Gaby Willis

Gaby Willis is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Rachel Blakely. The show's casting director spotted Blakely on the cover of a magazine and asked her to audition for the role of Gaby. Blakely received the part and she was introduced to the show during a period of roller coaster ratings. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 12 August 1991. Gaby was introduced as the eldest daughter of Doug (Terence Donovan) and Pam Willis (Sue Jones). She comes to Erinsborough after taking a business course in Japan. Gaby is characterised as beautiful, intelligent and the apple of her father's eye. She also has a temper, leading Blakely to call her fiery. Gaby opens her own fashion boutique, with the help and support from her boyfriend, and later fiancé, Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett). Gaby and Glen's engagement ends when he flees Erinsborough following an accident. Gaby's business burns down and she becomes a punk to cope with her losses. She also befriends and briefly dates a punk musician. Gaby takes a job as a barmaid, before becoming a secretary at the Robinson Corporation. Gaby becomes attracted to teacher Wayne Duncan (Jonathon Sammy Lee), with whom she shares a real chemistry. However, the couple are mismatched and they often fight. Gaby and Wayne realise their relationship is destructive and they end it. Blakely believed the breakup with Wayne was Gaby's fault and called for her character to grow up. Gaby takes flying lessons and she falls for her instructor, Jack Flynn (Mark Pennell). Gaby becomes pregnant and Jack refuses to stand by her. Gaby later gives birth to a son, who is named Zac (Jay Callahan). Blakely's decision to quit Neighbours in 1993, led to Gaby taking a less stressful job in Darwin after struggling to balance her career and motherhood. Her departure aired on 2 September 1994. Blakely later reprised the role to appear in the show's 20th anniversary episode, which was broadcast on 27 July 2005.

The character, along with Brad Willis (Scott Michaelson) and Guy Carpenter (Andrew Williams), was created as part of a large revamp of the show, which had seen a large decline in ratings and eight other characters written out. Coral O'Connor of the Daily Mirror said it was hoped their introductions would attract younger viewers to the serial. Blakely was a successful model when she was spotted by the Neighbours casting director on the front cover of a magazine and invited to audition for the part of Gaby Willis. The casting director thought Blakely would be perfect for the role. The producers also hoped Blakely's introduction would capture the "Kylie magic". The actress was introduced to the cast as Gaby in August 1991, alongside Michaelson, who played Gaby's brother, Brad. James Cockington of The Sydney Morning Herald commented on their introduction: "Despite some roller coaster ratings of late, Ten still believes there is life in Ramsay Street and is introducing some new, young residents this week. Rachel Blakely, 23, and Scott Michaelson, 20, conform to the teen hunk/spunk category that has made E Street such a fun place to visit. Gaby and Brad, as they will become better known, appear as a boutique owner and her brother." She later returned to Australia and came to live with her parents, Doug Willis (Terence Donovan) and Pam Willis (Sue Jones), in Ramsay Street. Gaby was also reunited with her brother, Brad. During her tenure, writers displayed the character as having a bad temper. Blakely told TV Week's McGowan that "Gaby's a fiery little thing. She flies off the handle quite regularly, which I find quite enjoyable." Josephine Monroe, author of Neighbours: The First 10 Years said Gaby's "cascading dark hair" and model looks meant there was never a shortage of men after her. Monroe opined that whatever Gaby set her mind to, happened. Gaby then decided to use her skills to make a profit and she opened her own boutique called Gabrielle's in the Lassiter's complex. Huggett revealed that Glen and Gaby do not end up getting married, saying "I don't want to give the game away, but it's pretty dramatic stuff, and it all ends in tears." A writer for Inside Soap said turning punk is her way of coping with her losses. Gaby takes a barmaid position at The Waterhole and she competes with Brad for the manager's job. A writer for Inside Soap said both siblings are convinced they are the right person for the job and try to prove this to Philip Martin (Ian Rawlings). Gaby then reveals she is pregnant and has decided to keep the baby. Monroe said everyone expects Gaby to give birth first, but "in true Neighbours style" both Gaby and Cheryl go into labour at the same time. Brown said the actors were expected to film their exit scenes during November. After her last day on set, Blakely broke down in tears in the taxi taking her home from the studios. She recalled: It suddenly hit me I was no longer a part of the Neighbours team and I felt really sad. The poor cab driver was so surprised, he pulled over and very kindly lent me his hanky to cry into!"

