australian television information archive

Will you take this Water Rat?

Eva's back in town and she's ready to take the plunge and become Gavin's wife. But she's not alone… there's a baby on the way!

Not only in there romance in the air in Water Rats these days, but there's also history being made. After six years of more bodies being pulled from Sydney Harbour than anyone would care to count, Water Rats is about to celebrate its first-ever wedding.

Dramatic storylines last years saw the exit of Eva Minton (Mouche Phillips), when she left Sydney behind to return to Darwin and, in the process, broke the heart of Gavin Sykes (Brett Partridge).

Well, Eva's now back in Sydney, five months pregnant with Gavin's child, and she has another surprise for Gavin—she wants to get married!

"Gavin had been mucked around by Eva, but he really does adore her," says Brett. "He has been waiting to settle down for a long time and this is the closest he has come."

Mouche adds: "It happened very suddenly and you have never seen such fast planning for a wedding. One day they're talking about it, the next minute it's happening—and on a cliff top, no less!" she laughs.

The entire cast assembled at a beautiful vantage point overlooking a lush valley as the happy couple exchanged their vows. Eva's dramatic pregnant appearance, however, is not all the clever work of the Water Rats wardrobe department. Mouche actually is pregnant and due to give birth in the coming weeks. In a strange twist of fate, the scriptwriters had decided to make Eva pregnant in her return episodes before they even knew about Mouche's state.

"There was some fun and games with the fitting for the wedding dress," Mouche says. "I kept telling them that I was expanding at a rapid rate and my body was changing every week, so the dress might have to be let out later!"

Brett says the day of filming the wedding scenes at Duffys Forest on the northern outskirts of Sydney seemed very realistic. "I have never filmed a wedding scene before, nor have I been married, so this was my first time doing this kind of thing," he says.

"During the vows, I actually began to sweat, and when it was all over the others went back to the house to film the party and we stayed behind to have photos taken. It was all a little too real for me!"

On the big day, it's not only Gavin and Eva's emotions riding close to the surface. The romantic mood proves...

[remainder unavailable]

May 2001