Wayne Patterson

Wayne is one of the show's seven original main characters, who made his debut during the first episode.{{cite news|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/blue-heelers-25-years-later-20181228-h19j2q.html|title=Revisiting Mount Thomas: Blue Heelers, 25 years later|last=Idato|first=Michael|date=28 December 2018|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=3 June 2025}} Blue Heelers marks Bowler's first television role. He graduated from NIDA in 1991 and appeared in various Shakespeare productions before he was cast as Wayne.{{cite magazine|year=1995|title=Blue Heelers... Grant Bowler|magazine=The Best of Aussie Soaps by TV Week|page=92|issue=1}} He stated "Acting is as challenging as I hoped and I decided on a move into television to learn a new part of the business. I guess you could say I'm ambitious, but not in a materialistic sense. More about the work I do."

At the beginning of the series, Wayne is married to Roz Patterson (Ann Burbrook).{{cite magazine|last=James|first=Caron|date=19 February 1994|title=TV's most arresting couple|magazine=TV Week|pages=14–15}} They have a "steamy, tempestuous" marriage, which sees them fighting a lot, but they always make up. Burbrook described it as "daggers and then red roses", while Bowler thought it was a believable relationship and called it "very Nineties". He also said that as Wayne is often a scapegoat for many "klutzy things" that occur at the station and everyone is good at something, he wanted his character to be good at his marriage. When problems arise in the marriage, Roz considers leaving Wayne, until "a disaster" forces them to re-evaluate their lives.

Wayne is a young member of the Mount Thomas team. He attended the police academy with Maggie Doyle (Lisa McCune), where they dated for a while. After Maggie's mother died, she and Wayne lost touch and drifted apart until Maggie is posted in Mount Thomas, where she learns Wayne is married to Roz Patterson (Burbrook) and is staying in the police residence.

Wayne goes through a lot while at Mount Thomas including being shot and left for dead by the driver of a car he was about to help. He and Maggie were also taken hostage by dangerous criminals in the Mount Thomas hospital in the first season 3 episode "Once Only Withdrawal". He was held at gunpoint numerous times, been accused of corruption and drug offences and was also known in Mount Thomas as a bit of a "ladies man". He was part of the Traffic Operations Group at Mount Thomas and, later, became the District Firearms Officer.

Wayne's time as a Heeler was ended in the season 3 episode "An Act Of Random Violence" when he was struck by a car and killed right outside of the Mount Thomas Police Station, while running across to save a child, who was in the path of the oncoming car. Wayne's position was initially filled by senior detective Jack Woodley (Frankie J. Holden) who was later found charged with falsifying evidence. He was then replaced by Constable Dash McKinley (Tasma Walton). Wayne's wife Roz briefly returns for Wayne's funeral, much to Nick's dislike who suspects she only returned to receive his life insurance and police benefits.

The character's departure episode was seen by 873,000 viewers, which was 223,000 more than the show's average audience figure.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-age-blue-heelers/173692311/|title='Til death do us part|last=Hooks|first=Barbara|date=22 September 1996|work=The Age|access-date=2 June 2025|via=Newspapers.com}}{{free access}}

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{{Main characters of Blue Heelers}}

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Category:Blue Heelers characters

Category:Television characters introduced in 1994

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