Storylines
Nell married Len Mangel (John Lee) and they had two children, Amanda (Briony Behets) and Joe (Mark Little). Amanda was highly praised as she excelled academically and married Peter Harris, a wealthy businessman. She later had a daughter, Jane (Annie Jones). Joe proved to be a disappointment to his parents and he left home following an argument in which he was accused of robbing a local service station. Nell and Len decide to move into a smaller house in Ramsay Street and are later joined by Jane after Amanda and Peter leave for Hong Kong.
Nell quickly befriends Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy) and Eileen Clarke (Myra De Groot), the only people she lets refer to her by her Christian name. Her nosy and pious views are a constant source of annoyance for her neighbours, in particular Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston), Charlene Robinson (Kylie Minogue) and Daphne Clarke (Elaine Smith). When Jane begins seeing Mike Young (Guy Pearce), Nell tries to put a stop to it after receiving poison pen letters about Mike's alleged reputation of taking advantage of girls. After Sue Parker (Kate Gorman) is revealed as the culprit, Nell relents and lets Mike see Jane.
When Len leaves Nell for another woman, she is forced to invent excuses for his absence and at one point prompts suspicion from Jane and her friends, who believe Nell has killed Len, after they dig up the garden and find several of his personal effects. Nell eventually explains Len has left and will not return.
Nell allows Harold Bishop to lodge with her and Jane. Nell is pleased to learn Harold is a devout Christian and a man of high moral standards. Nell develops a rivalry with Madge, which reaches a new high after it became clear Harold is in love with Madge. Nell constantly tries to ruin their romance. Not accepting that she has not managed to split Madge and Harold up, she manages to spoil things on their wedding by playing the church organ badly on purpose. Nell befriends Mike's pet Labrador, Bouncer, and he eventually becomes a family pet.
While helping Daphne decorate a nursery for her unborn baby, Nell climbs up a ladder and is knocked to the ground by Bouncer and as a result suffers amnesia, losing two years of her life. She thinks Jane is still at school and Len is still around. Jane cannot bring herself to tell Nell that Len has left so she fabricates a story in which Len died and his ashes were scattered under the rosebushes in the front garden. Nell is then seen saying goodbye to the rosebushes, prompting people to think Nell is losing her sanity. Nell decides to sue Des and Daphne, but this action is unpopular with the neighbours and Nell finds herself isolated. Daphne takes her revenge by revealing the truth about Len's departure to Nell, who is horrified. She later agrees to settle out of court for a lesser sum.
After a heated confrontation in the street with Madge, Nell suffers a heart attack and rushed to hospital. Amanda returns home from Hong Kong seemingly to see her mother, but it turns out she is on the run for insurance fraud. Nell and Jane tell her to go and she leaves again. Len files for divorce and suggests he and Nell share the proceeds from the sale of Number 32. Nell refuses to leave and blackmails Len by threatening to follow him wherever he moved to, in order to keep the house.
Nell meets John Worthington (Brian James), a retired dentist, and falls in love with him. During this time, Joe returns and slowly manages to repair his frosty relationship with Nell, but takes a dislike to John at first, as he fears he will hurt Nell like his father did. Nell and John marry and move to England, where Nell suffers several health problems. During Annalise Hartman's (Kimberley Davies) documentary, Jane reveals Nell is still alive and living in England.
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