Sam Marshall

Sam Marshall (né Nicholls) was a main character from April 1991 (Episode 738) to January 2001 (Episode 2964). He made return appearances 2002 and 2005. He was played by Ryan Clark.

Sam Marshall
Character Profile
Birthday:	1983
Birthplace:	Sydney
Father:	Greg Marshall
Mother:	Jackie Nicholls Bobby Marshall (adoptive)
Siblings:	None
Spouse:	Sandy King
Children:	Bella King (stepdaughter)
Occupation:	Surfer Carpenter
Played By:	Ryan Clark

Backstory[]

Sam Marshall was born in 1983 or 1984 and was the only son of teenagers Greg Marshall and Jackie Nicholls. They soon split up and Greg ran for the hills leaving Jackie holding the baby. Jackie was still pretty immature and found herself unable to cope with raising Sam on her own. Mother and son soon came to the attention of the authorities. Sam got caught up in a cycle of being taken into care, being returned to his mother when things had calmed down, then going back into care again.

1991-2001[]

In 1991 Sam was fostered by Bobby Simpson and moved into The Beach House. The pair quickly formed a close bond and were devastated when Sam was returned to his mother. Yet again Jackie found herself unable to cope with Sam. Worse still from her point of view, Sam now kept asking for Bobby. Jackie decided that the best thing for Sam would be to let him live with Bobby permanently. Later that year (Episode 860), Sam's father Greg came looking for him. Sam was over the moon to learn that he had a dad and they became close. Better still, Bobby and Greg got married in June 1992. Of course, no soap wedding is without its drama. In the case of Bobby and Greg's wedding, Sam was at the heart of it all. On the day of the wedding, Sam caught his finger in the plughole of the shower and had to wait for hours in the hospital before it was cut off. The shower plughole, that is. Not Sam's finger.

For a year, Sam's home life was happier and more stable than it ever had been. That was until Greg had an affair and briefly split from Bobby. They reconciled but shortly afterwards, Bobby was fatally injured in a motorboat accident. In the aftermath of Bobby's death Greg struggled with being a single father. He decided to return to his old job as a long-distance truck driver. He left Sam in the care of Bobby's father Donald Fisher (or Uncle Donald as he'd always called him). Donald soon realised he wasn't the person to raise a boy of that age. Pippa and Michael Ross agreed to foster Sam, with Donald continuing to play a significant role in his life. Sam settled into life with the Rosses and made his way into the famous family photos. Sam continued to visit Greg occasionally but they didn't keep in close contact.

In 1996, Sam accidentally caused Michael's death. While sitting in the parked family car close to a badly swollen river, Sam's curiosity got the better of him. He got out to take a look and slipped into the fast flowing water. Michael dived into the river and managed to save Sam. Unfortunately, he was swept away by the current and was drowned.

Two years later his foster mum Pippa decided to leave Summer Bay to travel with her new love Ian Routledge. Pippa left him in the care of Travis and Rebecca Nash. That arrangement didn't work out well. Sam had became a rebellious teenager and was too much for Travis and Rebecca to handle. It culminated in him ending up in court and being given a good behaviour bond. He moved back in with his "Uncle Donald", 5-odd years after they'd last lived together. Later that year Sam had a relationship with Hayley Smith but it didn't work out.

In 2000, Greg came to visit Sam and asked him to come live with him and his new partner. At first, Sam was tempted despite some misgivings about what life with his father would be like. Even though he was now living with Donald, he felt he had ended up there because he had nowhere else to go. Greg's offer brought Donald and Sam's thoughts and feelings about each other out into the open. Both came to realise that although they weren't blood relations, they really cared about each other. Sam opted to stay with a delighted Donald.

2001-2005[]

Sam left Summer Bay later in 2000 to join the professional surfing circuit. That didn't work out for him and he became a stereotypical dope smoking drop-out. In 2001 Sam befriended Sandy King who was a young single mother. When he moved away, she returned to her abusive ex-boyfriend. On his return, Sam helped Sandy and her baby daughter Bella get away from the ex. They moved to The City to start a new life.

Sam returned in 2005 to celebrate Alf's 60th birthday. This was also Home and Away's 4000th Episode. He mentioned that he and Sandy were still together

Memorable info[]

Birthday: 1983 or 1984

Full Name: Samuel Marshall (ne Nicholls)

First Line: "Good, thank you." (to Bobby)

Last Line: "No, they couldn't make it, but they did say to send their love." (to Alf, when he asks if Sandy and Bella are coming to the party as well)

Sam was a keen surfer, not unlike his real life alter-ego Ryan Clark.

Family[]

Father Greg Marshall

Mother Jackie Nicholls

Adoptive Mother Bobby Marshall

Adoptive grandfather Donald Fisher

Adoptive grandmother Morag Bellingham