The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1985, by order of first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's creator and executive producer Reg Watson. The 1st season of Neighbours began airing on 18 March 1985. The first episode introduced the members of the Ramsay and Robinson families as well as bachelor Des Clarke, and his soon-to-be wife and former stripper Daphne Lawrence. Max Ramsay, his wife Maria and their sons, Shane and Danny lived at Number 24. Jim Robinson lived next door with his children; Paul, Julie, Scott and Lucy. They were joined by Jim's mother in law, Helen Daniels. Myra De Groot joined the cast as Des's mother, Eileen and Maxine Klibingaitis arrived as plumber's assistant, Terry Inglis. Philip Martin began appearing from June and his children, Debbie and Michael, arrived in July and October respectively. George Young and con man Douglas Blake, played by Anne Haddy's real-life husband James Condon, made their first appearances in September.

Max Ramsay

Max Ramsay, played by Francis Bell, made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985. Max is the patriarch of the Ramsay family and Ramsay Street is named after his grandfather.Monroe, Josephine, p.27 Max lived at No.24 with his wife, Maria (Dasha Bláhová) and their sons, Shane (Peter O'Brien) and Danny (David Clencie). Bell based the character of Max on a person who helped raise him in New Zealand. He said "Max is based on a man whom I loved, but who gave me a very hard time".Oram, James, p. 25

Danny Ramsay

Danny Ramsay, played by David Clencie, made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985. Danny was the first character to speak in Neighbours. He is the youngest son of Maria Ramsay (Dagmar Bláhová) and brother to Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien). Jason Donovan was initially offered the role of Danny before it was given to Clencie.Oram, James, p. 83 Danny was often described as the "gentler" of the two brothers.Monroe, Josephine, p.27-8

Maria Ramsay

Maria Ramsay, played by Dasha Bláhová, made her first appearance during the show's first episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. She was the first regular character to leave the serial, after six months on screen. Maria is married to Max Ramsay (Francis Bell) and is the mother of Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien) and Danny Ramsay (David Clencie). Maria is billed as "a warm and sensitive woman, tolerant of her husband's moods." Her best friend is Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy), who helped Maria and Max reconcile after a period of separation, and is the only other person aware that Max is not Danny's biological father. Television critic, Andrew Mercado called the Ramsay family the backbone of the serial during the early years.Mercado, Andrew, p. 230 In her book "Soap opera", Dorothy Hobson describes Maria and her family as "more working class than other characters". She also said "They had working-class jobs but were not represented as cloth cap wearing or dowdy, they were bright and modern and representative of a vibrant and working population."Hobson, Dorothy, p. 15 To celebrate the 20th anniversary of Neighbours, the BBC asked readers to nominate their twenty favourite obscure characters. Maria came in fourteenth place in list. In her review of the serial, Jacqueline Lee Lewis of The Sydney Morning Herald felt Bláhová "gives a particularly sensitive performance" as Maria.

Maria is the daughter of an Italian father, Franco and a Czech mother, Anna. She is married to Max Ramsay, whom she met when he worked with her father in Queensland. They live at Number 24 Ramsay Street with their sons Shane and Danny. Maria's marriage to Max is rocky as their personalities are different. She notices that Max does not have the same interest in Danny as he does with Shane, and she suspects that Max knows he is not Danny's real father. Maria interviews Terry Inglis (Maxine Klibingaitis) to be Max's assistant and Terry tells her that she is keen to prove that she can do the job as well as any man. Maria supports her and gives Terry the job.

When Danny turns eighteen, Maria tells Max that when she found him with another woman on their wedding anniversary, she ran away to a country inn, where she met Tim Duncan (Nick Carrafa). They had a one-night stand and she later found out she was pregnant with Danny. Only her friend Helen Daniels knew the truth. Max becomes enraged and moves into a bedsit. While the couple are separated, Maria falls in love with Richard Morrison (Peter Flett). Danny does not accept the relationship and causes difficulties for them. When Richard gets a job in Hong Kong, Maria makes the difficult choice to leave Danny behind and be with Richard. After a few months, Maria returns to her mother's home and she calls Max. Max agrees to give their marriage a second chance and he moves to Brisbane to be with her. Nearly 40 years later, Shane returns to Erinsborough to buy into Lassiter's Hotel. When 24 Ramsay Street is put up for sale, he calls Maria and promises to buy it for her.

Julie Robinson

Julie Robinson, later Julie Martin, is played by Vikki Blanche in 1985, and by Julie Mullins from 1992. Julie made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Julie is the daughter of Anne and Jim Robinson (Alan Dale), however Jim is not Julie's biological father. His boss Roger Bannon had raped Anne and Julie was the product. Jim agreed to bring Julie up as his own. Julie is described as being unable to keep her nose out of other people's business and having a "pompous manner."Monroe, Josephine, p.104-5 Of Julie, The Independent said "Julie Martin, is such an accomplished blamer that she would be beaten up daily if she were a schoolgirl."

