Roo Stewart

Ruth Martha "Roo" Stewart is the only child of Alf and Martha Stewart. She first appeared in Episode 3 way back in 1988. She was originally played by Justine Clarke and was main character until July 1989 (Episode 345). Roo moved away from Summer Bay for many years, though Alf continued to visit her offscreen. She returned in 2010 with Gold Logie award-winning actor Georgie Parker assuming the role.

Biography[]

Roo Stewart
Character Profile
Birthday:	13th January 1970
Birthplace:	Summer Bay
Father:	Alf Stewart
Mother:	Martha Stewart
Siblings:	Owen Dalby (half) Quinn Jackson (half) Duncan Stewart (half)
Spouse:	Frank Morgan (1990-1991) Harvey Ryan (2012-2014)
Children:	Martha MacKenzie (1987)
Occupation:	University lecturer Teacher
Played By:	Justine Clarke (1988-1989) Georgie Parker (2010-)

Backstory[]

Ruth Martha Stewart was born on 13th January 1970 and grew up in Summer Bay. In 1985, her mother Martha faked her own death and for many years, everybody believed that she was dead. Now a single parent, Alf spoiled his daughter rotten. Roo could be conniving and bitchy at times, but the true extent of what she was capable of only became apparent in 1988. Alf was dating Ailsa Hogan but was trying to keep the relationship low-key around Roo. She wasn't happy about her father's new girlfriend and wasn't slow about letting Alf know.

1988-1989[]

Justine Clarke as the original Ruth "Roo" Stewart in 1988.

Roo began to secretly date Frank Morgan behind Alf's back and lied to cover her tracks. When Alf found out, he was angry at first but then gave the relationship his blessing. She attended the local high school where she frequently clashed with Bobby Simpson and the newly arrived Fletcher foster kids. Bobby enjoyed calling her Kanga (Kanga, Roo, geddit?....) and had little time for her. What neither of them knew at the time was that they were first cousins. Bobby found out in 1989 that she was the daughter of Roo's paternal aunt Morag Bellingham.

Roo had never liked Ailsa and when she saw that things were getting serious between her and Alf, she decided to take action. With the help of the devious but well-connected Morag, she unearthed a bombshell from Ailsa's past. She had done time in prison for killing her own father. Roo revealed this publicly at Alf and Ailsa's engagement party. Because of her continued awful behaviour towards them, Alf sent Roo to boarding school. There, she met Brett Macklin who got her pregnant. When Brett made it clear that he had no interest in supporting her or their child, she concocted Plan B. She wasted no time in seducing Frank and then told him she was pregnant with their child. They quickly got engaged, but on their wedding day she revealed the truth. They split up, leaving Roo heartbroken.

Roo gave birth to a baby girl who she named Martha, after her mother. Meanwhile, Brett had surprisingly resurfaced. Since their split, Brett had come down with the mumps and had been told he was now infertile. Suddenly he was very interested in his only heir, even if it was going to be a girl. In desperation, he snatched baby Martha from the hospital and tried to look after her by himself. It didn't go well. Roo and Brett accepted that neither of them were ready to be parents and they gave baby Martha up for adoption.

In the meantime, Frank had become romantically involved with Bobby and they married. This was very difficult for Roo, who still had feelings for him. On the home front, her relationship with Ailsa improved. Frank's marriage to Bobby quickly faltered, largely because he had been on the rebound from Roo. In 1989 she and Frank realised that they still had feelings for each other. Frank left Bobby and moved away to the city to be with Roo. After this, they moved on to New York. They split in 1991, but Roo decided to continue living in the Big Apple. Alf continued to visit her offscreen over the coming years. In 2005, her daughter Martha reconnected with her offscreen.

2010-2019[]

In 2010, the now 40-year-old Roo returned to Summer Bay after 21 years away. She had split up from her boyfriend and was a bit coy about her finances. She moved into Summer Bay House, where she had been raised. Life wasn't short of drama for her. Alf was being questioned over Penn Graham’s death, and she had to deal with the news that Colleen Smart was her aunt. She was visited by the police, who wanted to know if she had been in touch with Martha and Hugo Austin, both of whom were now on the run in the United States. She lied and said she had heard nothing. She then passed Gina Austin (Hugo's mother) a letter from her son. She told Gina that she wanted to take the money Hugo had left, and which was the fruits of a people smuggling operation.

Roo helped out in Alf's Bait shop and went fishing with Angelo Rosetta. She admitted to him that she was suffering from financial difficulties. Gina soon learned this too, and immediately became suspicious of Roo's motives for wanting Hugo's money. Eventually, Roo made an agreement with Gina, Xavier Austin and John Palmer. She would take a job working for John, and he would pay her with the people smuggling money. She told Alf what was going on and received a warning from police officer Charlie Buckton.

Roo attended Bianca Scott's bridal shower and abortive wedding to Vittorio Seca before leaving for the States to sort out unfinished business. She told Alf she would settle in the Bay on her return.

When Roo came back, she wasn't quite welcomed with open arms. Alf was away, backpacking. There was no room at the inn, so to speak, either. Her welcoming Auntie Morag banished her to a caravan. She also endured some awkward moments, such as Miles Copeland accidentally walking in on her in the shower. When she got drunk at Angelo's restaurant relaunch, she flirted with him and with Brax. To top it all off, she work up in Miles's bed, though she had only slept there for comfort. Still, optics....

