Lionel Skeggins

John Leigh auditioned for the role in 1993 but was considered risky due to his relatively "old" age and lack of TV experience. Leigh recalls the casting director pondering why he had no television experience at 27 years old and concluding, "'He musn't be very good!'". Leigh reprised his role as Lionel for a cameo in the shows 25th anniversary in 2017, and the 30th anniversary in 2022. ==Storylines==

Lionel arrived briefly in 1993 to attend best friend Leonard Dodds' (Marton Csokas) wedding and annoyed many by getting the groom extremely intoxicated the night before the wedding. He returned the following year when Leonard and wife Gina (Josephine Davison) gave him the hospital cafe's management contract despite his career as a vet. Proving a hit with the staff due to his muffin shop, Lionel immediately fell in love with receptionist Kirsty Knight (Angela Dotchin). Despite the mutual spark, Kirsty was attracted to Greg (Tim Balme) and Lionel moved on. However by the end of the year, Kirsty and Greg had broken up and she realised she too had fallen in love with Lionel and the two got engaged. Despite Kirsty's ex-boyfriend Stuart's (Martin Henderson) attempts to stop the marriage, the couple married in early 1995 on a tugboat. Lionel fell into a coma after he digested bad drugs from Darryl's (Mark Ferguson) company and following his recovery, his marriage with Kirsty tightened. The two bought their first home and Kirsty helped in the cafe but due to stress around renovations, the marriage quickly deteriorated and they separated. By the end of the year the marriage was over when Kirsty suffered amnesia from a head injury and returned to Greg. Lionel started to date Grace (Lynette Forday) but as 1996 ended he and Kirsty finally reconciled. The relationship was short-term and an attempted reconciliation with Grace also fell through. Whilst talking through a divorce with Kirsty on a small plane, the two narrowly escaped death when it crashed. Realising their luck, they decided to maintain their friendship but ended their marriage legally. Only months later, Lionel realised he would never stop loving Kirsty but missed her by seconds as she left Ferndale before he could profess his true feelings. He was shocked to discover he had an illegitimate teenage son - Luke Billingham (Greg Freeman) and he started to date Mackenzie (Ingrid Park). The two married in 1999 but shortly after the wedding, Lionel discovered evidence to suggest his wife had tried to murder Oscar (Christopher Brown) for money and whilst trying to escape her, was washed off a rock. His body was never recovered and he was presumed dead, however his wallet was found. In 2017 Chris Warner (Michael Galvin) discovered Lionel in the hospital helping out following the volcanic eruption. Although confronted, Lionel appeared to be suffering from amnesia. 5 years later Chris recognised Lionel from afar as the marriage celebrant of Damo Johnson's (Grant Lobban) and Desdemona Schmidt's (Kura Forrester) wedding. ==Character development==

Characterisation Whilst at first appearing as an immature prankster, Lionel's second stint saw the character develop into a more sensitive character with "little-boy-lost" vulnerability. John Leigh described Lionel as likeable, stating; "Lionel is this great trier. That's why people have latched on to him. He doesn't have all the swankiness of the doctors – their money and their looks. A lot of people always see themselves as falling a bit short of the mark and everyone does in some way. People identity with this struggle." Several people involved in production were skeptical that the "Beauty and the Beast" storyline could actually work, finding it unlikely the glamorous Kirsty would be attracted to the clumsy Lionel. The couple were so successful a novel was released telling the two's story titled "Kirsty and Lionel - Shortland Street Books". The characters first began to share scenes when Kirsty was involved in a car crash that saw the deaths of TP Aleni (Elizabeth Skeen) and Steve Mills (Andrew Binns). Kirsty used Lionel as a shoulder to cry on and though Lionel was instantly smitten, Kirsty was not. Dotchin explained, "He's somebody who really looks after her, but it's not a blossoming romance. Lionel's not Kirsty's type, she doesn't see them together as a couple sexually. He's very much in love with her, but she's not in love with him." Nonetheless, several months later the two featured in one of the most iconic moments in the soap's history when the first ever cliffhanger featured on the soap centered around the wedding between the two being interrupted by Kirsty's past lover Stuart Neilson (Martin Henderson). The two got through the hiccup but after Kirsty was hit by a truck in another of the soap's iconic storylines, However the two reconciled and the 1996 season ended on their kiss. Luke debuted as a "shy, inarticulate country boy with an adventurous spirit" who shockingly revealed to Lionel that he was his son. Luke soon became a father with his teenage bride, Josie Bergman (Karamia Muller) at age 16, similarly to his father Lionel. ==Reception==

The character is remembered as hugely iconic and a fan favourite. He was named as one of the show's most successful comedic characters. Lionel was so well known, John Leigh was more recognized by some members of the public than Michael J. Fox. Lionel was voted as the 4th best character on the show in a 2002 article. with the reason given; "he was such a cuddly old romantic. Because as a cupcake, he was as sexy as a bran muffin." In 2017 New Zealand Herald columnist Ricardo Simich expressed his desire for Lionel to return for the soap opera's 25th anniversary. That same year stuff.co.nz journalist Fleur Mealing named Lionel as the 2nd character she most wanted to return for the show's 25th anniversary, citing her desire to determine whether he survived his apparent-death and for a chance to reunite with Kirsty. The storyline that saw Lionel's marriage to Kirsty being uplifted by Stuart Neilson has been named as an iconic episode. Rachel Lang listed Lionel and Kirsty's romance as one of her favourite storylines. Lionel's final scene has been hailed as iconic A 1995 episode saw Lionel come close to death after contracting tetanus and as a result, New Zealanders receiving tetanus shots that month more than doubled. The period surrounding Lionel's exit from the show, remains the highest rating episodes in the show's first 25 years. Lionel's return in 2017 was said to "surprise" fans. ==References==