Daniel Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tim Phillipps. Daniel was created in 1992 as the son of iconic Neighbours couple Scott (Jason Donovan) and Charlene (Kylie Minogue). He was occasionally referred to in the episodes since then, but never seen on-screen. At the end of 2013, it was announced that Daniel would be introduced as a new family member for Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Auditions were held for the role, with producers stating that the actor would need to resemble his on-screen parents. During the casting process, Phillipps was approached for the role and, following a chemistry read with Dennis, was given the part. He had previously appeared in Neighbours in 2007. Phillipps relocated to Melbourne for filming and was initially contracted for 12 months. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 29 April 2014. Two years later, Daniel was written out of Neighbours, and he made his departure on 26 April 2016. Phillips made an unannounced return in the first episode of the 2023 Neighbours reprisal.

Daniel was initially portrayed as a happy-go-lucky, easy-going, hippy, who wanted to make the most out of life. He is a keen photographer, skateboarder and surfer. Phillipps used traits from his own personality to flesh out the character. Daniel came to Erinsborough to see where his parents fell in love and decided to stay for his uncle. Phillipps stated that Paul and Daniel have a great relationship, as they both want to be good influences on each other. Daniel's first major storyline was a love triangle involving himself, Amber Turner (Jenna Rosenow) and Josh Willis (Harley Bonner). Amber and Daniel were later engaged. Daniel's past was explored a little further when his ex-girlfriend Rain Taylor (Airlie Dodds) was introduced towards the end of 2014. The character has also formed a relationship with Imogen Willis (Ariel Kaplan) and been manipulated by Dakota Davies (Sheree Murphy). Daniel's personality also changed, as he became more ruthless and career driven. The character has received mixed reviews from critics.

Creation and casting Daniel is the son of iconic Neighbours couple Charlene (Kylie Minogue) and Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan), who departed the show in 1988 and 1989 respectively. He was created as an off-screen character in 1992. He was occasionally mentioned in episodes since then, but never appeared on-screen. Daniel's arrival was first teased by executive producer Jason Herbison in November 2013, who said a new family member for Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) would be introduced the following year. The character's arrival was officially confirmed on 2 December and the casting department began auditions for the role, with producers stating that he would need to resemble his screen parents. Dennis said the process was long as everyone wanted to find the right actor for the part. Dennis was "heavily involved" in the casting. He explained that as Daniel was an important character, "they wanted to get it right with looks, with acting ability and most importantly the chemistry between Paul and Daniel."

After the role was cast, producers planned to reveal the actor during his first episode broadcast in Australia. However, on 20 April 2014, a reporter for The Australian confirmed that actor Tim Phillipps had been cast in the role. Phillipps previously appeared in Neighbours in 2007, as Fox, a figment of Paul's imagination. Phillipps was cast shortly after returning from the United States where he was working for three-and-a-half years. He was approached for the part after he sent a tape to Melbourne, where Neighbours is filmed. He met with the producers and did "a chemistry read" with Dennis. He was offered the role shortly after. Phillipps relocated to Melbourne for filming and he was initially contracted for 12 months. He later said that he wanted to stay for longer as a year was not long enough. Phillipps researched his screen parents by watching clips of the show on YouTube. He made his screen debut as Daniel on 29 April 2014. In March 2015, Phillipps said that he was happy at Neighbours and would be staying for at least two more years.

Development

Introduction and characterisation Ahead of his introduction, Herbison said Daniel's unexpected arrival would see him "begin the next chapter of his life." While Jack Klompus for Digital Spy reported that Daniel would come to Erinsborough to see where his parents fell in love. Shortly after his arrival, Daniel set up camp at Lassiter's Lake, the scene of a fatal shooting involving his cousin Kate (Ashleigh Brewer). When Imogen Willis (Ariel Kaplan) discovered him there, she asked him to move on. When she saw Daniel had still not left, Imogen told Paul Robinson to come down and tell him to leave, but Paul was "delighted" to find the camper was actually his nephew. Dennis called Daniel's arrival "a huge surprise" for Paul and thought it was a good distraction for him. Paul's happiness was short-lived when Daniel told him he was only passing through, but after a phone call to his mother, Daniel changed his mind and stayed for his uncle.

In his fictional backstory, Daniel grew up in Brisbane with his family. He dropped out of university to travel around the country. Phillipps initially said Daniel was "happy-go-lucky" and in touch with nature. He asserted that Daniel would not arrive with any secrets. Phillipps later described Daniel as being "a laid-back surfer dude who is a bit of a hippy as well. He is easy-going, care-free and positive." Phillipps also said Daniel was a loving person, who wants the make the most of his life. Daniel is a keen photographer, skateboarder and beach bum. He is around four years younger than Phillipps, who was 26 when he joined the show. Phillipps stated that he shares some similarities with Daniel, as he used parts of his own personality to try and flesh out the character. He also said that he could relate to Daniel's friendly "loving side".