Paul Robinson

Paul Robinson, played by Stefan Dennis, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Dennis' agent got him the audition with Neighbours and he was initially not keen. He auditioned for the roles of Shane Ramsay and Des Clarke before being cast as Paul.Hopwood, Clive, p. 14 Paul was shown to be the quieter member of his family and he previously worked as an air steward.Wallis, Neil and Hogan, Dave, p. 67

Scott Robinson

Scott Robinson, played by Darius Perkins in 1985 and by Jason Donovan from 1986, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Scott is the youngest son of Anne and Jim Robinson (Alan Dale). He is best friends with Danny Ramsay (David Clencie) and dates Kim Taylor (Jenny Young).Mercado, Andrew, p. 203

Helen Daniels

Helen Daniels, played by Anne Haddy, made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Haddy was invited by Watson to play Helen, a mother-in-law who was not a stereotypical battleaxe. Helen is the matriarch of the Robinson family household. She married her childhood sweetheart Bill and they had a daughter, Anne. Helen and Bill later adopted Rosemary (Joy Chambers). Helen is described as being "a shoulder to cry on for her friends and family". She is sympathetic, caring and motherly.

Shane Ramsay

Shane Ramsay, played by Peter O'Brien, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Shane is the elder son of Max (Francis Bell) and Maria Ramsay (Dasha Bláhová). O'Brien auditioned for the role of Shane twice in 1984 and following the cancellation of medical series Starting Out, he was cast as the older Ramsay brother. Shane was described by Network Ten as a "very together guy, despite being deprived of a normal childhood because of his father's obsession with his diving training".Oram, James, p. 96

Des Clarke

Des Clarke, played by Paul Keane, made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Des, a bank manager, is engaged to Lorraine Kingham (Antoinette Byron), until she calls off the wedding. He then allows Daphne Lawrence (Elaine Smith) to move in. Stefan Dennis originally auditioned for the role of Des.

Daphne Lawrence

Daphne Lawrence, played by Elaine Smith, made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Daphne is introduced as a stripper hired for Des Clarke's (Paul Keane) bucks party. Smith originally auditioned for a guest role, but her appearance, particularly her spiky hairstyle, caught the attention of the casting director and he cast her in the role of Daphne.Oram, James, p. 102

Jim Robinson

Jim Robinson, played by Alan Dale, is the patriarch of the Robinson family. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. The role of Jim was originally given to Robin Harrison, but when contract negotiations broke down between him and Neighbours, the role was given to Dale.Oram, James, p. 108 Jim is described as a man having it all: wealth, children and having a way with women. Jim changed after his wife's death and was often seen as having a reserved sadness within him, he has also been perceived as "stuffy and proper".Monroe, Josephine, p. 41

Lucy Robinson

Lucy Robinson, is the youngest of Jim Robinson's (Alan Dale) children. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. The role was played by Kylie Flinker from her debut to 1987, by Sasha Close between 1987 and 1989, and by Melissa Bell from 1991. Lucy was created as a young child to help the show appeal to all ages. As played by Flinker, Lucy is described as being an innocent child who never does anything wrong.Monroe, Josephine, p. 47

Kim Taylor

Kim Taylor (also Tanaka), played by Jenny Young, made her first appearance on 20 March 1985, and initially appears until 11 June 1985. The character and her parents were one of the serial's guest families, who departed when their storyline played out. Kim was billed as "a nice, bright girl, but lonely at school because her mother is an unpopular teacher." Kim dates her friend Scott Robinson (Darius Perkins) and tries to keep it a secret from her parents. Amanda Zachariah of TV Week said the pair "fell in love in spite of parental disapproval."

After being off-screen for a number of weeks, the character returns in June, but she is no longer the "cute schoolgirl" she once was. Kim has been living on the streets and she reveals to Scott that she is pregnant. Young told Zachariah: "You would hardly recognise Kim when she comes back into the series. I have never lived on the street or found myself pregnant but I can imagine that it would damage you psychologically." She also explained that Scott is not the father of Kim's baby, but she asks for his help as he is her only real friend. Young had sympathy for her character and believed the episodes were handled "very realistically", especially for the show's early time slot. Of filming the scenes, she stated "When I return to the series I cry a lot and experience a huge amount of emotional upset. Darius and I had to work through a lot of emotions." Following the introduction of Kim's sons David (Takaya Honda) and Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) in 2016, Young reprised her role after thirty-two years as Kim returned to Erinsborough on 30 March 2017 to visit them.

While Kim is in a relationship with Scott Robinson, she keeps it a secret from her mother, Marcia Taylor (Maureen Edwards), knowing she will not approve. Danny Ramsay (David Clencie) and his friend Eddie Sherwin (Darren Boyd) reveal the relationship when they play a practical joke. They record a conversation between Kim and Scott and edit it to make it sound sexual. Marcia, who teaches at Erinsborough High, forces the boys to play the tape in class, embarrassing Kim and Scott. The couple run away together and they hide out in an old monastery. Kim's mother makes a televised appeal for her safe return.