Clive Gibbons is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Geoff Paine. Paine was spotted by the Reg Grundy Organisation and offered the role of Clive. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 21 January 1986. Clive's storylines included running a gorillagram agency, setting up a gardening business, saving Lucy Robinson's life and falling in love with Susan Cole. Paine decided not to renew his contract, as he feared being typecast and felt the role was no longer believable. He departed Neighbours on 27 February 1987, but made a brief return in 1989. Paine reprised the role 28 years later, and Clive returned on a semi-regular basis from 9 March 2017. He was reintroduced as the chief operating officer of Erinsborough Hospital. Paine felt that Clive had matured during his time away from Erinsborough, but said his "cheeky side" would still appear every so often. He was restored to the series' main cast in July 2020 and appeared in the final episode of the original run of Neighbours on 28 July 2022.
Casting Neighbours marks Paine's first professional acting role. The Grundy Organisation discovered him while he was performing in a college production at the Victoria Arts Centre, and they asked him to come in for a screen test, before offering him the role of Clive.Oram, James, p. 119 Paine almost turned down the role as he looked down on acting in a soap.Apsley, Brenda, Hopwood, Clive and Pemberton, Nick, p. 46 He said "I suppose at the time I was a bit too idealistic about the world of acting. Playing a messenger in a gorilla suit might not be King Lear, but at least it pays the rent." Paine later explained that he was reluctant to take the role because of credibility with soap operas. But he was encouraged to take the opportunity and do what he could with the part. He also knew that his experience on Neighbours would be invaluable due to its fast production and high publicity.
Development Characterisation Stephen Cook of TV Week wrote that Clive was unusual, as his life was not beset with romances and traumas that were typically associated with other TV bachelor characters. He called him "a thoroughly 'normal' guy, a young man having a good time and trying to find his niche in life." Paine asked producers not to give his character a romantic storyline straight off, so he would have a chance to enter the series and develop on his own. He told Cook that Clive is trying to work out what he wants to do with his life, which is all he can think about, not that he is not interested in romance.
Little is known about Clive when he arrives in Erinsborough, except that he runs a gorillagram agency. Later scenes explored his fictional backstory and revealed that Clive is the son of a wealthy doctor, and he too had a medical career, but became disillusioned with it. He performs an emergency tracheotomy on Lucy Robinson (Kylie Flinker) when she is stung by a bee. Paine explained, "Clive tried to reject his medical history, but it was thrown back at him when he had to perform the tracheotomy on Lucy. But he wasn't worried about doing the operation; he just did it." Paine also told Cook that Clive has cut himself off from his family and rejected the lifestyle they set up for him. He is taking responsibility for himself and enjoys the freedom he now has. He added, "But he's a serious guy who has made a serious decision to have some fun."
Josephine Monroe, author of Neighbours: The First 10 Years, said Clive brought a breath of fresh air to Ramsay Street when he moved in. She described the character as "one of life's eccentrics" and said he took care of people and often lured them into his latest harebrained scheme.Monroe, Josephine, p. 15 Simon Plant from the Herald Sun said Clive was "mild-mannered". Dave Hogan and Neil Wallis of The Neighbours Factfile said Clive was "cheerful and slightly wacky."Wallis, Neil and Hogan, Dave, p70 They called him the "court jester" of Ramsay Street, and said he was the model on which the character of Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan) was based.Wallis, Neil and Hogan, Dave, p77 Clive's gorillagram agency outraged some of neighbours, particularly Max Ramsay (Francis Bell).
Following the character's 2017 return, Paine thought Clive was "a different man". Where the younger Clive was "happy-go-lucky", the older Clive has matured and become more conservative. Paine confirmed that Clive's "cheeky side" would still appear every so often. He also said that he enjoys playing the character, as he is "fun and irreverent".
