Ken arrives in Summer Bay after spotting his estranged daughter
Hayley's (
Bec Cartwright) entry in art competition along with her photo and decides to get in contact with his children again. Hayley is pleased to see him again but his son
Will (
Zac Drayson) is not as Ken is an alcoholic who mistreated him in the past during his fragile marriage to Will's mentally unstable mother,
Eve (Robyn Gibbes). Ken falls for Will and Hayley's foster mother,
Irene Roberts (
Lynne McGranger) and Will is worried Ken will hurt her. When Irene lines up a job interview for the position of Janitor at Summer Bay High, Ken is grateful but he falls asleep on the beach and misses the interview and arrives at school drunk much the horror of his children. Will and Hayley tell Ken to leave until he sorts himself out and he leaves. Ken returns to the Bay several months later a changed man and resumes his relationship with Irene. Will is still unconvinced and seemingly catches Ken drinking alcohol with his boss
Jack Brown (
Paul Chubb). However, Ken explains that he poured the beer away while Jack wasn't looking and Will eventually forgives him. Ken settles in the Bay permanently and he takes over
Jesse McGregor's (
Ben Unwin) garage. And he can also convince his youngest son
Nick (
Chris Egan) to come and live with them so the family is reunited. Ken proposes to Irene and she accepts, but Nick is resistant to the reunion and believes Ken is trying to erase Eve's memory. After Eve escapes the asylum and menaces Irene, she is arrested and Nick begins to accept Irene and Ken's relationship. Several days before the wedding, while Ken and Will are working together in the garage, Ken is under the car when the jack slips and is crushed as a result. Will panics and sends
Tasha Mills (Georgie Shew) for help but by the time help arrives, Ken dies as a result of his injuries. Will blames himself for his father's death. Ken then reappears as a vision to Hayley when she attends the launch of
Donald Fisher (
Norman Coburn) book, she helped illustrate. He next appears in a dream when Nick runs away from home and spends the night at the garage which is about to be demolished and tells him that Irene would understand. He also seen in a childhood video with his children. Ken's final appearance to date is as a vision to Hayley, when she marries
Noah Lawson (
Beau Brady). He tells her would not have missed the wedding and walks her down the aisle. ==Reception==