Sindi Watts

Sindi Watts (also Parker) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Marisa Warrington. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 19 July 2002. Sindi was initially a recurring character, before she was promoted to the regular cast. Her storylines often focused on her romantic relationships, including her affair with Rocco Cammeniti (Robert Forza) and marriage to Stuart Parker (Blair McDonough). She also attempted to break up Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) and Dee Bliss (Madeleine West), and briefly became a lapdancer to raise much needed money. The character was written out in May 2005 and she departed on 26 August 2005. In January 2017, it was announced that Warrington had reprised her role, and Sindi returned on 7 February. She was revealed to be involved in a scam with Andrea Somers (Madeleine West). The following year saw the character make a brief appearance on 12 February 2018, before returning for a longer guest stint from 26 June until 2 August 2018.

The character of Sindi marked the third time Warrington had appeared in Neighbours since 1996. After her first stint in 2002, Warrington had previously appeared in stage productions and a handful of television guest roles, so she was hesitant about signing a three year contract. Warrington told the BBC that she enjoyed playing the "evil" Sindi that tried to break up Toadie and Dee Bliss (Madeleine West). But she later admitted that she initially found her character annoying, stating "She rubbed people up the wrong way, and I didn't like her!" The writers changed Sindi's persona for her 2003 reintroduction. She became a lot nicer and more fun. However, Toadie is resentful of Jack, as he likes Sindi too. Toadie struggles to admit to himself that he has feelings for Sindi because he is in mourning for his late wife, Dee. She explains that she has been trying to stop it, but she has trouble going through with it. Lyn disapproves, but she supports Sindi. Warrington said, "Sindi can't admit to Rocco that she's in love with someone else, and she's also worried that something will happen to Toadie if she tells Rocco who she is in love with. So she uses the excuse that she doesn't want to be Rocco's secret 'other woman' anymore." Rocco is not happy when he is given photos of Sindi and Toadie together, and Warrington commented that he "goes a bit crazy" as he believes Sindi is his girl. Warrington explained that Sindi feel responsible for Stuart's condition because he went into the fire to rescue her. She also likes that he is now dependent on her, as she is a needy person and she loves him. However, Toadie becomes suspicious that something is wrong with Sindi and that she "may not be all she's cracked up to be." Actors Kevin Harrington (David Bishop) and Marcella Russo (Liljana Bishop) were also told their contracts were not being renewed, as producers sought actors to form a new family for the show.

Quote box|width=17%|align=right|bgcolor=#E6E6FA|quote="Sindi appears to be a changed woman now, but a leopard never really changes its spots. It's not very long before she gets up to her old tricks and is slap bang in the middle of causing big trouble for Toadie." Sindi's return was part of a storyline surrounding the reappearance of Dee Bliss. Toadie's wife Sonya Rebecchi (Eve Morey) is suspicious of Sindi, and Morey stated "Sonya finds it all a bit strange – first there was Dee, now Sindi! Why have they both turned up now? Also Dee makes out that the two of them are friends, but from what Toadie has told Sonya, Dee and Sindi were definitely not mates!" Scenes between the two characters explained that Sindi met Andrea when they worked at a catering kitchen together and she told her that she looked like Dee Bliss. They then came up with a plan to claim money from the Bliss family estate, with Sindi asking for $20,000 in exchange for her help. As Toadie leaves his party, he is surprised to meet a "bitter" Sindi, who reveals that Andrea is back in Australia. She then gives Toadie a phone number for Andrea. Sindi returned for a guest stint from 26 June, until 2 August 2018.

