Olivia Fraser Richards is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Raechelle Banno. The character was born on-screen to parents Lachlan Fraser (Richard Grieve) and Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright) during the episode broadcast on 20 April 1998. Producers allowed Grieve and Wright to choose the name of their characters' daughter and they eventually settled on Olivia. The character was played by a number of infant actors until her departure in 1999. In 2005, Wright reprised her role as Chloe, while Ivy Latimer was cast as Olivia. Following Chloe's death, Olivia was at the centre of a custody battle between her grandmother Diana Fraser (Kerry McGuire) and Chloe's foster mother Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger).
The character was reintroduced in 2015, with Banno cast in the role. During her audition, Banno performed scenes with actors Matt Little and Scott Lee, whose presence made her more "excited" about securing the role. Olivia is portrayed as bold, flirty, and confrontational. Banno also thought there was a darkness to Olivia. The character's early storylines focused on her friendship with VJ Patterson (Little), a feud with villain Charlotte King (Erika Heynatz), and the revelation that she has been self-harming due to being sexually abused. Banno praised the writers' decision to explore the issue of self-harm, as she believed it was a topic that was not often portrayed on television.
Producers paired Olivia with Hunter King (Lee), and their on-off relationship has been tested several times, with issues ranging from infidelity to pregnancy, and later a proposal. Olivia has also been the part of a love triangle involving Hunter and Mason Morgan (Orpheus Pledger). In May 2018, it was confirmed that Banno had left Home and Away and that she had already filmed her final scenes. Banno made her final appearance as Olivia on 13 August 2018.
Creation and casting The character was created in 1998, when screenwriters plotted a pregnancy storyline for Chloe Richards (Kristy Wright) and Lachlan Fraser (Richard Grieve). After Lachlan learns that Chloe is pregnant with his child, he is "totally shocked and confused", but vows to support Chloe. They eventually fall in love with each other. The scenes depicting Chloe's 36-hour labour and the birth took two and a half weeks to film. Chloe and Lachlan struggle to agree on a name for their daughter and spend a week fighting about it. Off-screen, the producers allowed Grieve and Wright to choose the name for the baby. Wright admitted that she and Grieve had trouble agreeing on a name, but they eventually settled on Olivia.
The character was played by a number of infant actors from her birth. When viewers spotted at least four different babies playing the role, a show spokesperson said "Our fans are quite right. But it was even more complicated when Chloe first gave birth. We had to have eight babies for the part." Zara Williams was chosen as one of the eight babies for the role after her mother Sasha Williams enrolled her in a talent agency. She admitted that she was excited to see her daughter on television and joked that Zara had more money than she did following her casting. The serial's medical advisor Wendy O'Donnell was always present on set in case the babies became distressed, but both Grieve and Wright commented that they had all been "so placid" and none of them had cried during the four weeks that they had worked with them. The Australian child employment laws state that young children are only available to work on set for certain number of hours, before they have to take a break. Each baby would appear on set for 20 minutes at a time.
Development 2005 return When the character made a return in 2005, she was played by Ivy Latimer. A young Olivia returns to Summer Bay with her mother. Shortly after, Chloe dies in a car accident, leading to a custody battle between her grandmother Diana (Kerry McGuire) and Chloe's foster mother Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger). Irene becomes "so desperate" to stop Olivia from going with Diana that she runs away with her, until Barry Hyde (Ivar Kants) makes her realise that she needs to return home. Olivia eventually leaves the Bay to live with her uncle James Fraser (Michael Piccirilli), and they later move to London.
Reintroduction
On 18 October 2015, Sally Rawsthorne of The Daily Telegraph reported that Olivia was being reintroduced to the show, with actress Raechelle Banno in the role. Banno told Rawsthorne that during her audition for the part, she performed alongside actors Matt Little and Scott Lee, an episode director and a producer. She also said that Little and Lee's presence in the audition made her more "excited" about winning the role and being in the show. Banno and her twin sister Karina had previously made several guest appearances in the show when they were younger. Banno said her sister was the first to find out that she had been cast in the show. Of joining the cast, Banno stated "I feel so fortunate that my start at working full-time in the industry is through being cast in something as respected as Home and Away. I have the privilege of being made to feel so welcome, while being trusted with the responsibility of bringing this great character to life."
Olivia's return scenes aired on 28 October. After arriving back in the Bay, Olivia goes to the beach and befriends VJ Patterson (Matt Little), after he catches her laying down on his beach towel. Banno said Olivia was "very forward" and wanted to gain VJ's attention, so she "just puts herself out there." VJ offers to show Olivia around the Bay, but she asks to see his place instead. Banno told Stephen Downie of TV Week that Olivia flirts with VJ to make him nervous. Olivia and VJ then steal some bikes to tour the town. Later that day, Olivia finds Irene and asks to stay with her permanently, after admitting that she has been suspended from her London school. Downie thought there was more to Olivia's story than it first seems. After Olivia begs Irene to let her stay in Australia, Banno confirmed that Olivia has "a bit of a past in the UK".
