Storylines
While he was in High School, Lou met and fell in love with Madge Ramsay, however he had a rival for her affections in the form of Harold Bishop. Madge eventually chose to marry Fred Mitchell (Nick Waters) and moved away with him. Lou became a wealthy man due to his various businesses and he went on to marry Kathy. The couple had two children, Guy (Andrew Williams) and Lauren (Sarah Vandenbergh), but they later divorced. When Lou hears Madge is planning to marry Harold, he tries to stop the wedding and ask Madge to marry him instead. Madge turns Lou down and he returns to Brisbane, where he marries a younger woman named Linda (Gina Gaigalas). The marriage does not last. Months later, Harold is swept out to sea and presumed dead and Lou comforts Madge. He follows her to Erinsborough, on the pretense of visiting his sister, Brenda (Genevieve Lemon). Lou decides to stay in Erinsborough and he opens a used car business. He also begins dating Madge and they get engaged. They break up when Lou realises Madge does not trust him around other women.
Lou rents out some rooms in his home to Beth Brennan (Natalie Imbruglia), Cameron Hudson (Benjamin Grant Mitchell) and Annalise Hartman (Kimberley Davies). Lou and Annalise begin dating and they become engaged, but Lou is shocked when he learns Annalise is only seventeen. Lou ends the relationship. Benito Alessi (George Spartels) becomes Lou's partner at the car yard, but he sells his shares to Jim Robinson (Alan Dale). Following Jim's death, Lou is displeased to discover Julie Martin (Julie Mullins) is his new partner. However, Julie increases sales and Lou is grateful. Lauren comes to stay and Rick Alessi (Dan Falzon) also moves in, becoming a surrogate son to Lou. Lou meets Cheryl Stark (Caroline Gillmer) and they eventually begin a relationship. They move in together and Cheryl becomes pregnant. She gives birth to a daughter, who she and Lou name Louise (Jiordan Anna Tolli). Not long after, Lou learns he has another daughter, Ling Mai Chan (Khym Lam), from a previous relationship. Lou gets a radio show on a local station and becomes Mayor of Erinsborough. Lou and Cheryl get into debt and they sell the car yard, but retain The Waterhole pub.
Lou and Cheryl break up when he learns she had an affair. Lou moves away, but when Cheryl writes to him, he returns to Erinsborough to try to mend the relationship. However, he is devastated to learn Cheryl has died after being hit by a car. Lou moves back to Ramsay Street to care for Louise and run the pub. Harold turns up alive and Madge decides to return to Ramsay Street. Lou opens a restaurant and goes into partnership with Ben Atkins (Brett Cousins) at a garage, which is named Carpenters Mechanics. Ben leaves and Lou hires Drew Kirk (Dan Paris). Lou decides to sell up and retire when he has a heart attack, but he changes his mind. Lou briefly dates Carol Maitland (Helen Trenos), but realises he is not over Cheryl. Lou buys Number 30 as an investment, but angers the tenants – Toadfish Rebecchi, Sarah Beaumont (Nicola Charles) and Joel Samuels (Daniel MacPherson) – by putting up the rent. Lou falls in love with Merridy Jackson (Suzi Cato) and becomes addicted to painkillers, following back surgery. Madge dies from cancer and Lou turns to the painkillers to numb his grief. He later gets help for his addiction and attends narcotics anonymous.
Lou is shocked when John Allen (Adrian Mulraney) claims to have had an affair with Cheryl and fathered Louise. Lou has a DNA test done, but the results confirmed John is Louise's father, devastating Lou. Following a custody hearing, John is given full custody of Louise, with Lou getting visitation rights. Lou and Harold compete for the affections of Rosie Hoyland and move in together. Rosie admits she would like to pursue a relationship with Lou and they begin dating. Lou and Rosie later break up and decide to remain friends. Lou develops kidney failure and Harold offers to donate one of his kidneys to him. Lou initially rejects the offer, but later changes his mind. Lou becomes friends with Valda Sheergold (Joan Sydney) and employs her at the pub. Lou develops feeling for Valda, but nothing happens as Valda leaves town. Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt) becomes a partner in the pub and Lou meets and marries Trixie Tucker (Wendy Stapleton). Lou invests in a production of Hello Dolly for Trixie, but the show is cancelled due to poor ticket sales and Lou loses his money and his wife. Lou gets into debt to Rocco Cammeniti (Robert Forza) and decides to flee town. His car breaks down in the Bush and he almost dies after slipping down a slope, but he is rescued.
