Terese Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Rebekah Elmaloglou. The actress was cast in the role after attending an audition in late 2012. Before she began filming her first scenes in early February 2013, Elmaloglou had to ask the producers to change the pronunciation of her character's name. Elmaloglou's character and her family were created around the character of Brad Willis (Kip Gamblin), who was reintroduced after twenty years as part of an ongoing overhaul of the show's cast and renewed focus on family units. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 14 May 2013.
Terese is portrayed as being ambitious, organised, hard-working and a good mother. Elmaloglou said she admired Terese and that while they shared some similarities, they did not have much in common. Terese was introduced as the manager of Lassiter's Hotel, owned by Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Terese and Paul share a love/hate relationship, but despite the tension between them, they work well together. They eventually start a relationship and get married. Terese's other storylines have revolved around the breakup of her marriage to Brad, her alcoholism, an attempted assault by Ezra Hanley (Steve Nation), a breast cancer diagnosis and relationships with Paul's son Leo Tanaka (Tim Kano) and Paul's half-brother Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett). Terese's turbulent marriage to Paul was rekindled in the serial's finale episode; she returned in a regular capacity for the series' revival in 2023, which focused on the character's wedding to Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney).
Creation and casting On 7 February 2013, it was announced that the four-strong Willis family would be introduced to Neighbours, as part of an ongoing overhaul of the show's cast and a renewed focus on family units. News of the Willis family's introduction came shortly after producers decided to also bring in the five-strong Turner family. Executive producer Richard Jasek commented, "As viewers will find out shortly, the Turners are a family of secrets, and the unique backstory of the Willis family is just as compelling." The character of Brad Willis (formerly Benjamin Mitchell and Scott Michaelson, now Kip Gamblin) was reintroduced to the show, along with his wife Terese and their teenage twins; Josh (Harley Bonner) and Imogen (Ariel Kaplan).
Actress Rebekah Elmaloglou was cast in the role of Terese, the matriarch of the Willis family. Elmaloglou's agent asked her to audition for the role in late 2012 and she thought appearing in Neighbours would be something "interesting to do", especially as she had previously appeared in rival soap opera Home and Away. Elmaloglou won the role and she and her family relocated to Melbourne where the Neighbours studios are based. The actress thought it was an exciting time to join the show and did not feel under any pressure. She also said the production style was similar to Home and Away, but Neighbours was fast paced because they shoot an extra episode a week.
Before she began filming, Elmaloglou asked the producers to change the pronunciation of her character's name. Elmaloglou was initially happy with her character's name, as it was a deviation of her mother's name, Theresa. However, she was concerned about the pronunciation chosen by the producers, explaining "At first I thought, 'That's nice, I'll always have mum close to me' – until I realised it's pronounced exactly how mum hates it! I knew she would cringe every time she watched me on Neighbours." The producers agreed to change the pronunciation shortly before Terese was mentioned on-screen. Elmaloglou started filming her scenes two weeks after the casting announcement. Elmaloglou made her first screen appearance as Terese on 14 May 2013.
Development Characterisation Elmaloglou described Terese as being "ambitious, organised and extremely capable when it comes to her job". She thought her character would appear to be "a tough nut", but she displays a softer side when it comes to her family. Elmaloglou liked that Terese's personality was changeable as it made her interesting. She did not think Terese had a devious side, but she often riled people when she made decisions on their behalf. A writer for the show's official website called Terese "a devoted wife, loving mother and hard-working career woman." They also agreed that she was ambitious and had put in the hard work to achieve her dreams.
Elmaloglou said "Terese is a good mum, but she's also very career-orientated too. I think Terese worries about it a little bit more than she should." Elmaloglou thought Terese was the kind of person she would be friends with, branding her an "all-rounder". She explained that she admires Terese and is quite similar to her in terms of how organised they both were. However, Elmaloglou thought Terese was more businesslike than her and she was unsure if she could be the mother of three children. She later commented that she and Terese did not really have anything in common and that she was much naughtier than Terese was.
Marriage to Brad Willis and family
Terese married Brad Willis (Gamblin) when she was 21. They have three children; twins Josh and Imogen, and Piper. Gamblin explained that Brad and Terese met and married very quickly. Terese has some issues with Brad's former wife Beth (Natalie Imbruglia) because of their history and Gamblin called the situation "a bit messy". Gamblin added that Brad and Terese's marriage was pretty strong. Elmaloglou agreed, calling the marriage "absolutely solid" and saying that although Brad and Terese are different, they work well together. Prior to relocating to Erinsborough, Terese had become the breadwinner and was running the family, as Brad was busy coaching Josh, who was a competitive swimmer. Shortly after her arrival, Terese was introduced to Brad's ex-girlfriend Lauren (Kate Kendall). Elmaloglou explained that Terese was aware of Brad's past and she was fairly relaxed about it. As Terese felt secure in her marriage, she got on well with Lauren and their respective husbands became rivals instead.
