Dylan Timmins

Dylan Timmins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Damien Bodie. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 February 2005. Dylan is introduced as part of the extended Timmins family, created around the established character Stingray Timmins (Ben Nicholas). Dylan is characterised as a "bad boy" and often gets into trouble with his criminal behaviour. He is also very loyal and protects his family no matter the consequence. Dylan is portrayed as having a difficult relationship with his mother Janelle Timmins (Nell Feeney), who blames him for any problems in the family. His introduction into the series explored their mother/son dynamic as Dylan feels unloved by Janelle. Writers also created a "father figure" for Dylan, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) and he becomes Paul's protégé carrying out jobs for him. Writers paired Dylan with Sky Mangel (Stephanie McIntosh) for his first romantic relationship. They later break up and he begins a relationship with Elle Robinson (Pippa Black), but writers created a complex story in which Sky reveals she is pregnant with Dylan's child despite mistakenly believing Stingray to be the father. Dylan was also used to portray a fake death story in which he lets his family believe he died in a plane crash. Bodie chose to the leave the show in 2006 and departed on 30 March 2007. Bodie later agreed to reprise the role and Dylan returned as part of Neighbours 35th anniversary celebration episodes on 19 March 2020.

Damien Bodie had previously made two appearances in Neighbours as Charlie Moyes in 1996 and Liam Rigby in 1999, before securing the role of Dylan Timmins in 2005. Bodie did not think he would be cast as a series regular due to his looks, saying "Being pale and skinny, I never thought I'd be a long term Neighbours regular. I wasn't tanned or beachy. I thought that would never happen." He also had reservations about the character's bogan background, as they are from the country and he was a city boy from Melbourne.

"Dylan Timmins was the ultimate bad boy. Growing up bang in the middle of the dysfunctional Timmins family, no one expected much more from him than a graduation from juvenile detention into a career of petty crime." Dylan is characterised as a "bad boy" role from a dysfunctional family and those around him expect that he will live a life of crime.

Dylan was the third member of the Timmins family to be introduced, following his younger brother Stingray Timmins (Ben Nicholas) and their mother Janelle Timmins (Nell Feeney). Prior to his arrival, Dylan was serving time in juvenile detention for a robbery. He decides to visit his brother in Erinsborough rather than return to his home in Colac. Bodie called his character "the black sheep of the family – definitely more of an outsider than Stingray." Bodie told an Inside Soap reporter that Dylan loves his mother and would "do anything" to share the same relationship with her that Stingray has.

Dylan's first romantic relationship was created with Sky. Writers began to bring to an end Sky's established relationship with Boyd Hoyland (Kyal Marsh). Initially Dylan and Sky's relationship was disliked by McIntosh, who believed that Sky was better suited to Boyd. She could not understand why Sky would choose Dylan over Boyd, despite it being an "interesting journey". McIntosh also told Jason Herbison from Inside Soap that she wanted writers to reconsider their decision to split Sky and Boyd. On screen Dylan and Sky first share a kiss while Boyd is in hospital in a coma. Their relationship is problematic because Sky reveals that she is pregnant with Dylan's child. Bodie described it as a "difficult position" for Dylan and Sky because they are no longer together. Dylan is "determined to remain loyal to Elle" and "feels bad" about the pressure Sky's pregnancy causes on their relationship. Dylan and Elle's relationship was portrayed as loveless, with Dylan pining after Sky. Bodie noted that "everyone knows that Dylan and Sky still love each other, and should be together." Dylan is excited about the prospect of becoming a father. Bodie told a reporter from Soaplife that Dylan believes the baby will be "the one pure thing" in his life. Sky's guilt begins to affect her pregnancy and she is taken into hospital. Oliver was already partnered with Carmella Cammeniti (Natalie Blair) and Paul enlists Ned Parker (Daniel O'Connor) to help break the two couple up. When Dylan, Elle, Oliver, Carmella and Ned go on holiday together, the latter begins his scheme. Ned gets Dylan and Carmella drunk and places them in the same bed. The following morning they wake up together and are caught by Elle and Oliver. Hoflin said that "Elle is completely furious and splits up with Dylan immediately." The story begins when Dylan's enemy Roo Hausman (Richard Cawthorne) kidnaps Stingray. He forces Dylan to commit an armed robbery at a petrol station to secure Stingray's freedom. After Roo makes sure that Dylan is solely implicated and hands the gun used in the robbery to the police. Bodie described the act "the final straw" for Dylan, he knows he will be sent to prison for the crime. Writers played Dylan remaining true to his characterisation as loyal to his family. The prison story played out with the three characters trying to adjust and Dylan looking after Stingray, who has ADHD. In the build up to Dylan's exit, Stingray dies and his anger becomes problematic. Dylan realises that he needs to regain control of his life and moves away from Erinsborough. Dylan departed during the episode broadcast on 30 March 2007. On 24 November 2019, Neighbours confirmed that Bodie would reprise the role for the show's 35th anniversary episodes in March 2020. Dylan is one of ten returning characters for the milestone. Producer Jason Herbison stated that "we're thrilled to be joined by an honour roll of returnees, chosen to represent a cross section of past eras of the show." Dylan returned on 19 March. He is called to Erinsborough by his former partner Sky, with whom he has three children. Dylan initially assumes that Sky wants to reunite with him, but soon learns that she is marrying Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval). He eventually gives the wedding his blessing. Of their family situation, McIntosh said "The hardest thing for Sky is telling Dylan and making sure he's okay with it – they have three kids, now they are a modern family and are all in it together." A Daily Record reporter stated "Ever since Dylan Timmins arrived in Erinsborough, it's been clear that his bad boy image is nothing more than a front. Instead, he's a sensitive, caring lad whose big heart has won him the love of feisty Sky Mangel which is no mean feat." Another reporter for the paper quipped that although Dylan had "a bad reputation" when he first appeared, he had since become "a noble, kind hearted lad". Tina Burke from TV Week branded the character a "bad boy" and opined that "Dylan's life was tumultuous."