Helen Daniels - Reception

Reception

Anthony Hayward of The Independent described Helen for Anne Haddy's obituary, he stated: "When the serial started, Helen was the widowed mother-in-law of Jim Robinson, and to the Robinson family she was known as "The Rock of Gibraltar". She was the diplomat and voice of reason to whom residents of Ramsay Street, in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough, turned for advice." He also branded her "the most glamorous granny on television". Ruth Deller of television website Lowculture gave Helen a 5 out of 5 for her contribution to Neighbours, during a feature called "A guide to recognising your Ramsays and Robinsons". Deller called Helen "The most respected elder of the Robinson clan". She added "Helen was a local artist renowned for her 'interesting' paintings of the locals and her tendency to take in waifs and strays. She also had an unfortunate habit of marrying conmen, bigamists or men who died shortly after their wedding. Helen was always the voice of reason, and when she died (sadly followed closely by Anne Haddy, who played her), the street lost perhaps its most beloved character ever".

In 2010 to celebrate Neighbours' 25th anniversary Sky, a British satellite broadcasting company profiled 25 characters of which they believed were the most memorable in the series history. Helen is in the list and describing her they state: "According to the mid-nineties joke, what will be left at the end of the world? Cockroaches and Helen Daniels. Well, you could guarantee that in such an event, Helen would take in the waifier, strayier cockroaches and rehabilitate them off the path to juvenile centre. Helen was a far gentler matriarch than her British equivalents, dealing with the problems of all the neighbourhood teens, which presumably revolved around waxing for her own grandkids Debbie and Hannah. Her name lives on in her eponymous charity foundation, and as the painter of that dreadful portrait of the Kennedy children in Karl and Susan's front room." Editor of MSN TV, Lorna Cooper branded Helen a 'kindly matriarch' for caring for many of the shows teenagers.

ATV News labeled Helen one of their icons, describing her capacity to love as great, even after all the tragic events she had lived through, subsequently branded her as a shoulder to cry on for all of her neighbours. They also compared her to Meg Richardson, a fellow fictional character from UK serial drama Crossroads, which was also created by Reg Watson, stating they are well known to be similar and often drew these comparisons in Helen's time in the serial. Josephine Monroe in her book "Neighbours: The first 10 Years", describes Helen as being the "linchpin of Neighbours", adding that everyone wanted to be her friend and would turn to her for help and that she is universally loved.

In her book "Soap opera", Dorothy Hobson describes Helen as breaking a the stereotype for older women stating: "She was a very attractive woman, probably in her sixties, who had a successful career as an artist a number of romances and led a completley independent life, whilst still providing stability within the family."