Rory Tolhurst - Belle Taylor

Belle Taylor

Susan "Belle" Taylor, played by Jessica Tovey, made her first on-screen appearance on 3 February 2006. Belle's storylines included finding her birth mother, a drug addiction, her relationship with Aden Jefferies and being diagnosed with cancer. In 2009, it was announced that Tovey had quit the show and the writers took the decision to kill off the character. Belle made her last appearance on 11 August 2009. Tovey joined Home and Away in 2006 when she was 18. The character of Belle was her first television role. In April 2009, Tovey announced that she had quit Home and Away. RTE's website describes Belle as being a "cheeky, extroverted young girl". She was full of insecurity from her "disciplined and controlling" upbringing. She craved love and attention from her parents, which they never gave to her. Belle's parents were shocked to discover their daughter was rejecting their conservative lifestyle and hanging out with the wrong crowd. Tovey earned various award nominations for her role as Belle. In 2007, Tovey earned a nomination for "Most Popular New Female Talent" at the Logie Awards. In 2010, she was nominated for "Most Popular Actress". At the 2007 Inside Soap Awards, Tovey was nominated for "Sexiest Female". In 2009, she received a nomination for "Best Actress" and "Best Storyline" for the drug addiction plot. 2010 saw Belle and Aden's wedding nominated in the Bride and Doom category at the 2010 All About Soap magazine awards. Belle's funeral episode was nominated for an Australian Writer's Guild Award in 2010. Virgin Media named Belle and Aden as one of "Soaps' sexiest couples", while viewers voted them "Home and Away's Hottest Couple" in a poll run by Holy Soap.