| Daphne Clarke | |||||||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Elaine Smith | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1985–1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 18 March 1985 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 25 March 1988 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Created by | Reg Watson | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Reg Watson | ||||||||||||||||
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Daphne Clarke (also Lawrence) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Elaine Smith. Daphne was created by Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' twelve original characters. The producer had originally wanted Rebecca Gibney to play the role, but she joined the cast of another television series. When Smith came in to audition for a guest part, her appearance, particularly her short haircut, caught the attention of the casting director, who had been looking for an "outrageous image" for the character of Daphne. Smith won the role and she made her on-screen debut in the soap's first episode, which was broadcast on 18 March 1985.
Daphne was portrayed as a smart, confident and independent woman from a good background. She sported a short haircut and bright clothing, which made her stand out from the other female characters on television at the time. Daphne was not embarrassed by her profession as a stripper and her "no-nonsense approach" to life made her an immediate favourite with the viewers. Daphne gave up stripping when her grandfather gave her the lease to the local coffee shop. She used her position to help customers with their problems and gained the trust of many of the teenage characters, particularly Mike Young (Guy Pearce).
Daphne's marriage to Des Clarke (Paul Keane) was central to many of her storylines. After a brief relationship with Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien) and two engagements, Daphne married Des in July 1986. She gave birth to their son, Jamie (S.J. Dey), in July 1987. That same year, Smith announced her departure from Neighbours. Not wanting to kill off a popular character, the producers sent Daphne to care for her dying father and she made her last regular appearance on 27 October 1987, with the character removed from the opening credits in the following episode. However, viewers were not satisfied with this ending and producers decided to conclude Daphne's storyline by killing her off in a car accident. For scenes where Daphne was in a coma, producers had planned to use a lookalike. However, when Smith heard about this, she chose to return for the final scenes. Smith made her final uncredited appearance on 25 March 1988, becoming the first regular character to die on-screen.