Donna Freedman

Donna Freedman
Neighbours character
File:DonnaFreedman.jpg Margot Robbie as Donna Freedman
Portrayed by	Margot Robbie
First appearance	2 June 2008 Episode 5466
In-universe information Occupation Year 12 student at Erinsborough High Parents Matt Freedman (father), Cassandra Freedman (mother) Elle Robinson (adoptive mother) Siblings Simon Freedman (brother) Tegan Freedman (sister)

Donna Freedman is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She is portrayed by Margot Robbie. She made her first appearance in episode 5466, and was introduced as the stalker of musician Ty Harper (portrayed by Dean Geyer), but has since revealed deep insecurities and a desire for friends. She attends Erinsborough High and lives with Elle Robinson on Ramsay Street.

Background

Donna's parents are currently in the middle of a divorce. The whereabouts of her father, Sergeant Matt Freedman (Benjamin Grant Mitchell) are unknown and her mother "has taken disappointment to a professional level". Donna also calls her parents by their first names as it makes her life easier if she thinks of them as "badly behaved kids", rather than her parents. She has a competitive streak, due to her mother always trying to outshine her, which causes her to have no female friends, and is too out of control to have romantic relationships. Due to all of this, she has a music dream, which leads her to her obsession with Ty. She is described as brittle, awkward and unscrupulous, though she is also warm, vulnerable, loving, charming and playful. She tries to hard to make friends, which leads to people misunderstanding her and labeling her as strange. Donna has stated herself to be bisexual.

Arrival

Donna made her first appearance at Charlie's, when she was trying to talk to Ty, however her presence was not well received by him, as he explained to Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) that she had been hanging around him for over a year. To try to get rid of Donna, Rachel agreed to pretend to be Ty's girlfriend. She later returned when Charlie's had kissing booths set up for a fundraiser. Donna purchased tickets to Ty's stall, however Rachel saved Ty by making him swap places with Ringo Brown (Sam Clark). In order to try to get closer to Ty, she later told Rachel to let Ty know that she was doing work experience at a record company and wanted to try to get Ty a record contract.

Rachel Kinski and Ty Harper

She also tried to bond with Rachel through Ringo, by spending time with him and questioning him about aspects of Rachel's life. During this, Ringo accidentally tells Donna about Rachel's relationship with her teacher, Angus Henderson (Jonathan Wood), however he later backed off and dropped the subject. While spending time with Ringo, Donna was caught out by Rachel trying on her jacket, leaving Rachel freaked out. While volunteering with the fire service, cutting down trees, she was seen wearing a wig to try and match Rachel's hair, raising further questions about Donna's motives. She also tried to convince Ty that the music executives loved his demo CD, and thinks that they can work together, however Ty rejected Donna, leaving her distressed.

Bush Fire

The bush that was being cleared up later suffered from a bushfire, with suspicions that it was started by a fire bug. Rumours were being spread around that it was Donna who started the fire, as she was seen acting unstably at the time. She later told the police that she knows who started the fire. While she was at the police station, Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) arrived to take notes on Donna's story, however she couldn't tell a clear story and kept on changing aspects of it, leaving Toadie to be suspicious about her. He told her that this is the reason why the police don't believe her, however he said that despite he didn't believe that she saw someone, he believed that she didn't commit the crime.

Counseling and changing schools

Toadie got local school counsellor Dan Fitzgerald (Brett Tucker) to counsel her. Donna told Dan that she found it hard to make friends, as everyone pushes her away, including her parents. She asked Dan to continue to counsel her, though Dan declined and said that seeing as she wasn't a student at his school, she should talk to the school counsellor from her school, Edens Hill Grammar. Instead she chose to change schools to Erinsborough High. She has recently admitted she had lesbian experiences.

Nicola West's Accident and Dad

Donna, whilst upset one day, stole her father's police car and accidentally hit Nicola West and her dog. Nicola was thrown from the road so Donna did not see her and believed she had only injured the dog. Donna felt dreadful, especially when she realised that she had hit Nicola as well. She revealed all to Ringo, who told her they should go to the police, but when she told her father - a policeman - he forced her to keep quiet and attempted to cover it up. He tried to frame Lucas Fitzgerald for the accident instead, but eventually Donna owned up after her father attacked Ringo and her father was arrested. However, he skipped bail, leaving Donna alone.

Relationship with Elle Robinson

Elle supported Donna whilst her father tried to frame Lucas for the car accident, as she knew the truth from the beginning. Donna and Elle grew closer, with Elle often being there for Donna and Donna attempting to help her new friend with her love life. After Donna's father left town, she moved in with Elle, who now cares for Donna as a temporary guardian, meaning that Donna is officially a Ramsay Street resident. The two were also in a minor car accident after Elle bought a faulty car from a dodgy dealer. Donna was mostly uninjured while Elle sprained her ankle, but Elle lied to the police in order to protect Donna after the dealer threatened her and those she cared about. The car dealer was eventually caught. Elle has become motherly toward Donna, being caring and protective. She is the first Ramsey Street resident to find out that either Donna, Rachel or Bridget is pregnant. She is relieved to find out that it is not Donna and gives helpful advice, Elle is just like a sister to Donna.

Ringo Brown

Ringo has been attracted to Donna since meeting her, and gradually Donna began to return his feelings. However, her insecurities regarding how people, particularly boys, view her along with her problems with her father meant that it took a long while before they started a relationship. Though they grew closer as Ringo supported Donna through her family problems, small incidents kept getting in the way of them getting together. Donna became a cheerleader in order to try and get Ringo's attention, thinking that that is the way to a boy's heart. Eventually, they talked properly, but there were still difficulties as Donna expected Ringo to want a physical relationship and then leave her, a view she had due to previous relationships. Ringo wanted their, and his, first time to be special, but Donna thought he was rejecting her. Eventually however, they did sleep together and Donna still expected Ringo to no longer care for her. Ringo proved her wrong however, and they began a relationship in October 2008. Soon after, Donna suspected that she could be pregnant, along with her two friends, Rachel Kinski and Bridget Parker. However, tests revealed that only Bridget was pregnant.

Brother and Sister

In December, Donna's brother and sister, Simon and Teagan, will arrive. The reason is unknown. Simon and Teagan have just appeared on Australian screens and caused Elle trouble in The General Store (now Harold's Store) and then turn up on Elle's doorstep looking for Donna. They will appear on UK screens in February 2009.

Mother

In February 2009, Donna's mum, Cassandra, will arrive on Ramsay street. Little is known about Cassandra, except that she had a number of affairs culminating in her separation from Matt. Donna pins the blame for her present situation solely on Cassandra.

Donna's mum as mentioned has a competitive nature and is always trying to beat her daughter. In a future episode of neighbours her mum flirts with Ringo making him uneasy around her and Donna. Donna then has a dream that Cassandra and Ringo sleep together.

External links

• Donna Freedman character profile at Neighbours official site