Isabelle Hoyland
Encyclopedia
Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland is a fictional character
from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
, played by Natalie Bassingthwaighte
. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 September 2003. Izzy is the daughter of Rosie Hoyland and sister to Max Hoyland
. The character departed in 2006, following Bassingthwaighte's decision to focus on her music career. However, in March 2007, Bassingthwaighte made a brief return to film a few episodes set in London. The character was well received by critics and viewers and Bassingthwaighte earned two Logie Award
nominations for her role.
, "I said to my manager, no way. I'd made the decision I'd done my last theatre show for a while, I wanted to concentrate on singing and I wanted to give film a go. We were all a little bit over the soapie star-turned singer. I didn't want to be that." Her manager talked her round and within a week Bassingthwaighte auditioned for the show and won the role of Izzy.
In June 2005, it was announced that Bassingthwaighte was considering leaving the soap once her contract expired the following year. Bassingthwaighte said "Am I going to resign? I've had an amazing time and, while it's great to have a regular income and live a normal life, if you stay in one spot too long you get rusty". Bassingthwaighte left Neighbours in 2006 to focus on her music career and she filmed her final scenes on 2 June. Bassingthwaighte said she was "falling apart" whilst doing so. However, in October of that year it was announced that she would be going to London to film a special guest appearance. Neighbours began filming scenes in London from the 6 November to air in March 2007.
branded Izzy as a "bad girl" type character. They have also described her as "quick-witted, sexy and naturally flirtatious" and has a "masterful ability to manipulate people". They said she has serious "daddy issues" and likes older men and is nother bothered if they are married because she is the first to admit she is "unscrupulous". She is "essentially lazy and will never work for a living if there's an easier way to make a buck" Even if that way is "dishonest or immoral". They also refer to her as a "scarlet lady" and "femme fatale". Bassingthwaighte has described her as a "great character to play because she's got so many dimensions to her. There's the bitchiness, but also the vulnerability." Bassingthwaighte revealed she preferred Izzy whilst she being bad, because in her view she was boring when she tried to be nice.
). She moves in with Karl Kennedy
(Alan Fletcher) after he breaks up with his wife Susan
(Jackie Woodburne
). She claims that Karl is the father of her unborn baby, when it is actually Gus Cleary's (Ben Barrack). Izzy has a miscarriage
and breaks up with Karl. She then forms a relationship with Paul Robinson
(Stefan Dennis
). Darcy Tyler
(Mark Raffety
) discovers that the pregnancy dates do not add up and threatens to tell Karl. Izzy tries to pay him off, but he refuses to take any money. During the confrontation, Darcy falls down a flight of stairs and ends up in a coma. When he wakes up, he begins to play mind games with Izzy. Darcy forces her to give him a favourable testimony at his court hearing. Darcy then reveals the truth to Susan in a letter and she forces Izzy to tell Karl that he was not the baby's father. Karl kicks her out and she disappears, leaving Paul Robinson under suspicion for her murder. She is found alive and Paul's name is cleared. Izzy overcomes a drug problem and she and Paul move in together. Paul's daughter Elle (Pippa Black
) also moves in and she takes an instant dislike to Izzy. Elle tries lacing her food with drugs to convince Paul that Izzy still has a drug problem.
Izzy has an affair with Ned Parker
(Daniel O'Connor), which is initiated in an attempt to get him out of Erinsborough
, which both Robert Robinson (Adam Hunter
) and Lou Carpenter
(Tom Oliver
) find out about. Robert later moves in with Izzy and Paul, while pretending to be his identical twin brother Cameron. After she became suspicious of Robert's behavior, Izzy tries to convince Paul and Elle that he is responsible for the 'accidents' she was said to have caused, such as leaving the gas on while babysitting her nephew Charlie. Everyone believes that she is just being careless and hysterical and Paul eventually throws her out. She gets Paul and the police to believe her after she discovers that Robert had been recording her phone conversations and editing them on his laptop. After Cameron is cleared of all charges, he too moved in with her, Elle and Paul. Paul and Izzy's relationship begins to decline and when Paul is caught cheating on her, she breaks up with him.