Sindi meets Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety) at Lassiter's and there is an attraction between them. Darcy later treats Sindi's hurt ankle, but does not pursue anything further as he is dating her sister Penny (Andrea McEwan). Sindi seizes the opportunity to blackmail Darcy by threatening to tell Penny about his flirting with her unless he gives into her demands which include paying for clothes and shoes. Penny sees the pair together one day and as revenge reports Darcy to the medical board for having an affair with a patient. Sindi soon leaves Erinsborough. The following year, Sindi crosses paths with Darcy again and is used as a pawn in his game to drive a wedge between Toadfish Rebecchi and Dee Bliss, in order for Darcy to win Dee back. Sindi goes through with the plan by flirting with Toadie, but ends up falling for him for real. Darcy is annoyed, but Sindi threatens to expose his dubious dealings. When Sindi leaves an earring behind and goes to retrieve it from Toadie's house, she meets Dee, who assumes Sindi has moved in. Sindi tries to explain, but Dee leaves before she can. Several months later, Sindi returns when Tim Collins (Ben Anderson), Toadie's colleague, hires her to work at their legal practice. Things are awkward at first, but Sindi settles in the job and she and Toadie remain amicable. As the amount of time they spend together increases, Sindi reveals she still loves Toadie, but he is not over Dee who drowned several months previously in a car crash on their wedding day. Sindi leaves once again. Sindi returns as the director, producer and host of Making Mansions, a home make over show. She chooses the Scully family's house as the venue to be redesigned. Things do not work out as Sindi manages to insult her crew, prompting them to walk out on her. Luckily, several friends and neighbours help her and the work is eventually completed. Sindi becomes a resident herself of Ramsay Street when she lodges with Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne). Toadie and Sindi begin a relationship, but not without obstacles including the revelation of Sindi's previous affair with Rocco Cammeniti and his refusal to let her go, which results in Toadie being kidnapped and ending up in a brief coma. Sindi is a strong support for Toadie when he briefly takes on guardianship of his cousin Stingray Timmins (Ben Nicholas), before Stingray moves in with Sindi and Susan. However, Toadie still struggles with the idea of commitment so soon after Dee's death, and during a low patch Sindi shares an unexpected kiss with Toadie's friend and housemate Stuart Parker (Blair McDonough). She confesses all to Toadie after he asks her to move into Number 30, and their relationship soon ends. Sindi and Stuart are caught up in a bank raid and held hostage by gunmen. Although the situation is resolved peacefully, the trauma brings Sindi and Stuart together and they begin seeing each other in secret. The Lassiters complex is set on fire by Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), and Sindi becomes trapped inside Lou's Place. Stuart runs in to save her, but he too becomes trapped and passes out due to smoke inhalation. After the building collapses entirely, the firefighters are about to give up looking for them in the wreckage, until Sindi manages to call Toadie. She and Stuart are rescued, but Stuart is left blind. Toadie realises that Sindi is in love with Stuart, and reluctantly gives his blessing to the relationship. Sindi discovers that an operation to restore Stuart's sight will cost $50,000, and in desperation tries to raise the money by selling her body. Her only client, Gary Evans (Ian Scott) gives her the money after he loses a coin toss. Stuart refuses to accept the money after realising how it was obtained, and Sindi instead donates it to Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) for the Salvation Army. A guilty Paul later offers to pay for the operation from his charity, the Helen Daniels Trust fund, although neither Sindi or Stuart are aware of his involvement in the fire. Sindi and Stuart are happy in their relationship for a while, before a run of odd events start happening around them. Sindi loses her job at All Her Magazine and she is later snubbed at a school reunion by her old classmates. Several of their friends and neighbours suffer mysterious accidents, including Susan, Liljana Bishop (Marcella Russo), and Janae Timmins (Eliza Taylor) coincidentally all after upsetting Sindi in some way. Trent Hoffa, a colleague competing with Stuart for a promotion, is also run over by a mystery driver. In the meantime Sindi proposes to Stuart, and the two have a whirlwind engagement. Toadie links the numerous accidents with Sindi's increasingly bizarre behaviour, and worried for Stuart's safety, tries to halt the wedding ceremony. Stuart punches Toadie, and the wedding goes ahead, but Stuart realises the truth when he later sees an unhinged Sindi push Toadie down a flight of stairs. Hospitalised, it emerges that Sindi has been suffering from paranoid delusions, and had received treatment in her teens after pushing schoolmate Kelly Weaver (Simone Ray) down some stairs, leaving her paralysed. A broken Sindi asks Stuart for an annulment, with her doctors advising that her obsession for a perfect married life was a trigger. Stuart refuses the annulment but agrees to a temporary break while she recovers, and she is transferred to a clinic in New South Wales. Almost a year later, Sindi agrees to join Stuart for a new start in Oakey as he leaves Ramsay Street.

Sindi and Stuart later divorce. While working in a kitchen, she meets Andrea Somers (also Madeleine West), and they concoct a plan where Andrea poses as her lookalike, the presumed dead Dee Bliss, to scam Toadie. She eventually returns to Erinsborough and tells Andrea she regrets her part in the scam, but demands her share of the money to be increased. Weeks later, Sindi returns to the news that Andrea has conned Toadie out of $100,000 and fled to London. Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) reads Sindi's texts and discovers Andrea's true identity. A panicked Sindi then leaves town. Nearly a year later, Sindi returns to Erinsborough to give Toadie Andrea's phone number. Months later, Sindi brings Andrea's infant son Hugo Somers (John Turner) to Ramsay Street, and breaks the news that Toadie is Hugo's father. Gary Canning (Damien Richardson) gives Sindi a job at The Flametree Retreat. While returning to the retreat to make sure she locked up, Sindi is confronted by Jeremy Sluggett (Tamblyn Lord), who demands her keys so he can retrieve a bag of money from a drawer. Sindi manages to contact the police, and Jeremy knocks her unconscious as he escapes. While Amy is visiting Sindi, she tells her about a job offer as a sales manager in Sydney. Sindi is reluctant to accept as she wants to makes amends to Sonya and Toadie, but Sonya gives Sindi her blessing. Sindi comes to Ramsay Street to say her goodbyes and Toadie asks if she ever told Andrea about his first kiss with Dee, but Sindi tells him that she did not mention it.

When Sindi's cousin, Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval), came out to her, a Sydney Star Observer reporter called Sindi "sympathetic" and said her nice reaction to Lana's news was "good to see." A writer for the BBC's Neighbours website said Sindi's most notable moments were "Dating Toadie for money. Acting like a bogan to put Rocco off. The Making Mansions fiasco." Fergus Sheil of The Age said: "Sindi Watts knows that dishonesty, a meditation tape and a lavender wheat bag should be an integral part of any intimate relationship, and that's why we love her to bits." Billy Sloan of the Sunday Mail branded the character "disaster prone". A TV Soap reporter branded Sindi a "slightly unhinged material girl" and said she took "drastic steps" during her time on the show. Daniel Kilkelly from Digital Spy said "we always had a soft spot for Sindi in her hilarious Making Mansions days." Upon on her 2017 return, the reporter believed Sindi's life was "weirder than ever".