Gypsy and Robert
The 1999 season of Home and Away opened with Gypsy Nash recovering from a horrific ordeal at the hands of Robert Perez, a man who was seeking revenge against Gypsy's father, Joel. Joel put Robert in prison fifteen years ago; when Robert was released, there was only one thing on his mind. Robert worked his way into Gypsy's affections, even becoming her tutor. All the time, though, he was making plans to use her as a pawn in his horrible scheme. He kidnapped her and held her in an underground room for days. Poor Gypsy believed that he planned to kill her, but he didn't get the chance - his hideout was discovered and Gypsy was rescued. But that wasn't the end of it. Robert had more in store for the Nashes. He abducted Joel, dumping him in the bush outside town, and then setting the Nash family home alight, destroying everything the family owned. Robert was finally caught, but the damage was done and not just to the house.Gypsy seemed to be coping OK with what she went through. She saw a counsellor for a while but discontinued the treatment, deciding she didn't need it anymore. She couldn't have been further from the truth, though. It wasn't long before Gypsy started reaching out for help again but this time, it wasn't to a doctor but to alcohol. When everything started to get a bit too hard, Gypsy sought a solution but it isn't the answer.
We spoke to Kimberley Cooper, who plays Gypsy, and asked her, firstly, what it was like filming the episodes where Gypsy was being held captive.
'It was pretty scary. I can't really describe it. It was kind of
fun but it was kind of hard. The guy who played Robert,
Tony Poli, was so much fun. He really helped me in a lot of
situations. He pointed out a few things and just talked me through
it and he gave me a lot of feedback, too. He was really cool.'
So he was nothing like Robert, then?
'No, not at all. And to watch him do Robert and then see him talking to his son on the phone making baby noises was pretty strange.'
It's pretty obvious that Gypsy's trying to cope with what happened to her by blocking out the memory - and her everyday life - with alcohol. Does Kimberley think that the way Gypsy's been behaving is understandable?
'Yeah, I'd probably start drinking a bit more if I was
kidnapped! But if I was her age I don't know if I'd turn to
alcohol, probably not in a small town like Summer Bay. Thank
god I've never had to deal with that experience! I can understand
why she's doing it, but I think that she realises the consequences as
she's doing it so I don't know why she doesn't stop.'
And on a lighter note, we know a lot of viewers are keen to find
out if there's a future in Gypsy's relationship with Will. While
Kimberley doesn't want to give too much away, she did say that
'an unexpected turn is taken'. Sounds like something worth waiting for!
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