More to Suzie than meets the eye?
SHANE WITHINGTON TELLS US HIS ALTER EGO HAS FALLEN HOOK, LINE AND SINKER FOR OUTOF-TOWNER SUSIE…
John encapsulates all of our failings, he’s every man – he’s egotistical, vulnerable, vain and greedy… and cheap!” laughs Shane Withington, as we call him up for a chat about John’s shocking new romance. “However, underneath all of that, he really does mean well, and wants to be loved – like all of us. I’m very fond of John in that way, and I like that I can play my foibles to an international audience!”
It’s safe to say we were all devastated when John and Marilyn called it quits after six years of marriage. But following a few failed online dates, John believed he’d hit the jackpot once Susie arrived, and their romance has progressed very quickly…
“John’s so blinded by Susie, she comes into his life like a bombshell!” explains Shane. “He can’t believe his luck that someone so gorgeous would be interested in him. John’s blinded by her drive as well, and she is pushing for him to reach his full potential – however, actually, Susie has an ulterior motive. And when John came to turfing Alf out of the Surf Club, John wasn’t really thinking of anyone except himself and pleasing Susie, just so that she’ll hang around.”
Susie hasn’t only been pushing for John to take control in his professional life, but in his personal life too. And this week, she takes it a step too far by delivering John’s divorce papers to Marilyn herself!
“Oh, it’s so terrible!” gasps Shane. “John doesn’t really think, he’s so caught up with his love for Susie, he’s obsessed with her! I don’t think John is aware that Susie is going to deliver the papers. But she does, and of course it really hurts Marilyn. John looks like a bit of an idiot, so he immediately runs and apologises to Marilyn – that’s after Alf wants to kill him for upsetting her so much! However, John explains it all to Marilyn, and she forgives him, so they go on…”
But it becomes clear that Susie can’t stop meddling, and when she realises that her plan to drive a further wedge between John and Marilyn didn’t work, she turns on the water works. And as John falls for her tricks, Shane tells us that he’s not surprised by his gullible alter ego.
“John’s lonely and frightened because he’s no spring chicken,” shares the star. “And the prospect of spending his life alone was looming large, and then this vision appears in his life. So no, I’m not
I’m not at all surprised John fell for Susie – he’s lonely!
at all surprised that John fell for Susie, as he’s vain, you see, and he fell for Susie’s flattery. You hear about it happening in real life too, with women moving into the lives of lonely men – it’s life imitating art.”
There’s lots more to come for Susie and John, and Shane says he’s had a ball filming the ups and downs of John’s love life…
“I loved the beginning when John got well and truly stood up,” laughs the actor. “I was so thrilled to play the whole dating storyline. And I loved playing the competition scenes between John and Marilyn on the Silver Dreams website. Can I just say as well, what a joy Bridie Carter [who plays Susie] is to work with… She’s just tremendous!”