Glen Donnelly

Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

Glen Donnelly is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Richard Huggett. The actor joined the cast shortly after leaving E Street, and he relocated from Sydney to Melbourne, where the show is filmed. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 7 December 1990. Glen was introduced as the secret son of series regular Jim Robinson (Alan Dale). He came to Erinsborough to meet his father and to ask for money to pay for his mother's funeral. The character was portrayed as being independent, mature and strong. One of Glen's most notable storylines featured an inappropriate relationship between him and his half sister, Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell). Scenes between them were edited out by the BBC upon their UK airing. Glen also had a romance with Gaby Willis (Rachel Blakely). Huggett decided not to renew his contract and Glen departed on 6 February 1992, following an accident which left him paralysed. Huggett reprised the role in November 2021, appearing until 28 July 2022 during the serial's finale.

In 1990, Neighbours faced "ratings wars" with fellow soap operas in both Britain and Australia, leading to producers scrapping the serial's "goody goody" image and introducing more sex and scandal in a bid to increase ratings over Coronation Street and Home and Away. The change in storyline direction was prompted by Shaunna O'Grady's decision to quit her role as Beverly Marshall. The news causes "embarrassment" for Jim and problems for Glen, who develops an attraction to his half sister. Huggett was forced to relocate from Sydney to Melbourne for the role and he revealed it affected his personal life.

Glen has been described as "independent, tough and mature beyond his twenty years". Jim eventually persuades Glen that he knew nothing about him. Glen and Jim's oldest son, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), do not get on and Glen resents the fact the only jobs he can get mean Paul would be his boss. The plot was created as part of a revamp of the show, which saw storylines become more "hard edged", following a decline in ratings. Neither Lucy or Glen were aware that they were related after he arrived in Ramsay Street and before she returned home from boarding school. When Glen and Lucy meet they are "unable to deny the attraction between them". The episodes were later shown uncut in repeats on UK Gold.

The character was part of the show's first "shotgun wedding" plot in 1991. Actress Fiona Jarvis was introduced as Karen Constintine, a woman Glen had had a one night stand with prior to his arrival in Erinsborough. Karen informs Glen that she is six months pregnant with his child, so he feels that he has to "do the right thing" and proposes marriage. Glen proves to be a big support when Gaby opens her own fashion boutique. He encourages her to capitalise on a client with a famous name and they begin dating. Huggett wanted to pursue more "demanding" roles, and stated "I was always pretty adamant that one year is enough to be in one TV series. The thing that has changed in me is that I want to do material which means something to me, stuff with a harder edge. I suppose quality is what I mean – not pumping it out like a sausage factory."

On 14 August 2021, Joe Julians of Radio Times confirmed that Huggett had reprised the role and would be returning to the serial, alongside Melissa Bell who plays Lucy Robinson. Huggett told Julians that 2021 marked 30 years since he stopped filming with the show. Glen comes to the aid of a drunk and disorientated Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou), who is in Queensland with Paul for a conference.

In March 2022, producers introduced Glen's long lost daughter, Kiri Durant (Gemma Bird Matheson). Huggett said in an interview, "Gemma is great to work with. She's a lot of fun and she's an amazingly talented actress. She's also a writer and a producer, so she does it all." Speaking of Barbara arriving with Kiri, Huggett explained, "The whole time she's in Erinsborough he's hiding, because he can't be in the same room as her. Ultimately, I think Glen told Barbara that he would never contact Kiri – but now here they all are." Huggett revealed, "Nicolette's on the front foot and basically starts investigating him. At first, Nicolette thought Glen was a creep and had a thing for Kiri. He lied his way out of that, but she won't give up. Even I'm concerned about Glen with Nicolette on the case, she's really good! So Glen is left very worried!" Of Paul's actions, Huggett told Susannah Alexander of Digital Spy, "Glen would like to kill Paul if he could! For Glen, that's it – that's the end of their relationship as brothers. I don't think there's anything Paul could do to fix it now. In Glen's eyes, it's over. I don't think he can forgive him for this one." Huggett continued on Kiri's reaction, "She's just in complete shock and she wants nothing to do with Glen. Kiri is stunned that she has been lied to by her mother for her whole life – and that her father Alan never knew. I think there is a chance that Glen and Kiri can start getting along again. There will be, but it'll just take time to move on and for Kiri to accept Glen. I don't think she'll want a father as such, because she's already got one, but she'll want a friend instead. Glen definitely wanted to tell Kiri the truth before now, but he just knew the impact it would have. I don't think he ever would have told her if Paul hadn't got involved." Huggett explained of the final days of filming, "The atmosphere on set has been quite sad. People are happy sad! It's surreal and everyone has a different journey that they're taking, and a different story they have to tell over how they feel about it." Sue Malins of the Daily Mirror said the arrival of Jim's illegitimate son "might turn out to be a half way decent storyline" just when the soap had been going "terminally soft". But she also wrote that Glen appeared to be "yet another tedious juvenile in Ramsay Street." Malins later named him "the latest Neighbours heart throb" and "the new Neighbours pin up". Bergin also wrote that Huggett's character in E Street was a chance to see the "goody goody Australian hunk in a much meatier role". The BBC also said Glen's most notable moment was "Falling from the roof at Lassiter's and becoming paraplegic." In July 2020, Joe Julians of the Radio Times called for the character to make a comeback, citing his rivalry with Paul Robinson as the reason for a potential return. Julians wrote "If you're looking for someone with a personal grudge against Paul to inflict some drama into his life, you cannot get much better than Glen."