Carly Lucini (also Morris) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by actress Sharyn Hodgson. She was one of the soap's original female protagonists, appearing as one of the Fletchers' foster children in the pilot episode on 17 January 1988. The soap's primary focus was placed upon the Fletchers and their gang of foster children, moving as outsiders to a caravan park in the seaside town of Summer Bay. Carly remained in the serial as a regular character until 1991, covering issues such as rape, alcoholism and child abuse, as well as a problematic marriage to soldier Ben Lucini, played by actor Julian McMahon. Hodgson has made numerous guest appearances since her exit.

The character was conceived by the creator and then executive producer of Home and Away, Alan Bateman. Carly is one of five children fostered by Pippa (Vanessa Downing) and Tom Fletcher (Roger Oakley), who move to Summer Bay to begin a new life. Over three hundred actors auditioned for the roles of the Fletcher's foster children in 1987. Actress Sharyn Hodgson was cast as Carly. After being unable to find acting work following her graduation from the Phillip Street Drama School, Hodgson secured a job at a news agency, but on the day she was due to start she received an audition for the role of Carly, which she subsequently won. Hodgson had made a small guest appearance in A Country Practice, but Carly was her first regular television role. Hodgson was nineteen when she was cast, two years older than her teenage character.

In July 1988, Hodgson described Carly as being "17, in her last year at school and like all teens has her problems." She said that she and Carly did not share any similarities, so when she received her first scripts, she had to "work out" how she should portray Carly based upon her fictional history, which she then "built on". Hodgson also portrayed Carly's "nastier" twin sister Samantha Morris, which she called "a big challenge, but good to do."

Carly's rape, which occurred while she was hitchhiking in 1988, was one of the soap's first controversial story lines. Andrew Mercado, author of Super Aussie Soaps, has commented that "although the word 'rape' was never actually uttered on-screen, savvy viewers caught on. In the aftermath of her assault, Carly began drinking heavily and the ratings continued to grow. From a low of 9, Home and Away slowly built its audience until the show was scoring 25 by the end of its first year. The serial was finally a hit". In the storyline, Carly keeps the rape a secret initially, but after the truth comes out the residents of Summer Bay "were shown to be divided as to whether or not Carly had contributed to the situation through reckless behaviour". The aftermath of the event explored Carly's descent into alcoholism and drug abuse, which has been described as "very brave territory for a prime-time soap [...] the Carly Morris storyline pointed to the fact that if there were feathers to be ruffled, Home and Away would ruffle them." During the time of the rape's airing, various protests were launched by the viewing public and the Australian media, who believed it should not have been broadcast. In an interview in 1989, Hodgson defended the storyline, saying "In Home and Away we show life as it really happens. It's not irresponsible to show attacks, unwanted pregnancies or people turning to alcohol. It's realistic and it shows we are confronting these problems. The thing about having a foster family as the main characters is that they do have trauma in their lives. Seeing how they cope must help people". Hodgson researched the storyline by calling the Rape Crisis Centre, reading articles and watching documentaries.

Carly has a few love interests during her time in the show, including Matt Wilson (Greg Benson) and Gary Samuels (Darius Perkins). She also dates Adam Cameron (Mat Stevenson), but producers cut the romance short and soon paired Adam with Emma Jackson (Dannii Minogue), as they thought the characters were better suited.

In early 1990, Italian-Australian soldier Ben Lucini, played by Julian McMahon, was introduced to the show and he became a "major" new love interest for Carly. TV Week's David Brown reported that writers had immediately begun planning a wedding between the pair. Producer Andrew Howie commented, "Their romance will be full-on, bigger than Ben Hur. McMahon later told Barry Divola of Stars of Oz magazine that he and Hodgson worked hard to make it seem that their characters had experienced "love at first sight". Ben and Carly get engaged after a short romance and endure "all that pre-marriage trauma stuff", including finding their first home and paying for it. McMahon told Divola that if he was writing the scripts, the couple would have "bliss", before moving to a farm where they would raise cattle and sheep. The build up to Carly and Ben's wedding episode attracted "a huge amount of interest" from Home and Away viewers. McMahon said he was often stopped in the streets and asked about the wedding preparations.

The lead up to the couple's wedding is "mixed with catastrophes". Writers introduced Ben's interfering cousin and best man Angelo (Raj Sidhu), whose actions cause Ben to leave Carly waiting at the altar. Ben contracts food poisoning shortly before his bucks night, so he takes some medication to help relieve his symptoms. He then opts out of the bucks in favour of drinking a couple of beers, which mix with the medication and put Ben into a deep sleep. Angelo takes advantage of the situation and he and Adam strand Ben in the bush. McMahon said Angelo "is not your most likable character" and reckoned he never thinks about the consequences of his actions. As he is rescued by a passing truck driver, Ben, still under the effects of the medication, tells him that he is from Perth, so the driver begins taking him there. At the church, a "distraught" Carly realises Ben is missing and believes that he has jilted her. Hodgson told TV Week's Glen Williams "there is nothing for Carly to do but go home and grieve about what might have been." Ben eventually makes it back to the Bay and reschedules the wedding for later that day. Hodgson described it as "a bit rushed, but it's a fairytale wedding." The reception goes against tradition, as Carly makes a speech and declares that the Fletchers are her real family, following a sarcastic telegram from her father and sister.

In the 1 September 1990 edition of TV Week, David Brown reported that both Hodgson and McMahon had quit the show to pursue other acting roles. Brown confirmed Hodgson would leave when her contract expired in March 1991, while McMahon's contract was up in December. Brown said Seven Network were negotiating with McMahon to stay until March, so Ben and Carly could depart together.