Several episodes later, the Nash family consisting of parents Joel and Natalie and their children Tom and Gypsy debuted.
[3] Will was originally described as a "hot-tempered trouble maker" who arrives in the Bay to reconnect with his siblings, Hayley (Rebecca Hewitt) and Nick (Chris Egan).
In 1997, following Debra Lawrance's decision to quit her role as Pippa Ross producers decided to introduce a new family to run the caravan park, because the household was seen as the "centrepieice of the show".
[8] Before taking on the role of Joel, Woodley previously guested on the serial as Finlay Roberts' (Tina Thomsen) partner Barry, in 1996.
In 1997, after Debra Lawrance quit her role as Pippa Ross producers decided to introduce a new family to run the caravan park, because the household was seen as the "centrepiece of the show".
[16] Tom Nash, played by Graeme Squires, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 February 1998.
Zac Drayson was originally cast in the role, but when the producers thought he would be more suitable for Will Smith, Squires received the part.
"[20] A writer for official Home and Away website described Tom as "your typical cricket-in-summer, rugby-in-winter kind of guy; he's sporty, good-looking and a bit of a ladies' man!
[30] Olivia returns to Summer Bay in the hope that her mother's former foster carer Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) will look after her, following some trouble at her school in London.
[34] The Sun-Herald described the character of Smith as "trouble-prone"[35] and "an artistic young widow who has overcome a graffiti problem".
[36] Byron Fisher, played by a number of child actors, made his first appearance on 16 September 1998 as a vision in his mother Marilyn's (Emily Symons) dream during her pregnancy.
She returns several months later and finds herself feeling pushed out by Byron's nanny, Ellen Porter (Anne Grigg).
Donald later writes a book called Letter to Byron and it is illustrated by Hayley Smith (Bec Cartwright).
Byron appears to Marilyn in a dream as an 11 year old when she begins having visions of the late Amber Copeland (Mitzi Ruhlman).
[42] They called him "an armed and dangerous young man", who would end up shooting Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie) after being rejected for a job.
He orders breakfast and when the time comes to pay, he tells Ailsa Stewart (Judy Nunn) he has no money and offers to help out but she refuses.
Murray prepares to flee but officers Joel Nash (David Woodley) and Terri Garner (Alyson Standen) come in for coffee.
He then flees and hides out in a cave for several days and is discovered by Sam Marshall (Ryan Clark) and Hayley Smith (Bec Cartwright) who he takes hostage.
Hayley's brother Will (Zac Drayson) and his girlfriend Gypsy Nash (Kimberley Cooper) find them and are also taken hostage.
David D'Angelo (alias Robert Perez) made his first appearance on 9 November 1998, played by Valentino Arico[44] and then by Ross Pennissi in shadow form, credited as Mr.
[47] Cooper told the official Home and Away website of her experiences filming with Poli in the storyline: "It was pretty scary.
And to watch him do Robert and then see him talking to his son on the phone making baby noises was pretty strange.
He then moves into the Caravan Park and advertises his services as a Maths Tutor and is hired by Joel and his wife Natalie (Angelica la Bozetta) to help Gypsy improve her grades.
Travis and his wife Rebecca (Belinda Emmett) become suspicious of David when he mentions Joel and Natalie's problems and they alert them.
Gypsy's brother, Tom (Graeme Squires) and Will Smith (Zac Drayson) break into David's caravan and they discover newspaper cuttings featuring Joel and his return to Summer Bay.
David steals Joel's identity and cleans out his bank account and then sets fire to the Nashes house with Natalie (now played by Antoinette Byron), Tom and Gypsy inside.
David then gags Ailsa and takes Duncan hostage and tries to flee the country with his accomplice Lauren Healy (Merridy Eastman).
[48] David's kidnapping of Gypsy and stalking of the Nash family was nominated for "Most Dramatic Storyline" at the 1999 Inside Soap Awards.