Digital Spy's 'whodunit' article:
Who killed Neighbours' Hamish Roche? 7 sinister suspects who could have committed the crime.
Who is the secret Ramsay Street murderer?
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When horrible Neighbours villain Hamish Roche started upsetting just about everybody on Ramsay Street, it didn't take a genius to figure out that a huge new whodunit storyline could be on the cards. Sure enough, the sly schemer has now been found dead in the Canning family's spa, leaving us to wonder who could be responsible.
Does one of Ramsay Street's much-loved residents have an unexpected murderous streak, or will one of the show's guest characters be unmasked as the culprit? Here, we weigh up the evidence and motives with our very own suspects list.
1. Louise McLeod
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Previous experience of Neighbours whodunit storylines tells us that it's often a guest character who ends up being the cunning culprit – not least because it avoids having to write out a popular show regular! For this reason, many fans are already convinced that Louise fits the bill as someone brought in purely as cannon fodder, just to be unmasked as the eventual guilty party in this storyline.
Louise was once Hamish's partner-in-crime, but she ended up in a coma when her attempts to stand up to him badly backfired. Once she regained consciousness, did she decide to take revenge against Hamish? Is this why she was so keen to flee on the Brennans' boat?
2. Fay Brennan
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Fay is another guest character, so ranks high on our list. We reckon she'd be slightly less of a cop-out as the culprit, as making her the killer would at least mean that the culprit was a member of the Brennan family.
Fay was once Hamish's secret lover and fell pregnant with Tyler during their affair, but when she returned to Ramsay Street again recently, she seemed pretty alarmed to find out about all the trouble her former flame had been causing. Did Fay blame herself for bringing Hamish into the Brennans' lives, and so decide to take matters into her own hands? Mumma Brennan the Murderer has a certain ring to it...
3. Tyler Brennan
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Out of all the suspects in the frame for Hamish's murder, Tyler undoubtedly has the biggest motive. Hamish played him like a fool for months and some would argue that it's surely no coincidence that he was killed on the very same day Tyler discovered the truth.
During their short-lived time together, Hamish split up Tyler from his soulmate Piper, alienated him from his brothers and even shamelessly used his history of abuse to his advantage. Did Tyler retaliate by resorting to murder? We know he has a temper, so it certainly wouldn't be the first time he's let his emotions get the better of him in the heat of the moment – just ask T-Bone!
4. Gary Canning
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Gary didn't really have much to do with Hamish, but he's still one of the main characters being signposted as a suspect in the wake of the villain's grisly demise. As an ex-con, it's not a huge stretch to suggest that Gary could turn to the dark side – especially if he was protecting his mum Sheila, who'd been cruelly strung along by Hamish for weeks.
It's also obvious that Gary is hiding something as the police investigation continues, forcing him to turn to his nemesis Paul Robinson for a false alibi. Could Neighbours have decided to ship Gary back off to prison – this time as a killer?
5. Mark Brennan
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Police detective Mark has been known to bend the rules at times when it comes to dealing with Erinsborough's criminals, but would he really go as far as committing murder to get a wrong'un off the streets? Neighbours bosses certainly want us to think so, with this week's episodes shining a light on Mark as one of the main suspects.
Mark came off particularly badly during Hamish's weeks of lying and scheming, being unfairly painted as a violent man and also having his professional competence called into question. He definitely has the motives, but with Mark's popularity and Scott McGregor keen to stick around in the role, would Neighbours really taint this character as a killer? We have our doubts.
6. Amy Williams
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Would someone really commit murder over a wellness centre donation? It'd certainly be an, erm, interesting soap first, so perhaps we shouldn't count out Amy as Hamish's killer. In the build-up to the schemer's death, she was furious to discover that he never intended to donate any money to her charitable project, despite basking in the glory when he'd initially offered to stump up the cash.
Hamish turned pretty nasty when Amy confronted him over his antics, giving her even more of a motive to want him gone. Plus, Amy has often seemed to be slightly lacking on the "big storyline" front – could Neighbours have decided to explore a darker side to Paul Robinson's daughter to give her more to do?
7. Sheila Canning
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We're used to seeing comedy queen Sheila taking care of her gnomes and pulling pints rather than committing murders, but anything's possible in Erinsborough. Sheila was heartbroken to discover that Hamish had been two-timing her just before his death and the humiliation of yet another failed relationship could well have pushed her to the edge.
Plus, we also can't forget that Colette Mann famously starred in Prisoner: Cell Block H. Could a bright spark in the Neighbours story department have decided to send her back to the slammer to generate some headlines and good old-fashioned nostalgia? We wouldn't put it past them.