Bridget Parker

Bridget "Didge" Parker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Eloise Mignon. In 2007 the show was revamped to boost falling ratings in Australia. As part of this, the show's focus returned to family dynamics and the character of Bridget and her family were created and introduced. Bridget made her first on-screen appearance on 23 July 2007. She arrived in Erinsborough from Sydney with her father and mother, Steve and Miranda. During her time in Neighbours, Bridget's storylines included being run over by Susan Kennedy, falling in love with Declan Napier, finding her birth mother and falling pregnant at seventeen. In March 2009, the decision was taken to write the Parker family out of the show after both Mignon and Steve Bastoni, who played Steve, quit. Mignon wanted to return to her studies and she had enough of Neighbours. Bridget died on-screen on 21 July 2009 after suffering internal injuries, which she sustained in a car crash. The character was met with polarised reactions from viewers and critics, though her pregnancy storyline was voted the best of 2008 during a poll on the official website.

In 2007, Neighbours suffered one of its worst decline in viewers and several key changes took place to boost the ratings. Network Ten drama executive, Dan Bennett revealed that the show would return to its focus on relationships and family dynamics. Writers created and introduced a new family, the Parkers, who already had a link to Ramsay Street in the form of Ned Parker (Daniel O'Connor). The family made their first on-screen appearance in July 2007, marking the start of the show's renovation.

Former Silversun actress Eloise Mignon was cast in the role of school girl Bridget Parker, despite being five years older than the character she would portray. Steve Bastoni and Nikki Coghill were cast as Bridget's adoptive parents Steve and Miranda Parker respectively and Sweeney Young was cast as Bridget's biological brother Riley.

Bridget has been portrayed out of conjunction with the stereotypical 'girly image', she is sporty and athletic. Mignon has described her as open, honest, outdoor kind of girl. Stating that like herself Bridget had grown up with keen interests for climbing trees, cycling and swimming in rivers, non-typical female interests. She also branded Bridget as a 'sporty tomboy'. During an interview, Mignon said that Bridget's relationship with Declan changes her and she feels more independent from her family. She also becomes more determined as a person.

One of Bridget's first high-profile storylines was coping with a disability, after Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) hit Bridget with her car. She had been paralysed on one side of her body, the storyline saw her trying to regain the complete use of her body. Mignon explained during an interview with media reporting website Last Broadcast, the research that had been carried out and the effects on the character stating: "Bridget suffers extreme physical difficulties as a result, because she's such a sporty tomboy, to be incapacitated suddenly poses emotional problems for her. To make sure that I could understand better what Bridget's going through, I studied medical notes on paralysis and disability on the internet."

One of the most important storylines for the character of Bridget was when she discovered that she was pregnant with Declan's child. As the storyline progressed, Bridget was seen considering abortion or adoption, before ultimately deciding to have the child with Declan's support. This caused controversy among conservative family groups in Australia who accused the Neighbours of using their characters to normalise teenage pregnancy. Pro-Family Perspectives director Angela Conway said: "[Teenage pregnancy] is not something that should be considered the norm, programmes like Neighbours can make the behaviours that lead to teenage pregnancy seem normal and acceptable. A lot of kids just aren't ready to get their head around details of explicit sexuality." Neighbours executive producer Susan Bower defended her character's storyline stating: "I am quite sure a lot of people are not happy with this storyline. We decided we would show the ramifications on the teenagers' lives." Mignon said that the storyline between Declan and Bridget was not shallow, trite or vulgar, further adding she would not have liked to film the storyline if it was and branded it as showing emotional spectrum of pregnancy justice. Critics also slammed the show, noting that Neighbours has a G-rating and the storyline could lead to more promiscuity and teenage pregnancies among young viewers. The storyline continued despite the controversy it caused and Declan and Bridget became parents to a daughter, India.

In March 2009, it was announced that the Parker family were to be written out of the show after Mignon and Bastoni decided to leave to concentrate on other commitments. Mignon, Bastoni and Coghill filmed their final scenes in April 2009. Mignon announced that her reason for leaving the show was so that she could return to studying an Arts degree at Melbourne university. Mignon said "I didn't want to defer uni forever and, to be honest, I'd had enough of the Neighbours experience". The Neighbours writers took the decision to kill the character off. Viewers saw Bridget being injured in a car accident while travelling to Oakey. Bridget underwent surgery and she then had a premonition of her death. Her vision comes true and she dies from internal injuries. The Metro newspaper called the scenes "tear-jerking".

When Mignon heard how Bridget was going to leave the show, she said "I was quite honoured. I feel I've been given good scope in terms of drama – Bridget had a baby, got married and died. I got the soap opera trifecta!" On Bridget and the Parker's exit, Bower said "It's the story that keeps on giving for another three or four weeks. It's very well storylined, beautifully acted and shot. It's a tremendous amount of work for which we're all very proud".