| Lachlan Fraser | |||||||||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Richard Grieve | ||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 1997–1998 | ||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 19 March 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 27 November 1998 | ||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | John Holmes | ||||||||||||||||
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Lachlan "Lachie" Fraser is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Richard Grieve. He made his screen debut on 19 March 1997 and last appeared on 27 November 1998. He joined the show after previously appearing in rival soap opera Neighbours. Lachlan is introduced as a new doctor working at Summer Bay's local hospital. Grieve had to research the profession and received help from an on-set medical advisor. Lachlan is characterised as a sweet and gentle person who is brilliant at medicine.
During his tenure he strikes up relationships with Shannon Reed (Isla Fisher), Terri Garner (Alyson Standen) and Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright). The latter who becomes pregnant after a one-night stand, Lachlan and Chloe fall in love. She gives birth to a daughter, Olivia. But their relationship is marred by his interfering mother Diana (Kerry McGuire), whom he is unable to stand up to. Grieve decided to leave the show in 1998, which gave producers a dilemma. They had developed the partnership between Lachlan and Chloe in advance. They cast Michael Piccirilli as Lachlan's brother James to take over the relationship with Chloe. Lachlan's exit storyline involved him battling a brain tumour, suffering brain damage after having a cerebral haemorrhage and leaving for treatment in the United States. The character was later killed off-screen.
Grieve was nominated for a Logie Award for portrayal of Lachlan. Reporters from the magazines Inside Soap and Soap Stars have praised the character's sex appeal, while another columnist said he was the show's hero who solved all medical emergencies in Summer Bay.