Characterisation
Following her reintroduction, Banno thought Olivia was looking for somewhere to belong, whether that was with Irene or a new friendship group. She was also looking for "new opportunities", and something to "fill a void in her life", but it was likely that she was running away from "some demons in her past." Banno described Olivia as bold, "a definite go-getter", and as someone who puts themselves out there. She also said Olivia was flirtatious, as well as "confrontational and forward, and doesn't care what anyone thinks." She found that while they were similar, unlike Olivia she does not like confrontation at all. Banno believed that Olivia had "a darkness about her" that tries to keep hidden, and she would make viewers feel sympathy for her.
Feud with Charlotte King
Olivia was later introduced into the plot focusing on villain Charlotte King (Erika Heynatz). Olivia comes across Charlotte arguing with Irene about being evicted from the flat above the diner. Banno explained that Olivia has heard stories about Charlotte before their meeting, and her opinion of her "isn't a positive one form the get-go." Charlotte shows an aggressive attitude towards Irene, which is why Olivia comes to her defence. Charlotte then turns her "wrath" on Olivia, who stands her ground. The argument is broken up by Kyle Braxton (Nic Westaway), but Downie pointed out that the women have become enemies. Charlotte later threatens Olivia, who gets revenge by spreading the trash from the diner throughout Charlotte's flat. Olivia is then questioned by Constable Kat Chapman (Pia Miller), and Banno said, "She wasn't expecting to see the police. And, she didn't really consider the consequences of her actions."
Charlotte is later shot and killed, which starts a "whodunit" storyline. Olivia was named as one of several suspects. The identity of the shoot was kept a secret from the cast and crew. Each actor whose character was a suspect filmed a different ending to keep the conclusion to the storyline from being leaked. Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy later broke down the motives for each character. Of Olivia, Dainty speculated that after Charlotte threatened her, she may have got there first. Dainty wrote, "Olivia had more reason than most to want her gone." Charlotte's killer was later revealed to be Josh Barrett (Jackson Gallagher).
Self-harming and sexual abuse The character was the focus of an issue-led storyline about self-harming. The plot begins when Olivia meets up with Hunter King (Scott Lee) at the local beach pool. She appears reluctant to get out of the water and asks Hunter to turn away while she gets her towel. However, Hunter "can't resist a peek" and he sees that Olivia has scars covering her thighs, leading him to suspect that she is hiding a secret about her life in London. Of the moment, Banno commented "She understands more than anyone why he'd be shocked to see them. That's probably half the reason she's not quite ready to go down that path just yet." While Hunter does not saying anything at the time, he tells VJ what he saw. VJ uses the opportunity "to one-up" Hunter and assures Olivia that he is around if she wants to talk about her scars, leaving her embarrassed and angry.
Banno confirmed that her character has both emotional and physical scars, and that being able to share them with others takes time. She also said that Olivia is "trying to take each day as it comes." Irene soon finds out about the scars and during the ensuing confrontation, Olivia "freaks out" and runs off to the beach, where she collapses in tears. Olivia reveals that the reason she began self-harming was due to the sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of her uncle's friend. She admits to Irene that she was fearful of not being believed, so she did not tell anyone what was happening. The storyline led to the revelation that Irene was also sexually abused when she was younger, and had given birth to a child that was adopted out.
The storyline was revisited in April 2016, after Olivia has an abortion. Olivia struggles to cope and eventually starts self-harming again. Banno explained that it was Olivia's "natural coping mechanism" when she is faced with something traumatic. No one notices what Olivia is doing, as they are giving her space to deal with recent events. Banno said filming was "full-on", and she hoped that she brought "honesty and sincerity" to the scenes. She also praised the writers' decision to explore the issue of self-harm, as it was not often portrayed on television.
Olivia's sexual abuse storyline was also revisited after her former friend Tabitha Ford (Eliza Scanlen) pretends to be her abuser Kirk online. The incident brings up bad memories for Olivia and prompts her to go to the police to report both Tabitha and Kirk. Banno told an Inside Soap writer that Olivia believes that she can get justice. She continued, "It sounds like the right thing to do. But going through what happened comes with emotional baggage. It's a very vulnerable position for Olivia to be in – it's completely terrifying." With Irene's support, Olivia tells Sergeant Phillip McCarthy (Nicholas Cassim) about Tabitha's psychological abuse, but she cannot explain the details of Kirk's abuse and flees the station. Kat later finds Olivia and tells her about her the abuse she received from her former boyfriend. Kat encourages Olivia to return to the station and report Kirk.
Relationships Hunter King