Throughout his 18 months in the Bay, Roman's shoulder was used more than anyone else's to cry on. He was perceptive, understanding and, more often than not, gave the best advice. Not only did he develop the most amazing friendships with the most unlikely people, he was also on hand to deal with anyone else's problems that arose. We look back at just some of those people and situations.
'The odd couple'
When Martha invited Roman for dinner with herself and Morag it was clear that Roman and Morag had a mutual respect for one another as they bonded over wine and criminal law! That bond was strengthened when Morag and Martha moved in with Roman after the Diner and apartment collapsed. They got on like a house on fire and even when Roman and Martha split, Roman convinced Morag to stay with him making a rule that "nobody counsels anybody". However their joy at being flatmates in a quiet household was shortlived as Nicole and Aden moved in that very same day. Nicole didn't make the best first impression on Morag when, on walking through the door, she said to Roman "If this is your girlfriend then we need to have a serious talk". Morag soon kicked Nicole's "Gucci clad backside" into touch and the four of them formed a family unit which was unconventional but very endearing. Roman and Morag friendship continued with not so much as a crossed word and Morag continued to live with and be supported by Roman following her marriage Ross and his subseqent illness. He also always seemed to leap to Morag's defence when Charlie and her were at loggerheads. Their relationship was best summed up when Morag left the Bay when she said "Ours must have been one of the strangest pairings but I've really enjoyed your company, you've been a very very good flatmate and an even better friend" Roman followed that up with "The feeling's mutual".
Good Friend Rating: 5/5 - Those quotes sum it up really. On paper it shouldn't have worked but it most definately did! It was different, mature, unconventional and really captured the viewers interest. Top marks here no shadow of a doubt!
'Phuket buddies'
When Miles arrived in the Bay, homeless and down on his luck, it was Roman who was the first one to show him some compassion and give him some food from the Diner, much to Irene's annoyance. We didn't find out until a few weeks later why Roman took such an interest in him - they actually met some years ago in Phuket when Roman's unit went to help the clean-up operation. When Roman told Miles about their past connection it gave Miles the confidence to tell Sally about what happened to his family in Phuket. Their close friendship grew from there and when Aden was giving Miles grief about being a "derro" Roman came up with a plan to turn the situation around which worked perfectly and made Aden look at Miles in a new light. Miles and Roman seemed to crop up in scenes at regular intervals often spending time walking on the beach using each other as a sounding board and giving each other advice about various topics, including their love lives. Roman also pushed Miles to his limits during a particularly intense exercise session which provided a little comic relief! However, Roman and Miles's friendship went through it's worst time when Roman discovered he was blind following the car accident. Miles tried to reach out to Roman but he continued to be snappy and push Miles away. Thankfully when Roman regained his sight he apologised to Miles and they got their friendship back on track. Another problem soon came between them though, Roman's ex-Army friend Gardy. Miles couldn't understand why he had such a hold over Roman but eventually forced the truth out of him and Miles supported Roman through a difficult time despite putting himself and his family in danger. When Roman was arrested he asked Miles to look after Nicole and Miles duly obliged despite being devastated that his best mate was sent to jail
Good Friend Rating: 5/5 - Top marks here definately. At first glance, Miles and Roman didn't seem to have a lot in common but their mutual experience in Phuket and respect for each other allowed them to develop a friendship that had pretty much everything a viewer could want.
'No winkin!'
Irene took an instant dislike to Roman when he moved to the Bay, while the rest of the town took him straight to their hearts. No one could quite understand Irene resistance to him but she wasn't impressed when Leah lined up Roman to buy her share of the Diner. Not even Roman's cooking could win her over and she remained sceptical about both his motives and his past. Colleen soon put her finger on what Irene's problem was.... Roman wasn't Leah. Irene eventually accepted this and, after a chat with Leah, began trying to accept Roman as her new business partner. However, when Roman's advice to Geoff interfered in Irene's parenting she was less than happy and told him that he should keep his "bib out" in future. Roman accepted this and gave Irene a kiss on the cheek saying "Never go soft on me, you promise!" Their uneasy truce soon looked shaky again when Roman put Annie and Geoff's lives in danger when they went to find Rev Hall without telling Irene. She told him in no uncertain terms that he she makes the decision when it comes to their welfare, not him. After that they seemed to move on and spent many a scene chatting in the Diner about various things, including Roman's love life, and by the time they opened up the new Pier Diner they were both singing from the same hymn sheet.