Lou sells his properties and begins fixing horse races for Rocco. He is arrested and sent to prison, but is later released following an appeal led by Toadie. Lou goes into business with Harold and they open the General Store. He also meets Mishka Schneiderova (Deborah Kennedy) online and when she comes to Australia, they enter into a relationship. Mishka is later forced to leave the country by immigration officers. Louise (now played by Adelaide Kane) comes to stay with Lou and admits her stepmother has been abusing her. The situation is sorted out and Louise returns to John. Harold decides to leave and invites Lou to go travelling with him, Lou declines and he moves in with the Parker family, becoming a grandfather figure to Mickey Gannon. Lou sells the General Store to Marco Silvani (Jesse Rosenfeld) and Frazer Yeats (Ben Lawson), who keep him on as an employee. Frazer goes to Italy and Marco dies, leaving the Store in the hands of Carmella Cammeniti (Natalie Blair) and Lou. Harold returns and is diagnosed with cancer, he also suffers a heart attack. Lou helps his friend through the recovery process and joins him on his journey to Queensland.
A few months later, Lou returns and becomes the guardian of Kate Ramsay (Ashleigh Brewer) and her siblings, Harry (Will Moore) and Sophie (Kaiya Jones). Lou tries internet dating and almost goes on a date with Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha). Kate tries to get Lou and Terry Kearney (Peter Moon) to be friends, but when they meet, they instantly dislike each other. Lou plays mediator when a feud occurs between the Kennedy and Scully families. He decides to purchase the car yard next to Carpenter's Mechanics and uses Karl Kennedy's pet Galah, Dahl, in his advertisements. Karl and Lou then begin competing with each other for Dahl and Karl wins his pet back. Lou, Kate and Sophie invite Lucas Fitzgerald (Scott Major) to move in. Lou wins the Citizen of the Year Award after competing against Karl and Susan (Jackie Woodburne). Lou hires Kyle Canning (Chris Milligan) at the car yard, but when Kyle realises Lou does not trust him to close a sale, he quits. Lou apologises and gives Kyle a pay rise.
Harold comes back to Ramsay Street and introduces his fiancee, Carolyn (Paula Duncan), to Lou. Lou thinks Carolyn is stuck up and she is against his idea of a buck's night. Harold gets them to compromise on a joint party at Charlie's bar. Lou tells Susan he would like to meet someone too in the future. After losing out to Lou during a car selling competition, Kyle quits his job again. Harold and Carolyn become concerned with Lou's workload, but he assures them he is fine. Lou collapses and is told that he suffered an electrolyte imbalance. Harold tells Lou to start taking his health seriously and Lou confesses that he cannot give up work as he is broke. Lou decides to sell the car yard stock and invests in Kyle's handyman business. Lou leaves for East Timor to help build schools for children. On his return, Lou notices there is tension between Kate and Sophie. Kate tells him Sophie has a crush on an older boy and has been acting out. When Toadie reveals a development company wants to buy out Dial-A-Kyle, Lou decides to accept the offer.
Lucas tells Lou he will not be accepting the offer for his garage and Lou urges him to change his mind, as he has just purchased a cruise. Lou goes to the hospital and asks Rhys Lawson (Ben Barber) to check him over to see if he has a medical condition that will get him out of the contract for the cruise. However, Rhys cannot find anything wrong and he refuses to lie for Lou. A few weeks later, Lou returns from his cruise and tells Lucas and Emilia Jovanovic (Freya Stafford) that he hurt his neck playing shuffleboard on a wet deck. Lucas discovers Lou is faking his injury to claim compensation from the insurance company. Lou meets with Wendy Anderson (Sharon Fenech), an insurance assessor and tries to convince her his injury is real. However, Toadie ruins his scam and Lou decides to help Kyle out with the business accounts. Kate discovers that Lou has stolen $8000 from Kyle, but she tells Kyle that it was a mistake, while Lou starts looking for a part-time job. Lou attends a mature dance class at the community centre and he meets Vera Munro (Marie-Therese Byrne), a rich widow. Vera invites him to accompany her to a wedding and Lou states that his best shoes are not in a good condition, Vera then offers to buy him a new pair. Lou contacts Vera and tells her he lost his wallet containing his rent money at the wedding. Vera replaces the money he has lost, but Sheila Canning (Colette Mann) reveals that Lou still has his wallet. Lou gives the money back and Vera tells him she would have been happy to pay for his company, before leaving. Lou decides to become a male escort, while Kate reveals she paid back the money he took from Kyle. Kate sets Lou up with Dawn Ballantyne (Marita Wilcox), who pays for his company. Lou has to pretend to be an English gentleman, but Dawn later confesses that she knows he is not. She also invites him to spend two months in England with her. Upon his return, Lou finds the Kapoor family have moved into Number 24. He asks Kate and Lucas for a room, but they turn him down. Lou decides to inform Kyle about taking his money, but Kate tells him not to. When Kyle offers him a place to stay, Lou decides against taking it due to his guilt. He then tells Kyle the truth about the money and Kyle asks him to leave. Kyle forgives Lou and they make up, but Sheila has a go at him. Vanessa Villante (Alin Sumarwata) later offers Lou a room at Number 32 and he decides to sell his share of Dial-A-Kyle. Lou takes up painting as a hobby and creates an abstract piece, which he submits to an exhibition at the community centre. He is disappointed when he does not win a prize and decides to give up painting.
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