Barbara Stewart

H&a babs fisher — Barbara Stewart in 1988

Barbara Stewart (previously Fisher) is Donald Fisher's ex-wife. She is also from the legendary Stewart family and is a sister of Alf Stewart, Celia Stewart, Debra Stewart, Colleen Smart and Morag Bellingham. She first appeared in June 1988 (Episode 98) and was seen regularly until the beginning of September of that year. She reappeared for two episodes in 1989, then returned briefly in 1996 and 2005. In 1996, she was played by Rona MacLeod, but in 2005 Barbara Stephens reprised her role.

Biography[]

Barbara Stewart
Character Profile
Birthday:	1946
Birthplace:	Summer Bay
Father:	Gordon Stewart
Mother:	Sarah Jane Stewart
Siblings:	Alf Stewart Morag Bellingham Celia Stewart Debra Stewart Colleen Smart (half)
Spouse:	Donald Fisher (1969-1984)
Children:	Alan Fisher (1970) Rebecca Fisher (1973)
Occupation:	Teacher
Played By:	Barbara Stephens (1988-1989, 2005) Rona MacLeod (1996)

Backstory[]

Barbara 1970s — Barbara in a flashback to 1970 (played by Ann Fay)

Barbara Stewart was born around 1946 in Summer Bay to Gordon and Sarah Jane Stewart. While at university in Sydney she met Donald Fisher. The pair married in 1969 and went on to have two children. Alan was born in 1970 and Rebecca in 1973. The family relocated to Summer Bay when Donald began teaching at Summer Bay High School. In 1984, Donald and Barbara separated and went on to divorce. Barbara moved away, taking Alan and Rebecca with her. It wasn't a good break-up and the only connection Donald maintained with his family was to pay maintenance. He was so out of touch, he didn't know that Barbara had returned to university and trained as a teacher.

1988, 1989[]

In 1988, Barbara was offered a job as a relief teacher in Summer Bay High School. Unsurprisingly, this came as a shock to Donald who had recently become headmaster there. After a tetchy start, the pair's relationship slowly improved. Their son Alan came to live with Barbara and she enrolled him in the school. This caused some problems because Donald had been at loggerheads with his son for years and the pair brought out the worst in each other. Alan's antics caused more than a few headaches for his parents. The most serious of these was a mean-spirited stunt by Alan which nearly cost Donald his job. By now, both Barbara and Donald knew that Alan had been diagnosed with a cerebral aneurysm which could erupt at any time.

Barbara became a shoulder to cry on for her niece Roo, who was coping with an unplanned pregnancy. She also became a confidante to Alan's best friend Bobby Simpson. Bobby was trying to deal with her unrequited love for Frank Morgan and was struggling to find her place in the world. Barbara was around for some of the fallout from Alf and Ailsa's marriage split, supporting Ailsa.

She and Donald were walking along the beach when Alan collapsed in front of them - his aneurysm had ruptured. He later died in hospital. Because Alan had known he was likely to die young, he had made some preparations. He wrote an autobiography called On The Crest of a Wave, and left the manuscript to his mother in his will. He was hoping that it would be published after his death. Barbara read it and was very impressed with her son's writing talents. She asked Donald to read it too, even though some of the passages in it weren't complimentary to him. The pair of them agreed that Alan was a talented writer and that his book should be published.

In the wake of Alan's death, Barbara decided to move away again and took a teaching post in another school in Sydney. Now on better terms with her ex-husband, she told Donald that although she loved him, there was no way she could live with him again. She reappeared briefly in 1989 when Bobby went looking for the truth about her biological mother. She also appeared in a flashback scene set in 1970, this time played by Ann Fay.

1996, 2005[]

Barbara stewart 2005 — Barbara Stewart in 2005

In 1988, Barbara was a pleasant, level-headed lady, which was why her 1996 return was such a shock. She now was a much darker character who tried to kill Donald. She had learned that she was still a beneficiary of his will and would benefit financially if he died. She was caught out by their daughter Rebecca when she found Donald's house keys on her keyring. Seemingly, Barbara was suffering from mental health problems at this point, explaining her out of character behaviour. On this occasion, she was played by Rona MacLeod.

In 2005 Barbara returned for Alf's 60th birthday (Ep 4000) and was back to her old self. This time, she was played by Barbara Stephens again. Barbara hasn't been seen since, but seeing as Alf is still knocking around Summer Bay, never say never.

Barbara was mentioned in 2012 when Marilyn refused to invite her to Roo's wedding to Harvey Ryan. Marilyn still hadn't forgiven her for trying to kill Donald.