Characters / Round the Twist

The Twist Family

As A Whole

• Badass Family: Despite their flaws, they each have their moments of awesome.
• Cassandra Truth: "Get used to it. You're a Twist now!"
• Loser Protagonist: Aren't considered particularly special by the other townspeople.
• Missing Mom: In the first episode it is stated that Mrs. Twist died in an accident.
• Socially Awkward Hero: They're all a bit quirky.
• Weirdness Magnet: "Have you ever, ever felt like this? How strange things happen, are you going round the twist?"

Tony Twist

Played by Richard Moir (Series 1-2), Andrew S. Gilbert (Series 3-4)

The patriarch of the Twist family and a sculptor by trade. He has a lot of weird hobbies and carries a torch for Faye.

• Alliterative Name: Tony Twist
• Conditioned to Accept Horror: He's the least surprised by any out-of-the-ordinary moments.
• Nice Guy: He's pretty laid-back...
• No-Respect Guy:...which doesn't do him many favours.
• Quirky Curls: A recurring trait, no matter which actor is playing him.
• Unnamed Parent: Subverted. He has a first name, but he's credited as "Dad" in the opening to the first two series.

Linda Twist

Played by Tamsin West (Series 1), Joelene Crnogorac (series 2), Ebonnie Masini (series 3-4)

Twin sister to Pete. A hard-nosed idealist.

• The Ace: The smartest and most resourceful of her family.
• Action Girl: Knows judo.

• Class Representative: Campaigned for this against Gribs.
• Embarrassing Nickname: "RePete"
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The responsible to Pete's foolish
• Friendto All Living Things
• Good Is Not Nice: She's got a blunt personality, but is nonetheless well-meaning
• Granola Girl: In later seasons she has turned completely "New age hippy".
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
• The Hero: Shares this role with Pete.
• Soapbox Sadie: Very politically motivated, being a feminist and environmentalist.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: Linda's the Straight Man to Pete's Wise Guy.
• Tender Tears: When an enchanted lemon tree is cut down, Linda breaks down, since she was feeding the lemons to an enchanted fox pelt to restore its body and ran out before it could get its eyes back.

Pete Twist

Played by Sam Vandeberg (Series 1), Ben Thomas (Series 2), Rian McLean (Series 3-4)

Twin brother to Linda. A wisecracking skirt-chaser, with Fiona being the apple of his eye.

• Big Brother Instinct: Has stood up for Bronson on a few occasions.
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Once passed an exam after only a few hours of study.
• Butt-Monkey: Tends to take the most abuse.
• Can't Stand Them, Can't Live Without Them: Amazingly feels this way towards even the Gribble gang, even when given the chance to be rid of them forever.
• Casanova Wannabe: Most prominent in "Lucky Lips". Is played up even further in Series 4.
• The Everyman: He's probably the most relatable of the family.
• Foolish Sibling, Responsible Sibling: The foolish to Linda's responsible.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold
• The Heart: Several episodes revolve around his gentle nature and his ability to bring people together.
• The Hero: Shares this role with Linda.
• Hopeless Suitor: To Fiona.
• Hormone-Addled Teenager
• It Runs in the Family: Both Pete and Tony have awkward moments with the opposite sex.
• Kissing Under the Influence: Uses magical lipstick to steal a kiss from any female he wants. It's only after using it that Pete realises just how many females are out there.
• Love Makes You Dumb: His IQ takes a noticeable dip everytime he encounters a pretty lady.
• Men Don't Cry: Averted in "Tears of Innocence" in which Pete's tears are used by a shaman to break the drought.
• No-Respect Guy: Averted in the final episode, where it's revealed that Ariel has noticed his better qualities even when nobody else does.
• Power Pervesrion Potential: Subverted. Pete acquired some magic lipstick in the hopes it would compel Fiona to kiss him, but through constant misfortune (or possibly by design), every time Pete puts the lipstick on he gets kissed by any random biological female, none of whom are his type.
• Straight Man and Wise Guy: Pete's the Wise Guy to Linda's Straight Man.

Bronson Twist

Played by Rodney McLennan (Series 1), Jeffrey Walker (Series 2), Mathew Waters (Series 3-4)

The youngest of the Twist family. Is obsessed with food and gross things.

• Big Eater: He loves his snacks.
• Boomerang Bigot: Dislikes redheads, even though he's a redhead (depending on the actor). He insists that he's strawberry blond.
• Bring My Brown Pants: His crusade as Skunk-Man was cut short when he confronted some actual criminals and sharted himself.
• Fiery Redhead: Though he insists that it's actually strawberry blonde.
• Gasshole: In season 4 he starts collecting all sorts of nasty odours.
• Horrible Judge of Character: No matter how often the Gribbles double-cross the Twists, Bronson trusts them unconditionally.
• Keet: Very chipper.
• Narcissist: Once read himself an enchanted love poem, causing this trope.
• Nightmare Fetishist: Is obsessed with odors and Toilet Humour.
• The Pig-Pen: Once kept his shoes on for 6 months straight so he could weaponise the stench.
• Super Sex Organs: Swallowing a whirling derfish gives Bronson a "whirly willie", which allows him to swim and even fly at superhuman speeds.
• Verbal Tic: Often confuses one word with another.