Roo was inadvertently caught up in two dramas going on in the Bay. Her friend Nicole Franklin decided to have her unborn baby adopted by Marilyn Chambers and Sid Walker, And Romeo Smith admitted that he had cheated on Indi Walker with Ruby Buckton. On the home front, she moved into Angelo's spare room but was taken aback when he invited bad boy Liam Murphy to join the house share.

The drama with Nicole's baby caused problems between Roo and Marilyn. Marilyn became convinced that Roo was trying to edge her way into her relationship with Sid, and into her arrangement with Nicole. In the meantime Nicole had decided she wanted to keep her baby after all. Despite not wanting to get involved, Roo accidentally bumped in Marilyn and the baby at the airport, and brought them back to the Bay.

After Romeo got into legal trouble, Roo became his mentor. She invited him to come with her on a business trip to Hawaii. Romeo brought Indi along with them and they decided to get married in Hawaii. Roo got in touch with Indi's father Sid (who was also Marilyn's partner) to alert him about the wedding. Despite the grown-ups' misgivings, the wedding went ahead. Roo and Sid kissed afterwards though she turned him down. She later changed her mind but didn't catch up with him before he left for home. Still, once she got back it wasn't long before they were a couple. Roo's relationship with Sid eventually ended after his ex-wife resurfaced and revealed they were still married.

In 2012 Roo took over the running of the Pier Diner when its two owners were indisposed. Irene Roberts was being treated for breast cancer and Leah Patterson was pregnant. She began to date Harvey Ryan even though some of the people around her warned her that he wasn't what he seemed. They broke up after she learned he had sabotaged Alf's boat The Blaxland. After they reconciled, Harvey proposed and they got married. The couple took in Spencer Harrington and Maddie Osborne. In 2013 Harvey went missing at sea and was presumed dead. A memorial service was held for him and Roo grieved the loss of her husband. Even though Harvey was later found alive, he couldn't cope with living in Summer Bay any more. The couple decided to divorce.

In 2013 Roo travelled to Las Vegas to look after Colleen after she had an accident. On her return home some time later, she fell gravely ill. It was eventually discovered that she had travelled to Peru while she was in that part of the world, and had suffered an adverse reaction to some inoculations.

2015 saw Roo being offered a lecturing job at the university, and a new love interest in the form of Dr James Edmunds. They had known each other from school, but sadly for Roo, he wasn't what he seemed. An inveterate liar, she eventually broke up with him and told him to get help.

Roo travelled to Hawaii in 2017 to meet her brother Duncan. While there, she had a fling with James Mayvers, who was younger than she was. After learning she was pregnant with his child, Mayvers told Roo to have an abortion. Roo refused and decided to raise the child as a single parent. She later had a miscarriage. After this Roo left the Bay to try and find Martha but was unsuccessful.

In 2018 Roo was shocked to learn that her mother Martha wasn't dead after all. After nearly dying in a sinkhole, Alf revealed that Martha had written to him in late 1988 and explained that she had chosen to fake her own death. Roo enlisted the help of police officer Colby Thorne to try and track her mother down. This produced no leads, and Roo was frustrated by Alf's unhelpfulness. He had a change of heart and gave her a ring Martha had sent back to him. The box showed that the ring had been sent from Merimbula, and she went searching for her. Roo failed to find Martha, but she found out that she had been looking for her. Martha came to Summer Bay and met with Roo. She explained why she had chosen to vanish from their lives.

2020 -[]

In May 2020 Roo became close to Evan Slater who was her nephew Ryder's father. Evan was dying from Mesothelioma and passed away off-screen several weeks later. Roo travelled to Brisbane to be with him in his final weeks. In August, Evan's twin brother Owen Davidson came to Summer Bay by chance and went on to learn about the sibling he had never met. Roo became romantically involved with Owen but they broke up when they both realised she was still in love with Evan.

In 2021, Martha was badly injured during a toxic gas attack on Salt. The toxins caused irreparable damage to her internal organs and Roo eventually donated a kidney to her mother. In the aftermath, Martha decided to return to her home in Wallumatta, near Merimbula. Since Martha's departure, Roo has continued to visit her mother offscreen.

In 2023 Roo helped Marilyn in her battle against the unscrupulous cosmetics company Stunning Organics. She was badly injured in an explosion when someone from the company planted a bomb in a van. For a time it looked like Roo might be paralysed. It caused problems between Roo and Marilyn

Roo decided to try fostering again in 2025. Her first foray was with the troubled Eliza Sherwood, who turned out to be a psychopath. Shortly afterwards, she fostered Cohen Luther and was sad to see him leave with his newly discovered father.

Memorable info[]

Birthday: 13th January 1970

Full Name: Ruth Martha Stewart

Nicknames: Roo, Kanga (by Bobby Simpson), Ruthie (by Alf)

First Line: "Bobby! What are you doing back here?"

In Episode 85 (13 May 1988) Roo's middle name was revealed.

Trivia[]

Ruth "Roo" Stewart first appeared in Episode 3, on the 20th January 1988, which was technically the 4th episode of the show, counting the telemovie length pilot. There is some debate as to whether Roo is an original character as the pilot was filmed in July 1987. The regular series began filing in October, and by then Justine Clarke had been added to the cast.