In March 2015, Phillipps hoped that he would get to explore a darker side to Daniel and said that he had been filming scenes which revealed Daniel had been a bully in the past. He continued, "this is really cool and it explains why he is so good now. He just decided one day that he doesn't want to be this guy because he saw how it was affecting people, so he became ultra good." Phillipps wanted to show that Daniel was not always good and he thought that he might have his uncle's darker traits in him.

Relationships

Paul Robinson Sarah Ellis from Inside Soap wrote that Daniel's arrival could not have come at a better time for Paul, who was grieving for his recently deceased niece Kate. Phillipps said that Daniel was excited to spend time with Paul and believed that he could help him with his grief. He continued, "I think Daniel is really happy to just be settled for a while because he is road-tripping. Paul has been grieving over Kate's death, so they are a really good match for each other right now. Their relationship is really strong." Dennis asked for Paul and Daniel's first scene to be rewritten as he wanted to establish their strong relationship from the beginning. The original script saw Paul failing to recognise his nephew. Dennis took his worries to the writers who agreed to change the scenes. Phillipps stated that Paul and Daniel have "a great uncle and nephew relationship" and thought they were a good pairing, as they both wanted to be good influences on each other. He explained that Daniel initially believed his uncle was beloved by the community, but he slowly realised that a lot of people do not like Paul. Daniel decided to stay in Erinsborough and try and redeem his uncle. He told Ellis, "Daniel finds it bizarre that Paul isn't well liked, because he is all about the love!"

As Daniel bonded with his uncle, Paul invited him to move into his penthouse apartment. They clashed a little, due to Daniel's different outlook on life. He values relationships over material possessions, which is an odd concept to Paul. Daniel also picked up some shifts in Paul's hotel, but Phillipps pointed out that it was to keep his uncle happy. Daniel found the job too restricting to stay there forever. Phillipps has said that he enjoyed working with Dennis again, following their previous storyline together in 2007. He thought that it was an interesting piece of writing, saying that if Paul was going to imagine someone, it makes sense that the guy looks like his nephew. When Paul suffered a public meltdown due to his grief over Kate's death, Daniel was there to comfort him while he broke down. However, the situation proved too much for Daniel and he had to call in Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), hoping that his uncle would receive the medical and psychological help he needed. Phillipps later said that helping Paul was "a pretty tough ask" for Daniel and while he thinks of himself as kind of therapist to people, the situation was "pretty extreme". Phillipps added that the storyline presented "an interesting dynamic" for the pair.

Amber Turner

During a behind-the-scenes video posted by Neighbours, Phillipps hinted that Daniel could find romance with established character Amber Turner (Jenna Rosenow), who was in a relationship with Josh Willis (Harley Bonner) at the time. Phillipps later said that Daniel and Amber would become friends, as they bond over their shared love for photography. When Josh began to worry about Daniel's intentions towards his girlfriend, Daniel was "able to put Josh at ease". He and Amber were honest about their connection and passed it off as platonic love. A few weeks later, Amber and Daniel almost shared a kiss, as she started to fall out of love with Josh. Rosenow explained that Amber was attracted to Daniel's caring side and liked how he noticed things about her that Josh never had. When it became difficult for them to be apart, they spent the afternoon together, which resulted in their near kiss. With Amber feeling guilty about betraying Josh, she decided to break-up with him, but when he made a romantic gesture, she found she could not go through with it.

After Amber failed to break-up with Josh, Daniel tried to keep his distance from her. However, Paige Smith (Olympia Valance) had already noticed their growing closeness, so she kissed Daniel to prompt a reaction and work out what was truly going on with them. Amber was "gutted" when she witnessed the kiss and it caused her to give into her feelings for Daniel and they kissed. Daniel was left feeling guilty about Josh and Phillipps commented "He wants to be with Amber, but it's not in his nature to just walk all over people." Phillipps liked that Daniel's first major storyline was a love triangle as it was "quite relatable" for everyone. He thought the reaction to it had been mixed, but there had been support for Amber and Daniel. A few weeks later, Josh walked in on Amber and Daniel kissing. Bonner told an Inside Soap reporter that Josh was devastated by the scene and did not want to hear Amber's apology. Josh eventually went to the penthouse to speak with Daniel and came close to hitting him. He then smashed up Amber and Daniel's darkroom, knowing that is where they had spent a lot of their time together. Phillipps confirmed that Amber and Daniel would stay together despite the fallout and that they would grow closer because of it. The couple were given the portmanteau Damber by fans and critics.