Mike Young (Neighbours)

Mike is introduced as a school friend of Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan).[9] His official character's biography states that he is "a thoroughly nice young man. Scott Robinson recommends him for the job at the coffee shop which he does outside school hours. He is ambitious and hardworking, and often studies in the coffee shop."[1] He is also characterised as "a nice well adjusted young guy with a bright future."[10] Unbeknown to his friends, Mike and his mother Barbara (Rona McLeod; Diana Greentree) are physically abused by his father David Young (Stewart Faichney). This motivates Mike to take the job at the coffee shop, as he wants to earn enough money to get himself and his mother away from David.[1] His boss Daphne Lawrence (Elaine Smith) finds out about his situation and tries to help persuade Barbara to leave her husband, so she and Mike can start afresh, but Barbara is so afraid of David that she cannot make the break. Daphne later suggests that Mike comes to live with her and her partner Des Clarke (Paul Keane), who become his guardians.[10] The storyline led to Pearce receiving hundreds of letters from children, who confided in him, as Mike, about their own experiences with abusive parents.[11] He told Lou Anson of Aberdeen Press and Journal that some of them asked him to become their pen-pal, but he was only able to write back advising them to seek help. He also told Anson that until he joined Neighbours, he had no idea "such terrible things happened."[11]

Neil Wallis and Dave Hogan of The Neighbours Factfile noted that the child abuse "still haunts" Mike, who is later abandoned by his mother when she moves overseas following the death of his father.[9] As he settles into Ramsay Street, Mike dates Nikki Dennison (Charlene Fenn).[12] The Guardian's Patrick Barkham described him at this time as "the slightly square boy next door" and a "nice-but-lonely orphan".[13] Mike and Scott are the victims of "a cruel practical joke" by Sue Parker (Kate Gorman), who learns that they have written a pop song and sent it to a producer.[14] Sue poses as Molly Meldrum's secretary and invites them to come and sing the song in front of Molly. Scott and Mike re-record the song and tell all their friends at school. When they turn up at Molly's house, they soon learn the appointment is a hoax and Sue publicly gloats about what happened.[14] In March 1988, Pearce spoke to Eithne Power of the Radio Times about upcoming storylines for his character and stated "Mike will have developed a bit more by then. He certainly needs to. Though he's a good, responsible guy he goes really fuddy-duddy when it comes to girls. He can handle his work and his study and his friendships, but with girls he's a real twit. I'm all for that, it makes him more believable, rounds him out. Who needs someone who's got nothing left to learn?"[2]

One of the character's most notable storylines was his relationship with Jane Harris (Annie Jones).[10] Jane was introduced a few months after Mike and they formed a friendship group with Scott and Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue), which became popular with viewers and the media.[15] Author Josephine Monroe said that until Jane's arrival, Mike often felt like "a bit of a gooseberry" when he was with Scott and Charlene. Jane took "an instant shine" to Mike, but believed that he had not noticed her as she wore big glasses and was "a geeky brainbox".[10] However, Mike soon began paying her attention, despite receiving jibes from his school friends. One of the serial's most memorable plots occurred when Mike asked Jane to the school dance and she received a makeover from Daphne and Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy), which left him proud to escort his girlfriend to the dance.[10] The relationship initially faces opposition from Jane's grandmother Nell Mangel (Vivean Gray), and is tested by the return of Nikki, who tries to come between the couple, and Mike's jealously when he realises Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien) likes Jane, after they become lost in the bush together.[16] Monroe noted that Mike and Jane were good for each other, but they never seemed "madly in love" like Scott and Charlene, whose wedding they attended as best man and bridesmaid respectively.[10] Mike's interest in photography led to a modelling opportunity for Jane, after he took a photo of her that was selected to be the poster for the first Lassiters Girl.[10]

The relationship ends when Mike goes off to university and later meets Megan Downey (Michelle O'Grady), who tries to get him to move in with her.[17] Mike has "a change of heart" and then begins trying to win Jane back. Pearce told Patrice Fidgeon from TV Week: "He's been wooing her, sending her flowers and finally she gives in. I think she feels sorry for him and eventually realises she really does like him."[17] The former couple were not on good terms prior to working together taking test shots for a modelling campaign with Scott's help. After Scott decides to swim back to the shore after they become stranded at sea, Mike and Jane have a chance to resolve their past issues and Jane re-evaluates her feelings for Mike.[17] Fidgeon observed that it is clear both Mike and Jane care deeply for one another. Pearce told him that up to that point, their relationship had been "a fairly platonic one".[17] Jane is also dating pilot Glen Matheson (Richard Moss), who is much older than her, but she realises their relationship is not going to work and ends it. Mrs Mangel, who was not initially in favour of Mike dating her granddaughter, changes her mind about him following Jane's involvement with Glen.[17] Fidgeon speculated that Mike and Jane might follow in Scott and Charlene's footsteps and marry. Pearce refused to say how the relationship worked out, but was pleased with the direction his character was taking.[17]

Jane and Mike's relationship does not last, and she is later paired with Des. While preparing for Mike's birthday, Des helps Mike set up his own photography dark room. Jane also offers to help out, but she receives a big electric shock and Des saves her.[18] A romance soon develops between them, and Jones commented that "it builds towards a full on affair."[18] This results in end of her relationship with Mike, with Jones adding "Mike gets the flick, basically."[18] Producers then paired Mike with Bronwyn Davies (Rachel Friend) for a brief romance storyline.[19] Friend admitted to being scared in her "first encounter" with Pearce, but after kissing him she realised that while she was self-conscious, nobody took any notice.[19] Bronwyn soon chooses Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan) over Mike.[20] Mike later believes he and Jane have a chance of reconciling, but learns she is in love with Des.[20] When Jane is almost hit by a car, this makes Des realise how much he loves Jane and asks her to marry him.[20] While everyone is pleased for the couple, Mike is upset when he hears the news, as he realises that both of the women in his life have chosen other men over him.[20] While reflecting on her character's relationships in June 2022, Jones believed Mike was the love of Jane's life. She said Jane was heartbroken when he broke up with her, adding "There will always be a hole in her heart for Mike."[21]

