Features > MPC08: 6-10

6. Belle Taylor - 174 points
UP 18

Belle is the type of character I love. You may say that Summer Bay gets a lot of people with attitude, but Belle seemed to have more attitude than anybody else. It was the "Get stuffed" attitude that made her so popular.
When she first arrived in the bay, she was a bit of a trouble-maker. Her devious flirting with Ric in his bedroom was great. She didn't seem to care that Cassie might walk in and find Ric with a total stranger.
Belle also had some flaws, but I think that is why so many people like her. There is still one very big mystery surrounding her though... You may have remembered that she made Flynn fall down the stairs. This led to his health rapidly deteriorating, and then he died. A secret mission, maybe? I still wonder if she ever thinks about that.
Oh, and I forgot the mention, Belle seems to be quite funny... which is rare within the Summer Bay teen-group. You may ask "How the hell is she funny?" - she comes out with some hilarious one-liners from time-to-time. A great thing for a character to have!

7. Kit Hunter - 148 points
DOWN 3

Kit is a character that traveled lot during her three on-off years in the Bay. She arrived as a washed up, drunken teenager with no hopes or aspirations, drinking herself to an early grave. Under the guiding hand of reformed alcoholic Irene, and with the support of her friends and family, Kit soon gave herself hope and gained an education and a life again. That in itself would be a great story, even if her earlier acting was dodgy in places, it made you feel good. She then went to Uni and things went slightly awry.

She has perhaps lost a small amount of popularity, not only because Matilda and Belle have gained popularity, but because of her role over her final spell. Sleeping with Kim in the bush lead to a usually well written, but perhaps increasingly tedious love triangle that we all knew was coming as soon as Chris Hemsworth announced he was leaving for the bright lights of Hollywood.

8. Ric Dalby - 134points
UP 7

We fell in love with "Dalby" as the mischievous, mistreated, and ultimately misguided school boy who found pleasure in tormenting Henry Hunter. When he learned that he was Alf Stewart's long-lost grandson, and that his doctor and volunteer foster father Flynn had genuine faith in him as a person, Dalby dropped the last name and the attitude to integrate nicely into the bay as "Ric." Mattie became his friend, and Henry reluctantly followed. Then Henry was replaced by Lucas, and a few strip poker sessions later, Lucas and Ric became the best of friends. Which is just as well, seeing as it was Luc's cunning gangster disguise that tricked one of the prison guards into admitting that Johnny had the means to kill Rocco from behind bars, which in turn lead to Ric's release from prison.

9. Vinnie Patterson - 121 points
UP 2

Vinnie or 'the V man' was a great source of comedy during his time on the show. He was a schemer, always trying to find a way to get rich, but he also had a heart of gold and a real sensitive side. His pairing with town talker Leah Poulos made for even more comedy as Vinnie, despite being married and with a child, refused to grow up. Still determined to get rich, Vinnie went into business with his crook of father Ralph and was sent to jail for fraud in 2002. Leah was told he had died in prison but later found out he was alive but in witness protection. He made a final reappearance dressed in a bear suit to leave a note for Leah and see his son.