Reece Sinclair is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Mischa Barton.
Executive producer Jason Herbison hoped that Reece's introduction, which came upon the Neighbours reboot with Amazon Freevee, would attract new international audiences to the serial.
Barton's character is described as the eldest daughter of business tycoon Conrad Sinclair, and as hard-working, dynamic and unpredictable.
Barton revealed that producers had approached her with the role and she accepted, however she admitted that she had not yet watched the serial, but was "familiar with it, probably the same things that most people recognise about the show, like Kylie Minogue.
She teased online to social media that her first days of filming had gone "great" and told fans, "I can't wait for you guys to see it.
[6] The executive producer of Neighbours, Jason Herbison, explained that production had created the character due to the show's switch to streaming service Amazon Freevee.
[10] Barton described Reece as coming from a "very very structured, very kind of corporate-y, business-y background" as she is the daughter of American businessman, Conrad Sinclair, who had recently invested in Lassiter's Hotel.
[13] Talking to Digital Spy, Barton believed that the writers had created the role of Sinclair while keeping her in mind, adding that it helped her memorise her lines.
[11] Barton further branded Reece as a strong "woman in business who doesn't like to take any shit", noting that her behaviour would irritate Lassiter's owner, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis).
Paul asks bell porter Byron Stone (Xavier Molyneux) to escort Reece to her room, however while in the lift, they pursue a sexual liaison that continues into the bedroom.
"[1] Barton questioned the genuineness of Reece's feelings for Byron and thought it would be hard for two people from "completely different worlds" to commit to a relationship with each other.
He explained that he and Barton needed to "figure out exactly how we fit together and what chemistry we do have" in order to make Reece and Byron's relationship seem realistic, so went through the Neighbours intimacy team, which Molyneux called "fantastic".
[16] Reece's identity as a Sinclair is eventually revealed and she begins witnessing "the unprofessional behaviour of Lassiter's", to the detriment of Paul.
[18] It was revealed on 2 October 2023 that the true reason for Reece's arrival in Erinsborough was to search for her missing sister, Krista Sinclair (Majella Davis).
[20] A Neighbours Twitter post confirmed that this would be the end of Reece's ten-week-long appearance in the serial, before thanking her for her "incredible guest stint".
Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) recognises that Reece is a Sinclair and explains to Paul that her family is the new silent American investor in the hotel.
Reece discovers that Krista died the previous year when Melanie Pearson (Lucinda Cowden) pushed her in the Lassiter's pool and she accidentally hit her head.
"Reece has certainly made an impression in the show's first two weeks, embarking on a saucy fling with hotel porter Byron, and immediately making an arch-enemy of villain Paul Robinson!
"[24] Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy praised Neighbours when it was revealed that Reece came to Erinsborough to find her sister and not to just meddle with the hotel, calling it a "welcome shift" in storyline.
[25] Stephen Patterson from Metro said that Barton was "doing some of her finest work to date as the enigmatic newcomer who swiftly becomes a thorn in Paul Robinson's side".
[28] TL;DR Movie Reviews quipped Barton's casting a "curve ball", but commended Neighbours writers for introducing her to attract a larger international audience.
[20] Radio Times' Helen Daly wrote that "the biggest talking point of the new episodes is the arrival of Reece",[31] while the i wrote that her "so-far enigmatic character, Reece Sinclair, makes an entrance of which Alexis Colby would be proud and (just like that Dynasty doyenne) promptly seduces Byron the bell boy.