After studying a business course in Japan, Gaby returns to Erinsborough to be with her family. She learns her parents are on the verge of bankruptcy and she poses as a lawyer to get Wilf Turner (Terry Trimble), one of her father's debtors to pay an outstanding debt. Gaby begins making dresses for her friends and neighbours and she decides to open her own boutique in the Lassiter's Complex, with Caroline Alessi (Gillian Blakeney) as her silent partner. The business is successful and profits increase after Glen Donnelly discovers one of Gaby's customers is called Elizabeth Taylor and tells the Erinsborough News. Gaby considers dating Guy Carpenter until she learns he is seeing Caroline. Gaby then turns to Glen and they fall in love. After a brief split, Glen proposes and Gaby accepts. Glen falls from the roof of Lassiter's Hotel and he is paralysed from the waist down. Gaby stands by him, but Glen later flees Erinsborough, leaving Gaby behind. Gaby's aunt, Faye Hudson (Lorraine Bayly) accidentally causes the boutique to burn down and Gaby finds employment at The Waterhole. Gaby goes through a rebellious phase to cope with her losses and she befriends punk musician, Zed. Gaby competes with her brother, Brad, for the manager's position at the pub, but after confronting their boss, Philip Martin, she is fired. Gaby becomes a secretary at the Robinson Corporation and she is later promoted to manager. Gaby meets Lassiter's client, Simon Hunter, and they begin dating. However, during a weekend away Simon tries to rape Gaby. Gaby presses charges and her father, Doug, hits Simon. Simon blackmails Gaby into dropping the charges, so her father does not get a conviction for assault. Wayne Duncan moves into Ramsay Street and Gaby immediately clashes with him. Her grandfather, Bert (Bud Tingwell), realises she is attracted to Wayne and he tries to get the couple together. Gaby and Wayne admit their feelings for each other and they begin a relationship. Gaby becomes jealous of Wayne's friendship with Annalise Hartman (Kimberly Davies) and when she fails to stand by him after he is accused of murdering biker Cactus (Les Toth), Wayne ends the relationship. After The Waterhole explodes due to a gas leak, Gaby and Philip have to work together to rebuild it. Lassiter's owner, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), tires of their bickering and sends senior associate Jack Parker (Philip Parslow) to Erinsborough to sort them out and choose which one is most suitable for the manager job. Gaby works hard to impress Jack, but when she steals one of Philip's clients, Jack tells Paul that Philip should be given the managerial position. Philip insists that Gaby stays on as assistant manager and Paul agrees. Gaby begins taking flying lessons and she falls for her instructor, Jack Flynn. They start dating and when Jack admits he is a virgin, Gaby offers to have sex with him. Jack takes Gaby to Tasmania and she falls in love with him. Gaby is devastated when an ex student of Jack's tells her that he had pretended to be virgin to get her to have sex with him years before. Jack makes advances on Lauren Carpenter (Sarah Vandenbergh) and Gaby's younger sister, Cody (Peta Brady), and Gaby breaks up with him. Gaby and Annalise go on a flight up the coast, but Gaby is forced to make a crash landing. Both women survive, but they are stranded in the bush for hours until they are rescued by a helicopter on patrol. Gaby meets Stefano (Dino Marnika), a fashion designer who offers her a job as his personal assistant in Milan. Gaby accepts, but two months later she returns to Erinsborough and reveals she is pregnant. Gaby assures her parents that Stefano is not the father and they work out that Jack is. Doug tells Jack that Gaby is carrying his child and he insists on supporting her financially. Gaby is rushed to hospital when she starts bleeding and she is convinced that she is losing the baby. Gaby is relieved when the doctors tells her the bleeding came from the placenta and she is told to rest. Gaby goes into labour with her mother and sister by her side and she gives birth to a son, who she names Shannon. Cheryl Stark gives birth to her daughter at the same time and also names her Shannon. When Doug registers the birth he decides to name his grandson, Zachary. Gaby is not happy, but realises she likes the shortened version of the name, Zac. Jack turns up, wanting to be part of his son's life and Gaby refuses at first. However, when she sees how much Jack wants to be a father, she relents. Rosemary Daniels (Joy Chambers) offers Gaby a job managing the new Lassiter's branch in Darwin and Gaby accepts. When Jack learns of Gaby's decision, he decides to move up north too. After attending a naming ceremony, Gaby, Jack and Zac leave for Darwin. Gaby later appears in Annalise's documentary about Ramsay Street and reveals she is still in Darwin, managing Lassiter's.

The BBC said Gaby's most notable moment was "Surviving a plane crash with Annalise." A writer for Inside Soap said "Gorgeous Gaby has had so many job changes she would make a great careers adviser!" In September 2014, Mark James Lowe from All About Soap called for Gaby's return to Neighbours following the reappearances of Brad, Doug and Pam. He commented, "we last saw a glimpse of her almost a decade ago in Annalise's documentary so we desperately want to know what Gaby's been up to since!" In 2015, Lowe colleague Kerry Barrett placed Gaby at number 26 on the magazine's list of 30 favourite Neighbours characters. Barrett quipped "Smart Gaby was clever, stylish, successful and could even fly a plane!". Barrett thought Gaby's had a lot of "unsuitable boyfriends" and her best moment was "crash landing her plane."