relationship with step sister Minnie Crozier (Katrina Devine) and an engagement to Waverley Wilson (Claire Chitham), that resulted in his exit from the soap.

His romance storyline with Waverley and the couple's ill fated wedding have gone down as iconic in the soap's history, being voted by fans as one of the top 20 moments.

[1] However the casting directors took a liking to Ellis and hired him as a two-week role of Fergus; a homeless bad boy who was in a group of squatters Guy Warner helped.

When he tried to rob the clinic with his friend Dominique Coombes (Jay Saussey), he was hit over the head by Emily Devine (Michaela Rooney) and briefly hospitalized.

[7][8][9] The teenage group that consisted of Fergus, Minnie, Rachel and Nick became a series of archetypes and started a long tradition of "hip, young things".