Although Izzy claims to have never stopped being in love with Paul, she tries to get back into a relationship with Karl. Karl has no interest in Izzy because of his resentment towards her, and the fact that he is trying to get back together with Susan. Karl accepts a ride home from Izzy and once they get to his apartment, she gives him too much sleeping medication. This causes him to believe that Izzy is Susan and he begs her to stay the night. Susan discovers that Izzy is pregnant and when she asks her who the father of her baby is, Izzy denies it is Karl's.
Izzy moves to London and begins an affair with Pete Gartside (Daniel Schutzmann
), a married professional football player. Pete breaks up with Izzy, but they later decide to start again and raise her baby together. Karl and Susan meet Izzy while they are in London to see their son Malcolm
(Benjamin McNair
). Izzy turns up at their wedding and goes into labour. Karl is then forced to deliver her daughter, Holly (Chaya Broadmore). Susan later overhears Izzy saying that Karl is Holly's father and she tells him when they arrive home. Karl later tells Susan that Izzy would like her to be Holly's godmother and she agrees.
" and "Most Popular Actress" at the Logie Awards for her role as Izzy. The following year, she was again nominated for "Most Popular Actress". The 2006 Dolly Teen Choice Awards
saw Bassingthwaighte win the "Best Slashie" award. In 2007, Bassingthwaighte received a nomination for "Best Bitch" at the Inside Soap Awards
. At the first Digital Spy Soap Awards
, Bassingthwaighte, along with co-stars Woodburne and Fletcher, was nominated in the "Storyline of the Year" category for the Karl, Susan and Izzy storyline set in London.
In 2004, Izzy came joint tenth in a BBC
drama poll to find the "Best Villain". During a feature on the best and worst soap characters of the decade, Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture
placed Izzy at number two on the best characters list. Deller said "The best character in Ramsay Street for ages, if not of all time, Izzy was the best kind of soap bitch (see also Janine Butcher and Clare Devine), one whose motives you could understand, and often sympathise with. Being a member of the largely dreadful Hoyland clan didn't bode well for her, but Izzy soon won a place in everyone's hearts (and several male characters' beds). She was even bezzie mates with Harold, and she bowed out by giving birth on the Thames in the ludicrous Neighbours goes to London episodes". The website later referred to her as a "archetypal soap bitch-with-a-soft-centre". New Zealand television website, Throng, said that Izzy had "grown to become a fan favourite" in her time with the show. Izzy has been labelled a "super-bitch" by newspaper Daily Mirror, newspaper Metro, entertainment website Digital Spy
and Australian LGBT
website Samesame
. Bree Hoskin writing for LGBT website Gaydar
, included Izzy on their list of "Top Ten Soap Bitches". She also said the serial was shaken up with her arrival and branded her "Erinsborough’s most memorable bitch and home wrecker". Also opining she met her match in Paul and it subsequently caused "a good vs. evil cul-de-sac showdown the likes of which Ramsay street had never seen before".
The Herald Sun
observed is as "backstabbing, blackmailing and breaking more than a few hearts" during her time in the serial. They also said her behaviour "didn't win her any friends in Erinsborough". Izzy was named one of the all time most popular character in Neighbours behind Harold, Madge and Susan. Bassingthwaighte revealed that people were shocked to see her friends with Woodburne in real life, because her portrayal of bitchiness so so convincing they assumed they had to be enemies off-screen.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
, played by Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte
Natalie Bassingthwaighte is an Australian actress, singer-songwriter and television personality. She began her career as an actress on the television series All Saints. She then starred in the American television movie Counterstrike...
. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 September 2003. Izzy is the daughter of Rosie Hoyland and sister to Max Hoyland
Max Hoyland
Max Hoyland is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephen Lovatt. He made his first appearance on 22 August 2002 and departed on 16 February 2007.-Casting:...
