Rosemary Daniels

Rosemary was introduced as the adopted daughter of Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy).[1] She was conceived by executive producer Reg Watson, as an alternative female character to the married and teenage females within the serial at the time.[2] Actress Joy Chambers auditioned for Watson and she said she was "delighted to land the role".[2] Chambers made her first appearance in early 1986, as "high-powered businesswoman" Rosemary returns to Erinsborough from New York to find her birth mother.[1] At the conclusion of the storyline, Chambers returned to her home in Bermuda. In November of that year, she filmed a further guest appearance, which aired in 1987.[1]

Commenting on her character's recurring status, Chambers told Jacqueline Lee Lewis of The Sydney Morning Herald: "The thing about Rosemary is she can come and go. She brings a bit of glamour to Ramsay Street in a way."[1] Chambers also said that she always looked forward to playing Rosemary, as she liked performing and enjoyed working with the show's cast members, including Haddy.[1] She thought that for Rosemary to keep returning, there needed to be a "good viable storyline", as she did not want her character to be written in just because she wanted to come back.[1]

Rosemary is the biological daughter of Heather Ambrose (Judith Graham). She is adopted by Bill and Helen Daniels, after Helen learns she cannot have any more children following the birth of their daughter Anne. Rosemary and Anne are opposites, Anne is interested in having a family and she marries Jim, while Rosemary decides to pursue a career and see the world. After a romantic fling with a business partner ends badly, Rosemary leaves for New York where she sets up the Daniels Corporation.

The Daniels Corporation becomes extremely successful and Rosemary comes back to Erinsborough to set up an Australian division. Rosemary makes her nephew, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) manager of the company and he begins making it a success in Australia and overseeing the take over of the Lassiter's Hotel chain. Helen falls for Rosemary's lover, Gerard Singer. Rosemary is devastated after discovering love letters from Gerard to her mother. When an old school friend of Rosemary's dies, Rosemary comes back for the funeral and is shocked to find that her friend had requested that Rosemary adopt her daughter, Tracey Dawson. As the two get to know each other, they realise that they have things in common and Tracey agrees to go to America with Rosemary.

Rosemary sleeps with married man Colin Burke (Robert Alexander), the husband of her mother's neighbour Dorothy (Maggie Dence). She later tells Helen that she would not have got involved with Colin if she had known he was married. Rosemary returns again for a visit and on her arrival, she discovers her brother in law, Jim, dead on the kitchen floor. Rosemary is not the first person to discover Jim, as his mistress Fiona Hartman (Suzanne Dudley) had been with him when he died. Rosemary is shocked to find that Helen had been thrown out of her home by Fiona and went to confront her. Fiona transfers all of Jim's money into her name and she lets Rosemary go into the kitchen to find him. Rosemary then tells the rest of the family about Jim's death. Rosemary invites Helen to stay with her in New York, but Helen declines and Rosemary leaves alone. Helen rings Rosemary a few months later for advice after finding out that Julie was not Jim's daughter and if Rosemary knew.

Helen and Gaby Willis (Rachel Blakely) go into business together and Helen asks for Rosemary's help. Rosemary becomes part of the business and plans to buy back Lassiter's and the Daniels Corporation into the family. She convinces Cheryl Stark (Caroline Gillmer) to sell her shares and she begins making plans to launch a new Lassiter's Hotel in Darwin. Following Julie Martin's (Julie Mullins) death, Rosemary invites Julie's stepdaughter, Debbie (Marnie Reece-Wilmore) to join her in New York. Rosemary falls for her personal assistant, Joel Supple (Bruce Hughes), and he comes to join her in Erinsborough. Rosemary is embarrassed by the age gap, but Helen gives Rosemary her blessing. The relationship ends when Debbie and Joel fall in love and begin an affair. Rosemary suffers a nervous breakdown when she finds out.

Rosemary is left heartbroken when Helen dies and she returns to Erinsborough for the funeral. Rosemary admits to Philip Martin (Ian Rawlings) that she feels guilty about not coming back sooner, but Philip tells her that Helen knew how much she loved her. On the eve of Helen's funeral, Rosemary makes her peace with Debbie. A year later, Rosemary returns and escorts her niece Hannah Martin (Rebecca Ritters) on a trip to France.

Rosemary was one of many ex-Ramsay Street residents invited back for Annalise Hartman's (Kimberley Davies) documentary about the street in 2005. Rosemary was also back because Paul was at his lowest ebb, having just lost his leg. Rosemary makes him an offer to buy back Lassiter's, which he declines. She then urges him to give something back to the community, before leaving once more.

In 2010, Diana Marshall (Jane Badler) arrives in Erinsborough to check up on Paul on behalf of the Daniels Corporation. A few days later, Diana sets up a video conference on her laptop with Rosemary, who is in New York. Diana tells Rosemary that she has evidence that Paul has been embezzling money from Lassiter's into Pirate Net. Diana suggests that they remove Paul from the business, but Rosemary tells her that could reflect badly on the company. She suggests that Paul was probably just fixing a temporary cash flow problem. Rosemary tells Diana to wait and to keep her updated. A few weeks later, Diana calls Rosemary again and tells her that she has secured a deal to sell PirateNet. She tells Rosemary that she has done the deal to protect Paul and Rosemary tells her that she is grateful. Diana then tells Rosemary that she thinks it is important that she stays on, but Rosemary tells her she will book her a flight home. Paul tells Rosemary about his marriage problems over the phone and she lets him take six months away from Lassiter's. Rosemary tells Paul that she will let Diana stay on, but Paul tells her he has arranged for Declan Napier (Erin Mullally) to run the business. Paul sets up a video call with Rosemary and tells her that Diana is planning something. Rosemary says that Diana should be on her way home and that she sent her to help. Rosemary reveals that she knows about Paul's embezzlement, shocking him. Paul tells her that he thinks Diana is going to stage a coup, and Rosemary says that they must act fast. Paul later reveals to Diana that Rosemary has fired her.

Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture called for Rosemary's return in a feature about how to get the magic back into Neighbours. Deller said "Bring back some of the past characters, either for guest stints, or long-term. Although don't go mad on this one. Top of our list would be Lucy Robinson, Rosemary Daniels for her obligatory every other year visit and the Alessi twins".[13] In a separate feature, Deller called Rosemary a "business-lady-extraordinaire".[14]

British satellite broadcasting company, Sky called Rosemary one of "the last remaining links back to proper old school Neighbours" along with Lou Carpenter and Paul Robinson.[15] They also called her the Belinda Slater of Ramsay Street.[15] The BBC said that Rosemary's most notable moment was when she "discovered that her fiancée Gerard Singer dumped her for her mother Helen."[16]