Mike pursues a career as a school teacher at university and he returns to Erinsborough High on a student placement.[10] While there, Mike privately tutors 16 year old Jessie Ross (Michelle Kearley) and learns that she is being abused by her mother Adele Ross (Marian Sinclair). McCready and Furlong of Neighbours The Official Annual 1991 pointed out the story was ironic as Mike had also been the victim of paternal abuse.[22] Mike is angered when Jessie's father Ted Ross (Doug Bennett) learns what is happening and appears to be more concerned about his business reputation, rather than his daughter. McCready and Furlong stated "Even though he is only young, Mike has had enough experience to be able to deal with such dramatic incidents in a sensible way."[22] Mike later shares a kiss with Jessie in an empty classroom, but they are caught by principal Kenneth Muir (Roger Boyce) and he decides to take some time away.[10]

Pearce took a two month break from Neighbours in late 1988 to film a role in Heaven Tonight.[5] He confirmed that he was not leaving the show and had in fact signed for another year. He was grateful to Grundys for letting him go and writing him out of the scripts.[23] On-screen, Mike temporarily departs Erinsborough to tour with a jazz band.[24] Portraying Mike as a jazz musician came easy to Pearce, as he is a musician himself and enjoys playing and writing rock songs.[25] Upon his return, he is moody and becomes hostile towards Henry, who has moved into his home and is staying in Bronwyn's room. Mike later punches Henry.[26] The cause of Mike's bad mood is later revealed. Off-screen, he had met Jenny Owens (Danielle Carter), who seemed to share his sense of adventure.[24] Mike initially keeps their relationship a secret from his friends and their story is told through a dream sequence.[24] Pearce told Darren Devlyn of TV Week: "They zip around from town to town on Mike's motorbike... it's a bit thrill for them."[24] However, Mike "flirts with danger" and forgets his sense of responsibility when he goes to show Jenny a trick. Jenny loses her grip when Mike accelerates and she falls from the bike. Her spine takes the brunt of the fall and she becomes a paraplegic, who has to use a wheelchair.[24] Carter joined the cast for six weeks, as Mike spends time with Jenny at a convalescence home.[24] His feelings of guilt lead him to try and make her life more comfortable, and they eventually grow closer.[27]

In June 1989, David Brown and Patrice Fidgeon of TV Week reported that Pearce was set to quit Neighbours, along with Jones.[28] They reported that the pressure was on Pearce and Jones to stay following the departures of Minogue and Donovan, but Pearce wanted to prioritise his film and music careers. Brown and Fidgeon also reported that Network Ten wanted to keep the departures "under wraps" to minimise negative publicity in the lead up to the show's 1000th episode.[28] Pearce decided not to renew his contract when it ran out in October that year.[29] Pearce said Neighbours had opened a lot of doors for him, but he wanted more of a challenge. He explained "I've been doing Neighbours now for some three and a half years and when I stepped away for two months to do Heaven Tonight it was like I had to remember how to act again. You've always had to act in Neighbours, but you fall into a routine. I didn't have to think about what Mike does anymore, I just naturally do it."[29] Pearce had thought about leaving the show for around a year, and after starring in Heaven Tonight he realised that he wanted to continue making feature films.[30] He also felt that playing Mike had become stale and he had achieved everything he could from the role, stating "I've been incredibly lucky. It's been a really good launching pad and the best thing for me was that it was the first professional job I'd ever done on television, so I learned a great deal about working with cameras and direction."[30] On-screen, Des informs Mike that his mother has been injured in a plane crash and urges him to visit her. Marion MacDonald of The Sydney Morning Herald observed that Mike showed "an unfilial reluctance" to fly out to Barbara, as she had been a bad parent.[31] However, Mike eventually decides to leave Erinsborough to reconcile with her.[32] His exit aired in December 1989.[31]

When Neighbours was cancelled, Pearce discussed a hypothetical return with Donovan. In March 2022, producers approached Pearce with the invitation to reprise the role for few episodes in June that year. Pearce informed Donovan, who himself would soon reprise his famous role.[33]

On 3 June 2022, Duncan Lindsay of the Metro confirmed Pearce would be reprising his role for the Neighbours finale, following its cancellation earlier in the year.[34] He appears in the final three episodes, which air back-to-back on 28 July 2022.[35] Of his return, Pearce stated "It is very exciting and surreal at the same time being back on set again, however it feels like coming home. It's where it all started for me professionally. I've been asked to come back on occasions over the years and wondered if it was the right thing to do, but once I knew the show was finishing, I knew I had to do it."[34]

Executive producer Jason Herbison said Pearce was returning for "a very special story arc" and that he had been involved in the development of the storyline, which will answer the question "who is Mike Young today?"[34] Pearce later told Angela Bishop of Studio 10 that Mike's return sees him and his daughter relocate from Perth to Erinsborough.[36]

Pearce also revealed that his friend and fellow actor Kate Winslet was a fan of the show and his character, so he and the producers considered naming the mother of Mike's daughter after her. However, Pearce felt that was "a little personal" to him, as his former wife is called Kate, so they named her Rose, after Winslet's character in Titanic.[36]

In May 2023, following the series' return to production, Pearce indicated that he was in discussions to make a further appearance in order to provide closure to Mike's relationship with Jane.[37] His return was confirmed on Neighbours' social media accounts shortly after.[38][39]