. The character departed in 2006, following Bassingthwaighte's decision to focus on her music career. However, in March 2007, Bassingthwaighte made a brief return to film a few episodes set in London. The character was well received by critics and viewers and Bassingthwaighte earned two Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
nominations for her role.
Casting
Bassingthwaighte joined the cast of Neighbours in 2003, in her first full time television role. The actress had been working in musical theatre when she received a call saying she had secured an audition for Neighbours. Bassingthwaighte told The AgeThe Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
, "I said to my manager, no way. I'd made the decision I'd done my last theatre show for a while, I wanted to concentrate on singing and I wanted to give film a go. We were all a little bit over the soapie star-turned singer. I didn't want to be that." Her manager talked her round and within a week Bassingthwaighte auditioned for the show and won the role of Izzy.
In June 2005, it was announced that Bassingthwaighte was considering leaving the soap once her contract expired the following year. Bassingthwaighte said "Am I going to resign? I've had an amazing time and, while it's great to have a regular income and live a normal life, if you stay in one spot too long you get rusty". Bassingthwaighte left Neighbours in 2006 to focus on her music career and she filmed her final scenes on 2 June. Bassingthwaighte said she was "falling apart" whilst doing so. However, in October of that year it was announced that she would be going to London to film a special guest appearance. Neighbours began filming scenes in London from the 6 November to air in March 2007.
Character development
Before she appeared on-screen she was described as "manipulative schemer, a money-hungry man-eater and home wrecker." Network TenNetwork Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
branded Izzy as a "bad girl" type character. They have also described her as "quick-witted, sexy and naturally flirtatious" and has a "masterful ability to manipulate people". They said she has serious "daddy issues" and likes older men and is nother bothered if they are married because she is the first to admit she is "unscrupulous". She is "essentially lazy and will never work for a living if there's an easier way to make a buck" Even if that way is "dishonest or immoral". They also refer to her as a "scarlet lady" and "femme fatale". Bassingthwaighte has described her as a "great character to play because she's got so many dimensions to her. There's the bitchiness, but also the vulnerability." Bassingthwaighte revealed she preferred Izzy whilst she being bad, because in her view she was boring when she tried to be nice.
Storylines
Izzy arrives in Ramsay Street to visit Max (Stephen LovattStephen Lovatt
Stephen Lovatt is a New Zealand actor, best known for his portrayal of the character Max Hoyland on the Australian soap Neighbours.-Career:...
). She moves in with Karl Kennedy
Karl Kennedy
Karl Raymond Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Fletcher. The character and his family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Karl made his first on-screen appearance on 20 September 1994 along with his...
(Alan Fletcher) after he breaks up with his wife Susan
Susan Kennedy
Susan Kennedy , is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jackie Woodburne. The character and her family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Susan made her first on-screen appearance on 3 October 1994 along...
(Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress.-Personal life:Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Her father was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. She has two older siblings: John and Stephen. At age three she emigrated with her family to...
). She claims that Karl is the father of her unborn baby, when it is actually Gus Cleary's (Ben Barrack). Izzy has a miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
and breaks up with Karl. She then forms a relationship with Paul Robinson
Paul Robinson (Neighbours)
Paul Stewart Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, a long-running serial drama about social life in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. He is played by Stefan Dennis. Paul debuted in the serial's first episode in 1985 and appeared on a...
(Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis is an Australian actor, best known for playing the role of Paul Robinson in the soap opera, Neighbours, from its first episode in March 1985 to the present day...
). Darcy Tyler
Darcy Tyler
Darcy Eammon Tyler is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Raffety. He made his first on-screen appearance on 15 November 2000 in a recurring role and the character became a series regular in 2001...
(Mark Raffety
Mark Raffety
Mark Raffety is an Australian actor who played skate Doctor Darcy Tyler in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 2000 to 2003...