Elmaloglou was initially shocked that she was cast as the mother of three teenagers and told a New Idea writer that she liked to think Terese was a very young mother. After Imogen was diagnosed with an eating disorder, Elmaloglou said Terese and Brad would feel guilty for not noticing, as they had been too focused on Josh and his swimming. The actress said the situation wakes them up and makes them realise that they had been neglecting their daughter. Elmaloglou commented, "There is an element of regret that they weren't more in tune with Imogen and her problems." Imogen found it hard to accept that her parents knew about her condition and their reaction was just added pressure. In an effort to help Imogen, Terese opened up to her about her own eating disorder she had suffered with as a teenager. Kaplan called the moment "really powerful" and thought it would bring Imogen and Terese closer together, as well as help Imogen to come to terms with her own condition.
Elmaloglou hoped that Brad and Terese's youngest daughter, Piper, would be introduced at some point, especially after the characters began talking about her more during storylines. Elmaloglou thought Piper's introduction would add another dynamic to the family because of her young age. In early 2014, Lauren told Brad that she had given birth to his daughter twenty years ago. Lauren had believed that their daughter died soon after birth, but she had actually been adopted out. Terese did not take the revelation well and Elmaloglou said it was definitely a shock and not something she had ever prepared for. She explained that Terese had been fine with the fact that Lauren and Brad had dated, but she struggled with the new situation and she worried about her own family and how the news would affect them. When asked what advice she would give Terese, Elmaloglou replied "My advice to Terese would be to think before reacting and while it's a huge ask, try to put herself in Lauren's shoes... And watch Lauren like a hawk!"
In April 2014, Terence Donovan returned to Neighbours as Doug Willis, Brad's father. Donovan had previously played Elmaloglou's on-screen father in Home and Away. The actress was pleased to be reunited with Donovan "as father and daughter-in-law after all these years." On-screen, Terese expressed her fears that Doug preferred Brad's ex-wife Beth to her. As Doug was "old school", he was not keen on Terese balancing her career and family. He was also not used to Terese's feisty side. Elmaloglou thought Terese was being a little paranoid and said the fact was Doug and his wife, Pam (Sue Jones), had spent more time with Beth. During Doug's visit, Terese was "bemused" when she found the television remote in the fridge and assumed Doug was getting a little forgetful due to his old age. Doug continued to have memory lapses, but Brad refused to listen to Terese's assumptions that it might be more serious, insisting that Doug was fine. However, Doug was later diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Elmaloglou added that the diagnosis would affect the family and she hoped Donovan and Jones would return to explore the storyline further, as it is a common disease.
Lassiter's Hotel Terese is introduced as the new manager of Lassiter's Hotel, which is owned by Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Terese decides to visit Erinsborough alone to check out the hotel and meet with Paul. Elmaloglou told an Inside Soap reporter, "This is the perfect chance for Terese to see things at the hotel as they really are before Paul can cover anything up!" Paul believes he is conducting an interview for the manager's job, so he is surprised when Terese lets slip that his sister, Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell), has already offered her the job without consulting him. Elmaloglou said Terese is keen to get on with things and it would not take her long to get the measure of Paul. She also said that Terese and Paul are "fantastic foils for each other" and she believed Terese is capable of holding her own with Paul. Dennis found that Terese and Paul shared a love/hate relationship and said Paul respected Terese for her business skills and the way she stands up to him. Stefan added that while there is a tension between them, they did work well together.
In January 2014, Terese and Paul's working relationship is strained when Paul tries to make things intolerable for Terese at Lassiter's. Dennis told John Burfitt from TV Soap that Paul wants to make Terese as uncomfortable as possible in order to get rid of her from the hotel. He explained, "I actually don't think he genuinely dislikes her, but he has decided to dislike her as he had no control in her being there and being such a control freak, he didn't like Lucy coming in and telling him who was going to work there. He then decided to buck back against the decision and push her out in every way he can." After Paul pushes Terese too far, she quits her job with immediate effect. Lucy is "furious" by the new, as she knows that Terese is a great employee. Lucy then threatens to remove the hotel from the Lassiter's chain to make Paul see sense. Neither Elmaloglou or Dennis thought Terese and Paul would have an affair in the immediate future, with Elmaloglou saying that Terese's marriage to Brad was very solid. However, she thought with all the tension between Terese and Paul, there could be an underlying attraction between them.
Marital problems and Ezra Hanley