Good Friend Rating: 4/5 - After their initial conflict and 'bonding' scenes there probably wasn't as many Roman and Irene scenes than we would have liked but overall it was a good partnership. Roman did well to win someone as strong willed as Irene over so he almost gets top marks for that.
'The power of perception'
When a piece of the crumbling Diner fell on Cassie's head Roman was on hand to tend to her wounds. However, Cassie was reluctant to accept his help and ran from the Diner shouting "Don't touch the blood". Roman immediately picked up on what was bothering Cassie and went after her. When he caught up with her she allowed him to look at her injury as he had gloves on. He told her that he guessed what was wrong as he had picked up a lot about HIV doing aid work in Africa and he also had a friend who had hepititis B. Cassie seemed reassured that she wasn't alone and with Roman's support she told Colleen and Irene that she was HIV positive.
Good Friend Rating: 5/5 - Top marks for Roman here. His perception was spot on, he took control of the situation and gave Cassie the confidence to put her trust in people.
'Tell me about Miss Groper'
When Colleen found out she was really a Stewart, she went to the Diner looking for Leah to tell her all about her exciting discovery. However, Leah wasn't there so she told Roman the good news instead. Roman listened intently as Colleen recalled tales of the past including her family history, how in awe of the Stewarts she was and how happy she was on the night of the Miss Groper contest. Roman told her that everything would be OK when Alf and Morag got used to the idea and made a toast to 'Colleen Stewart'. The next morning Roman spoke to Alf about the situation and subtly made him see things from Colleen's point of view, telling him how much being a Stewart meant to her. Their chat did the trick and Alf decided to welcome Colleen to the family, despite a few minor reservations.
Good Friend Rating: 5/5 - Roman again gets top marks for doing something very few people do, actually listen to Colleen's stories with interest! He also gains brownie points for making Alf understand Colleen's perspective about the situation.
'Agony Uncle'
When Ross was diagnosed with Alzheimers, Ruby struggled to deal with the changes in her relationship with him. While everyone else was fighting over the best course of action, Roman was the effect it was having in Ruby and offered her his ear if she wanted to talk. She declined at the time but after a difficult lunch with her dad she began to open up to him at the beach. She said she appreciated his concern but she didn't even know what she was feeling He advised her that she should talk to someone who know's what she's going through, such as Charlie, but she said she didn't want to worry her. Roman then had a word to Charlie and told her that Ruby needed her big sister. This didn't quite work out though and Ruby sought solace with her internet 'friend' instead.
Good Friend Rating: 3/5 - Roman's perception again was spot on but unfortunately on this occasion his legendary shoulder wasn't quite enough.
'In the right place at the right time'
When Roman went to Martha's house after Jack's death, little did he know that he would become Tony's shoulder to cry on. Without any prompting Tony began to recount the events of the evening and Roman just sat and listened. Tony opened up to him about what he was feeling and, even though Roman said he didn't have to go on, Tony said he needed to. Roman then asked about Martha and went off to her room to see how she was and left Tony to his thoughts.
Good Friend Rating: 3/5 - Tony needed to talk about Jack and what had happened and Roman clearly saw that. However, even though he listened, his mind was clearly on Martha and how she was feeling.
Was Roman a good friend and confidante?
Absolutely 100% yes! In his 18 months in the Bay there were very few people that Roman wasn't a friend and confidante to, dishing out his best advice and worldly wisdom as well as just listening to people's woe's. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, thinking of others rather than himself and trying to solve everyone's problems.