It was one of TV’s most shocking deaths, and Offspring fans are still grieving the loss of one of their favourite characters, Dr Patrick Reid.
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In 2013, Patrick, played by actor Matt Le Nevez, was hit by a car, and tragically passed away later in hospital – a moment that completely rocked the nation.
Fans were not expecting the shocking outcome, especially because Patrick seemingly survived the accident unscathed, save for some minor injuries.
But then, while on the way to hospital, he passed out and was taken into emergency surgery.
That’s when his partner Nina Proudman, who was pregnant with his child at the time, was told that there was nothing the doctors could do to save Patrick.
Cue the heartbreak.
So, what was the reasoning behind his character being killed off? Well, when Matt spoke with Mamamia at the time about Patrick’s death, he explained that it was a “mutual decision” between him and the producers of the show.
“I live in LA at the moment and Offspring brought me back. I’ve been trying to chase up some opportunities in LA for a little while now so to do another two (seasons) was a little bit tricky,” he explained.
“So they started talking to producers about the future of the show and they came up with the finale of killing off Patrick.”
He added that while at first he was “a little sad and a little shocked” about how they chose to kill Patrick off, he had complete trust with the producers to handle it.
“They decided to write it this way and it was such a beautiful way to do it – the near miss of the car accident, the bump to the head and then to have the aneurism happen and to watch the grief play out of such wonderful actors like Asher and Kate – I think that’s why people have resonated so much with the show.”
He also said that with the show going from its fourth season into its fifth, that “we can’t just keep giving the same story lines because people will switch away.”
“So if you start to think in those terms, it makes complete sense,” the actor added.
Fast forward ten years after that dreaded moment aired, fans of the show still aren’t over the on-screen death of Patrick.
Maybe it was because of how tragic it was, as Patrick was about to become a father. Or maybe it was because he left his partner behind, pregnant and grieving.
There’s a million reasons why Australia was so rocked by this fictional death, and why it’s still talked about to this day.
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