The Gribble Family

As A Whole

• Competition Freak: Harold and Matron seethe visibly if Gribs doesn't win. Hell, just winning by a whisker isn't good enough for them.
• Determinator: Would have faded into the background a long time ago if they could each have learned to cut their losses.
• Entitled Bastard: After all the crap they try to inflict on the Twists, they still go to them for help.
• Even Evil Has Standards: The series 1 finale reveals that for all their crookedness, they draw the line at killing people.
• High Hopes, Zero Talent: For all their bluster, they're often shown to be incompetent at whatever they set their minds to.

• Laser-Guided Karma: Happens regularly
• Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: To the Twists.

• Small Name, Big Ego: They've got high aspirations despite living in a small town and not being very competent.
• Smug Snake: They all have over-inflated opinions of themselves.

Harold Gribble

Played by Frankie J. Holden (Series 1), Mark Mitchell (Series 2-4)

A greedy real estate agent who wants to buy the lighthouse so he can tear it down and sell the land.

• Ambition Is Evil: He's a Schemer through and through.
• Big Bad: Gribs, the Matron, Rabbit and Tiger are all jerkasses, but it's Harold who gives them the momentum.
• Fat Bastard: One of the portliest characters in every series.
• Faux Affably Evil: Acts friendly, but is extremely pushy and is prone to throwing tantrums when he's beat.
• Foil: To Tony. While Tony lives modestly as a single parent who does what he can to support his three kids and earn Faye's affection; Harold is well-off, has a wife and son that he takes for granted and assumes that everyone is on his side. Tony takes his failures graciously, while Harold is a Sore Loser. Tony loves the lighthouse the way it is, while Harold only wants the land for his own personal gain.
• The Rival: To Nell for senatorship in Series 2.
• Trumplica: He's a real-estate mogul that wants to turn the sleepy Port Miranda into an extravagant tourist trap. This trope gets stronger in retrospect due to Harold starting a political campaign in Series 2.
  • It gets oddly prescient in the finale "Seeing the Light" when Nell is reported to have gotten 95% of the vote, yet he demands a recount "for the sake of democracy", though unlike Trump he stops short (at least as far as we see) of trying to sabotage the election in advance or spewing baseless allegations of widespread voter fraud.

Matron Gribble

Played by Judith McGrath (Series 1), Jan Friedl (Series 2), Christine Keogh (Series 3-4)

Harold's wife. A nasty woman who treats everyone as inferior.

• Card-Carrying Villain: Unlike Harold, she makes no effort to hide her nastiness.
• Everyone Calls Him "Barkeep": A hospital matron and called "Matron Gribble" by everyone (except, obviously, for the rest of the Gribble family). Her actual first name, Cecilia, is only spoken once in the very first episode.

• Hidden Depths: There are hints that her marriage is on the rocks in Series 3.

James "Gribs" Gribble

Played by Lachlan Jeffrey (Series 1), Richard Young (Series 2), Brook Sykes (Series 3-4)

The son of Harold and the Matron. He and his cronies Rabbit and Tiger antagonise the Twist kids in every episode.

• Abhorrent Admirer: He's keen on Fiona, who can't tand him. After hearing Linda read from the Viking Book of Love, he temporarily falls for her.

• The Bully: The leader of a Gang of Bullies.
• The Dragon: To his parents.
• Foil: To Pete. While Pete mostly hangs out with his siblings who have their own separate personalities, Gribs is an only child who hangs with a pair of yes-men. Pete's obsession with girls will usually bring out his better side, while Gribs doesn't care what girls think as long as they're into him. Pete usually finds himself on the side of nature and the paranormal, while Gribs is on the side of industry.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: He's called "Gribbs"
• What You Are in the Dark: When the chips are down, he'll team up with the Twists to stop a looming disaster.

Supporting Characters

Nell Rickards

Played by Bunney Brook (Series 1-2), Marion Heathfield (Series 3-4)

The lighthouse keeper. The ghosts of her family still lingered in Series 1.

• Abhorrent Admirer: Rabbit uses the Viking Book of Love on Nell and she starts chasing him all over town.
• Cool Old Lady: Wiser than all the other adults.
• I Was Quite a Looker: Back in her youth she had the attention of at least one man.
• The Rival: To Harold for senatorship in Series 2.

Rabbit and Tiger

Tiger Gleeson: Played by Cameron Nugent (series 1), Nick Mitchell (Series 2), Tom Budge (Series 3-4)

Rabbit: Played by Stuart Atkin (Series 1), Drew Campbell (Series 2), Samuel Marsland (Series 3-4)

Gribs' gang. Neither pleasant nor smart.

• Butt-Monkey: Rabbit takes the most punishment.

• Dumb Muscle: Even Gribs thinks they're impossibly stupid.
• Ineffectual Sympathetic Villain: Rabbit - being neither a Spoiled Brat like Gribs nor an insufferable Motor Mouth like Tiger - often gets singled out for humiliation.