) discovers that the pregnancy dates do not add up and threatens to tell Karl. Izzy tries to pay him off, but he refuses to take any money. During the confrontation, Darcy falls down a flight of stairs and ends up in a coma. When he wakes up, he begins to play mind games with Izzy. Darcy forces her to give him a favourable testimony at his court hearing. Darcy then reveals the truth to Susan in a letter and she forces Izzy to tell Karl that he was not the baby's father. Karl kicks her out and she disappears, leaving Paul Robinson under suspicion for her murder. She is found alive and Paul's name is cleared. Izzy overcomes a drug problem and she and Paul move in together. Paul's daughter Elle (Pippa Black
Pippa Black
Pippa Black is an Australian actress. From 2005 to 2009, Black played Elle Robinson in the soap opera Neighbours. Black played Tonya in the NBC series Outsourced from 2010 to 2011.-Career:...
) also moves in and she takes an instant dislike to Izzy. Elle tries lacing her food with drugs to convince Paul that Izzy still has a drug problem.
Izzy has an affair with Ned Parker
Ned Parker
Ned Parker is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Daniel O'Connor. He made his first appearance on-screen on 9 August 2005, arriving to see his brother, Stuart...
(Daniel O'Connor), which is initiated in an attempt to get him out of Erinsborough
Erinsborough
Erinsborough is the fictional suburb in which the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours is set. The show focuses on the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the suburb...
, which both Robert Robinson (Adam Hunter
Adam Hunter (actor)
Adam Hunter is an Australian actor.Hunter studied acting at the University of Southern Queensland . He is best known for his work on the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours, in which he appeared in the dual role of twin brothers Robert and Cameron Robinson in 2006...
) and Lou Carpenter
Lou Carpenter
Louis "Lou" Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tom Oliver. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Lou appeared for a brief time, before leaving and later returning in January 1992 as a regular cast member. He is the longest...
(Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
) find out about. Robert later moves in with Izzy and Paul, while pretending to be his identical twin brother Cameron. After she became suspicious of Robert's behavior, Izzy tries to convince Paul and Elle that he is responsible for the 'accidents' she was said to have caused, such as leaving the gas on while babysitting her nephew Charlie. Everyone believes that she is just being careless and hysterical and Paul eventually throws her out. She gets Paul and the police to believe her after she discovers that Robert had been recording her phone conversations and editing them on his laptop. After Cameron is cleared of all charges, he too moved in with her, Elle and Paul. Paul and Izzy's relationship begins to decline and when Paul is caught cheating on her, she breaks up with him.
Although Izzy claims to have never stopped being in love with Paul, she tries to get back into a relationship with Karl. Karl has no interest in Izzy because of his resentment towards her, and the fact that he is trying to get back together with Susan. Karl accepts a ride home from Izzy and once they get to his apartment, she gives him too much sleeping medication. This causes him to believe that Izzy is Susan and he begs her to stay the night. Susan discovers that Izzy is pregnant and when she asks her who the father of her baby is, Izzy denies it is Karl's.
Izzy moves to London and begins an affair with Pete Gartside (Daniel Schutzmann
Daniel Schutzmann
Daniel Schutzmann is an actor. He is a fan of football and a big Arsenal Football Club fan. He is most popular for his role as Italian football player, Salvatore Biagi, on the ITV drama, Footballers' Wives and for his current role as Marty Green on River City.Schutzmann has also appeared in a...
), a married professional football player. Pete breaks up with Izzy, but they later decide to start again and raise her baby together. Karl and Susan meet Izzy while they are in London to see their son Malcolm
Malcolm Kennedy
Malcolm George "Mal" Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Benjamin McNair. He made his first on-screen appearance on 3 October 1994 arriving to live in Ramsay Street with his family...
(Benjamin McNair
Benjamin McNair
Benjamin John McNair is an Australian actor. McNair is perhaps best known for his role as Malcolm Kennedy in the soap opera Neighbours which he played from 1994–97 returning briefly in 2002, 2004 and 2011 with a cameo appearance in 2005.-Early life:McNair moved to Australia with his family when he...
). Izzy turns up at their wedding and goes into labour. Karl is then forced to deliver her daughter, Holly (Chaya Broadmore). Susan later overhears Izzy saying that Karl is Holly's father and she tells him when they arrive home. Karl later tells Susan that Izzy would like her to be Holly's godmother and she agrees.
