Shauna Bradley

In February 1999, shortly after she had moved back to Canberra, Watson landed an audition for Home And Away. She initially decided not to attend the audition because she did not think she would get the part. However, her agent told her to go and she won the role of Shauna. Watson revealed "Suddenly I had this opportunity thrown at me, that I'd always dreamed of, and I felt great. I came back to Sydney to start filming in June." As Home and Away was her first acting job, Watson's agent booked her into some acting classes. She commented "I think I was really bad, to be honest, at the beginning. But like anything if you really put your mind to it and love what you do, you invest the time to grow and educate yourself and I did do that." Watson made her first appearance as Shauna in August that same year. ==Development==

Characterisation Shauna's "natural skill and ability" at lifesaving began when she was five. She then entered various competitions during her teenage years and progressed to the professional lifesaving circuit. An Inside Soap reporter commented that the last thing Alf expected was for Vinnie to employ a woman, least of all one "as feisty" as Shauna. Shauna's mother, Margaret (Sonja Tallis), also comes to the Bay and Shauna asks her why she does not have any baby photos of her. Margaret tries to deflect the question by telling her that she did not have a camera then, but Shauna calls her a liar. She was raped by a warden and her cellmate, Kate, organised for her sister to adopt Shauna. Watson told Herbison "Shauna only discovered that Ailsa was her mum a few months ago, so in her case, she's terribly sad but at the same time grateful that they were able to spend some time together." Relationships portrayed Shauna's love interest, Jude Lawson. A physical attraction develops between Shauna and Harry Reynolds (Justin Melvey), which eventually turns into a "rocky romance". Shauna realises that Harry is keeping a secret and her instincts tell her that she cannot trust him. Watson stated that the most important elements in a relationship are honesty and respect, so Shauna decides to back off from him for a while. Shauna chooses to give Harry some space and he eventually chooses to stay with her. Gavin flirts with Shauna, but he is interrupted by the arrival of his wife and daughter. Shauna begins dating Jude Lawson (Ben Steel). When he asks her to move in with him, she refuses due to her fear of commitment. Watson explained "Shauna's condition is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. It's generally found in athletes when there's too much pressure on the heart." The actress revealed that Shauna is shocked because sport and her job as a lifeguard mean everything to her. She is prevented from assisting in rescues and has to undergo surgery to have a pacemaker fitted. Shauna then learns that the condition is hereditary, meaning she could pass it on to her children. Her family also need to be tested and Watson described the situation as "a total nightmare for Shauna." ==Storylines==

Shauna arrives in Summer Bay and applies for a permanent lifesaver job. Vinnie Patterson conducts the interview and he hires Shauna because she is attractive. However, she also turns out to be good at the job. Adam Cameron (Mat Stevenson) flirts with Shauna and suggests she move into the spare room at the place he is staying. Shortly after she moves in, Shauna finds someone is stealing her clothes and watching her. She suspects Adam and the new high school teacher, Harry, until the culprit is revealed to be her old flatmate, Jillian Williams (Alexandra Davies). Shauna develops feelings for Harry and they begin dating. When Christian (John Atkinson), a hitman, is sent after Harry, he reveals that he is a research scientist in witness protection. Christian takes Shauna hostage, but she and Harry manage to overcome him. Harry's ex-fiancée, Alison, arrives in the Bay and declares her intention to get Harry back. Shauna refuses to fight Alison for Harry and he ultimately decides to stay with her. Shauna asks Harry to move out of the share house when he humiliates her during a self-defence demonstration and she invites Sally Fletcher and Leah Poulos (Ada Nicodemou) to move in. Shauna's aunt Kate comes to stay, followed by her mother, Margaret. Shauna asks why there are no baby pictures of her and Margaret confesses that she adopted her. Knowing that Kate knew Ailsa Stewart, Shauna realises Ailsa is her biological mother. Ailsa admits that she fell pregnant with Shauna in prison and gave her to Kate to raise, but Kate agreed to let Margaret and her husband adopt her instead. Shauna eventually bonds with Ailsa and her brother, Duncan (Brendan McKensy). Harry and Shauna break up and she begins an affair with Gavin Campbell. When Gavin's wife, Alicia (Caroline Brazier) is found dead, both Shauna and Gavin suspect each other of killing her. Before they can make up, a landslide buries the Stewart house. Gavin helps rescue Shauna, Ailsa, Duncan and Jade Sutherland (Kate Garven), but he dies when the house is destroyed. While out running one day, Shauna collapses. She is diagnosed with a heart condition that requires her to have a pacemaker fitted. Ailsa dies of a heart attack and Shauna is grateful for the time they spent together. Shauna begins a relationship with Jude Lawson and works hard to bond with his brother, Noah (Beau Brady). While Alf lets Shauna stay on the life saving team, he forbids her to take part in any rescues due to her heart condition. She eventually resigns and decides to take up teaching. Shauna is stalked by Kane Phillips (Sam Atwell) and kidnapped by his brother, Scott (Nathaniel Dean). Kane realises Scott intends to kill Shauna and he unties her. Jude asks Shauna to move in with him, but she asks him to marry her instead. Shauna develops feelings for Flynn Saunders (Martin Dingle-Wall) and she tries to make a move on him. However, Flynn is not interested. Jude becomes angry with Shauna and she decides to take a job in Melbourne. A year later, Shauna returns to the Bay to take care of Alf after he suffers a heart attack. Although Jude is dating Charlotte Adams (Stephanie Chaves-Jacobsen), he and Shauna realise they still have feelings for each other and get back together, before departing for Melbourne. ==Reception==

For her portrayal of Shauna, Watson earned a nomination for Most Popular New Female Talent at the 2000 Logie Awards. Karman Kregloe of AfterEllen called Shauna "sassy", while ''The People's Sharon Marshall branded her "feisty". Andrew Mercado, author of Super Aussie Soaps, said Shauna was a "sexy lifesaver". A writer for Inside Soap'' commented that Shauna's relationship with Harry had "more ups and downs than a kangaroo on a trampoline." ==References==