• Large Ham: Especially Tiger
• Motor Mouth: Tiger loves to provide commentary. It's a running gag that everyone will eventually get tired of it and tell him to shut up.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: We can assume "Rabbit" and "Tiger" are nicknames.
• Terrible Trio: They form one with James Gribble.
• Villainous Glutton: Rabbit in "Spaghetti Pig-Out".
• What You Are in the Dark: Like Gribs, they're big enough to put aside their differences with the Twists when they need to work together.

Faye James

Played by Robyn Gibbs (Series 1-2), Trudy Hellier (Series 3), Susanne Chapman (Series 4)

Bronson's teacher and Tony's love interest.

• Adaptation Dye-Job: The most noticeable example. She was brunette in the first two series and blonde in the third and fourth.
• Babies Ever After: In season 4 she's pregnant with Tony's child.
• Hot Teacher: Tony certainly thinks so.
• Love Triangle: With Tony and Mr. Snapper
• Only Sane Woman: The most practical character in the series.

• Two Guys and a Girl: With Tony and Ralph.

Fiona

Played by Daisy Cameron (Series 1), Zeta Briggs (Series 2), Katie Barnes (Series 3-4)

Love interest to both Pete and Gribs as well as Linda's best friend.

• Adaptation Dye-Job: Just like Faye, she goes from brunette to blonde in the third series
• First Kiss: Her mother gave Pete his, but that was under the influence of magic lipstick. Sometime later Fiona gives Pete his first real kiss.
• Ordinary High-School Student: The only recurring adolescent character who isn't a bully or an oddball.
• Satellite Character: Her characterisation revolves entirely around Pete and Linda.
• The Tease: After spending most of season 4 keeping Pete at arm's length, she offers to get back with him in the finale.
• Two Guys and a Girl: With Pete and Gribs.

Ralph Snapper

Played by Esben Storm (Series 1-3), Ernie Gray (Series 4)

Pete and Linda's teacher and a rival to Tony for Faye's affections.

• Dean Bitterman: He's not the most approachable guy.
• Hidden Depths: When one of the students draws a caricature of him as a fish with a mustache, he admits it's pretty clever.
• School Play: He's the head of drama.

Minor Characters

Hugh Townsend

Linda's crush in Series 1.

Played by Justin Connor (Series 1), Tristin Tatt (Series 4)

• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Disappears after season 1. Possibly reappears in Series 4
• Jerk Jock: The one time Linda gets some along time with Hugh, he alternates between ignoring her, bragging about his sporting achievements and telling her to keep quiet.
• Satellite Love Interest: To the point where Linda eventually realises he's pretty boring.
• Stay in the Kitchen: He doesn't think highly of girls who are good at athletics or who speak their minds.

The Rickards Family

Played by Timothy Cousins (Stanley), Valentina Levkowicz (Louise), Lou Toth (Tom) and Kymara Stowers (Sarah)

Nell's deceased relatives. Their spirits haunt the lighthouse in Series 1. They include her mother, father, brother Tom and little sister Sarah.

• Cute Ghost Girl: Sarah, though Bronson doesn't notice.
• First Kiss: Nell's sister gives Bronson his.
• Leitmotif: Occasionally play a soft blues tune.
• Put on a Bus: Ascend after entrusting the lighthouse to the Twists.

Matthew and Jeremiah

Played by Andrew Daddo (Matthew) and Neill Gladwin (Jeremiah)

Two ghosts who appear in Series 2. They replaced the Rickards family from Series 1.

• The Big Damn Kiss: The Season 2 finale ends with them and their loved ones all possessing the Twists, Gribbles, Fiona and Faye and making out after years of being apart.
• Love Triangle: Matthew was bethrothed to a woman that Jeremiah was in love with.
• Oireland: Both have very thick Irish accents.
• Put on a Bus: Reunite with the rest of their deceased loved ones and leave the lighthouse.

• Two Guys and a Girl: They've both been in love with the same woman long before they died.

Anthony

Played by Rueben Liversidge

A nerd who has the hots for Linda. It's not mutual.

• Child Prodigy: Despite being only 14, he's able to come up with a machine that can surgically remove brains without killing the host and was able to perform a DNA test linking Linda up with a distant ancestor.
• Dogged Nice Guy: Never gives up on Linda.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Bronson
• Horny Scientist: Picked Linda as a test subject so he could spend more time with her.

The Hooded Figure Ariel

Played by Michala Banas

A mysterious teenager who occasionally appears through a doorway in reality throughout Series 4. She is the princess of Atlantis and she's looking for a future husband, with Pete being on top of her list.

• All Love Is Unrequited: She asks Pete to come away with her, but he declines her offer. Subverted in that he actually was developing feelings for Ariel, it's just that he knew that his place was at home.
• The Beautiful Elite: Ariel's an Atlantean princess with breathtaking features.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Is not bitter about the fact that she can't be with Pete.
• Unrequited Tragic Maiden: She needs a husband so that she can replenish her kingdom's dwindling race, so her failure to win Pete over has some serious consequences.

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