Matt Hancock (Neighbours)

Character in TV soap

Matthew "Matt" Hancock is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephen Hunt. He made his first on screen appearance on 26 March 2001 and departed on 9 May 2002. In 2005, Hunt reprised his role as Matt for the show's 20th anniversary episode.

In early 2001, the Neighbours scriptwriters decided to introduce some "new blood" to the show to fill the void left by the temporary departures of six regular characters. The writers created and introduced the five strong Hancock family, shortly after the departure of Lance Wilkinson (Andrew Bibby). Swimmer and actor Stephen Hunt was cast as Matt. His friend and fellow Neighbours actor Daniel McPherson (Joel Samuels) helped him start his acting career and secure the role of Matt when the role came up. In 2002, the entire Hancock family were written out of Neighbours. A writer for the Herald Sun said Hunt was disappointed with the decision as he thought the family had great on screen chemistry. In April 2005, Kris Green of Digital Spy reported Hunt would be reprising his role of Matt for Neighbours 20th anniversary episode, which was broadcast in July of that year.

Upon his entrance, Matt was said to be nineteen and the oldest boy in the Hancock family. He has a brother called Chris and half siblings Leo (Anthony Hammer) and Emily (Isabella Oldham). Matt has a good relationship with his father, Evan (Nicholas Opolski), but not with his mother, Genevieve (Julie Campbell). He gets along well with his step mother, Maggie (Sally Cooper), and sees her as "a good mate." His parents wanted him to go to university, where he had been accepted onto an Arts course, but Matt decided to defer for a year. Matt accepts a job as an Elvis impersonator and uses the job to get closer to Felicity. Hunt explained "Matt is in a lot of financial trouble. To make money, he's been drag racing against a guy named Glen Bushby (Nathaniel Marshall). So far the races have been small, but each time the stakes have risen so there is a lot riding on this final race. Matt knows it's dangerous and against the law but he's so desperate he goes through with it." The BBC writer opined that the whole experience matured Matt greatly. A writer for Newsround called Matt a "heart throb", while James Joyce of The Newcastle Herald branded him a "pin up." While reviewing the Hancock family's first episode, Jackie Brygel of the Herald Sun said Matt was "hunky (of course)" and quipped "who said the Robinsons could never be replaced?" The BBC said Matt's most notable moment was "His participation in an illegal drag race which saw him injure Harold, himself and Leo." Tom Adair of The Scotsman was not a fan of the Hancock family and cheered their departures. He described them as "boring, whinging, plot clogging, wastes of space".