Reception
In 2006, Bassingthwaighte was nominated for "Most Popular PersonalityGold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television
The Gold Logie Award has been awarded annually to the Most Popular Personality on Australian Television at the TV Week Logie Awards since 1960...
" and "Most Popular Actress" at the Logie Awards for her role as Izzy. The following year, she was again nominated for "Most Popular Actress". The 2006 Dolly Teen Choice Awards
Dolly Teen Choice Awards
The Dolly Teen Choice Awards began in 2006 as a non-broadcast show with hosts Stephanie McIntosh and Jules Lund. The show was held at Sydney's Luna Park Big Top on August 31, 2006 and included guests The Veronicas, Anthony Callea, Guy Sebastian, Lee Harding, Rogue Traders, Girlband, and Kid...
saw Bassingthwaighte win the "Best Slashie" award. In 2007, Bassingthwaighte received a nomination for "Best Bitch" at the Inside Soap Awards
Inside Soap Awards
The Inside Soap Awards is a yearly award ceremony run by Inside Soap magazine since 1996. The awards celebrate the British and Australian soap operas and their actors. Until 2007, EastEnders had won the award for "Best Soap" on every occasion...
. At the first Digital Spy Soap Awards
Digital Spy Soap Awards
The Digital Spy Soap Awards was an event that honoured the successes in British soap operas in 2007-8. It was hosted by the entertainment website Digital Spy....
, Bassingthwaighte, along with co-stars Woodburne and Fletcher, was nominated in the "Storyline of the Year" category for the Karl, Susan and Izzy storyline set in London.
In 2004, Izzy came joint tenth in a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
drama poll to find the "Best Villain". During a feature on the best and worst soap characters of the decade, Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture
Lowculture
lowculture.co.uk is a UK television website founded in January 2003 by Paul Lang, who currently works as the art director of Doctor Who Adventures.-Purpose:...
placed Izzy at number two on the best characters list. Deller said "The best character in Ramsay Street for ages, if not of all time, Izzy was the best kind of soap bitch (see also Janine Butcher and Clare Devine), one whose motives you could understand, and often sympathise with. Being a member of the largely dreadful Hoyland clan didn't bode well for her, but Izzy soon won a place in everyone's hearts (and several male characters' beds). She was even bezzie mates with Harold, and she bowed out by giving birth on the Thames in the ludicrous Neighbours goes to London episodes". The website later referred to her as a "archetypal soap bitch-with-a-soft-centre". New Zealand television website, Throng, said that Izzy had "grown to become a fan favourite" in her time with the show. Izzy has been labelled a "super-bitch" by newspaper Daily Mirror, newspaper Metro, entertainment website Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
and Australian LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
website Samesame
Samesame.com.au
Samesame.com.au is an Australian LGBT website created by Tim Duggan and a partner. The website is run by Sound Alliance in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills...
. Bree Hoskin writing for LGBT website Gaydar
Gaydar (website)
Gaydar is a worldwide, profile-based dating website for gay and bisexual men, women and couples over the age of 18. Although many of the individual profiles are publicly accessible on the Internet, to gain more functionality and interact with other users, a registration is required and a guest...
, included Izzy on their list of "Top Ten Soap Bitches". She also said the serial was shaken up with her arrival and branded her "Erinsborough’s most memorable bitch and home wrecker". Also opining she met her match in Paul and it subsequently caused "a good vs. evil cul-de-sac showdown the likes of which Ramsay street had never seen before".
The Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
observed is as "backstabbing, blackmailing and breaking more than a few hearts" during her time in the serial. They also said her behaviour "didn't win her any friends in Erinsborough". Izzy was named one of the all time most popular character in Neighbours behind Harold, Madge and Susan. Bassingthwaighte revealed that people were shocked to see her friends with Woodburne in real life, because her portrayal of bitchiness so so convincing they assumed they had to be enemies off-screen.
External links
- Character profile at the Official AU Neighbours website