Departure After little more than a year in the role, Paine decided not to renew his contract after fearing that he may be typecast. He also wanted to develop his acting abilities in stage productions, having gone straight from drama school to Neighbours. His departure was publicised in the 8 November 1986 edition of TV Week, where Stephen Cook reported that Paine had quit the serial and would finish up when production took a break at the end of the year, with his final scenes airing in early 1987. Paine's decision came shortly after co-star Peter O'Brien left to take a role in The Flying Doctors on a rival network. Network 10 tried to keep Paine's departure a secret and he was not allowed to speak to TV Week about his exit. Paine later explained that Clive was too nice and the role was no longer believable. He said, "Clive was becoming just too good to be true. I mean, the guy was only 24 but he spent every spare minute either fixing someone's love life or Daphne's coffee machine." He did not regret leaving the show despite its popularity at the time, and was pleased with the career direction he took. In July 1989, Kevin Sadlier of The Sydney Morning Herald said that during research for an article on the show's 1000th episode, he heard of a plan to bring back a popular cast member from the previous year, and speculated that it was Paine. Paine went on to make a brief return later that year.
Reintroduction In a December 2016 interview with Daniel Kilkelly of Digital Spy, Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison teased the return of a series regular from 1986 to 1987. Herbison said the character would return in a recurring capacity and would be seen in "a work environment". Paine's management later confirmed that he had reprised his role as Clive. Paine told Johnathon Hughes of the Radio Times that he had enquired about a return through his agent and the show's producers agreed to bring the character back. Paine also said that he had been asked to return numerous times since his departure, but he had always been busy with his acting career or personal life.
Clive made his return during the episode broadcast on 9 March 2017. He was introduced as the Chief operating officer (COO) of Erinsborough Hospital. Paine said that in his time away from Erinsborough, Clive had "matured and is bit more buttoned up", but he wants to "re-establish a part of his life that he enjoyed, which was his time in Ramsay Street." Speaking about Clive's friendly rivalry with Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), whom he was once in a love triangle with, Paine said that they would have "their moments", but Clive would not be a push over, especially as he holds a senior position career-wise, while Paul is something of "a wheeler dealer" and tends to get what he wants. He thought it would be interesting to see how they get on during the future.
The character was added to the opening titles in July 2020 despite not being a full-time cast member. Herbison stated that Paine will continue appearing on a semi-regular basis, but Clive was added to the titles due to his popularity, adding "We've included him in the titles to reflect Dr Clive's importance to the community and we know the fans wanted it too – including fan club president Colette Mann!"
Relationship with Sheila Canning Paine teased a potential romance for Clive following his reintroduction, commenting "anything is possible". Shortly after, a relationship was established between Clive and Sheila Canning (Colette Mann). Both actors were glad to be paired up for the storyline, as they had previously worked together in a stage production and had known each other for a number of years. The couple get off to a bad start when Clive wrongly accuses Sheila's granddaughter Xanthe Canning (Lily Van Der Meer) of stealing hospital medication. They clash a few more times, before Clive asks Sheila out on a date as he thinks she is "fiery, and a bit barmy." Mann commented that Sheila loves that Clive is the COO of the Erinsborough Hospital, but she is wary of his intellect. Paine thought Clive and Sheila were very different people, but found that Sheila "harks back to Clive’s gorilla-gram days, she loosens him up and brings out his cheeky side, and she enjoys the affection that comes back her way. The relationship has happened organically through our chemistry. Clive describes Sheila as provocative and irritating but he's enjoying being with her!" Clive and Sheila's relationship is initially short lived, after she receives a letter from a former partner, who is ill and wants to see her. Mann confirmed that Herbison had promised to reintroduce Clive into Sheila's life "with a big bang". Their new relationship lasts until 2021 and Clive begins dating Jane Harris (Annie Jones).
Character reflection Upon the news that Neighbours would be concluding in July 2022, Paine told Digital Spy of filming the finale, "It's a tad emotional, I've got to say. As you get closer to the end of everything, you realise you'll be finishing up a storyline, or that might be the last time you work with a particular director or actor. We are having those moments where they will say 'that's the final scene for this director, or this crew member'. It is emotional, but of course we can't stop, so it's also ramping up. We don't have that luxury of three more months to tie things up. There is an end date and we just have to build to it, shoot and get everything in the can. The work is happening, but there is that background bass note that it is coming to an end." Paine explained that announcement of the show's cancellation was and was not a surprise for him, since it had been teased in the months beforehand. Teasing Clive's part in the final episode, Paine explained, "Things don't always run smoothly in the world and Clive is no exception to that rule. He will have some challenges before the end of the show."