Debbie's déjà vu: why does Rob rattle her?

Rob has been roundly shunned by the community in Ambridge ever since the full horror of his abusive relationship with Helen came out at her trial. And yet, the thrill of hearing Rob lose face is yet to be worn off. The short shrift he got from Debbie at the Borchester Land Christmas party was a particular delight. For once, Rob was left speechless!

Listen to Debbie shun Rob

Debbie deftly dropped into her short conversation with Rob that he reminded her of an ex-partner of hers. “He was charming as well, until he hit me of course.”

Debbie can now see the similarities between Rob and her violent ex-partner is Simon Pemberton, who inherited the Estate from his father Guy in 1996. In the early days of Debbie and Simon's relationship, David joined the two of them on a farm walk but became excluded from the conversation and felt very much the gooseberry. Shula was horrified to learn that Debbie and Simon had become an item (Shula’s relationship with him had come to an end within the last year).

When Simon attacked Debbie

Simon cut a dashing figure but he was also hard-headed and Debbie found it hard to feel close to him. One evening, when they were alone at Home Farm, there was an awkward air between them and Simon suggested they went to bed together to help them both relax. This spurred Debbie to tell him she could never love him and she asked him to leave. Angry Simon lost control and physically attacked Debbie.

Two weeks earlier Simon had lost a tribunal to force the Grundys to leave Grange Farm. There had been a disastrous fire in their milking parlour and Simon wanted to get rid of them on the pretext that the blaze had been caused by their own neglect.

When Brian found out what Simon had done, he was furious. He tracked Simon down and told him to never darken his door again. Simon denied everything and said he intended to be away from Ambridge for some time.

At first, Debbie was reluctant to report Simon’s violence towards her. Then, a conversation with Shula, in which she revealed that Simon had also hit her, persuaded Debbie to go to the police. Simon was arrested and then charged. He pleaded not guilty was given a conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £200 in compensation. As he heard the sentencing, he was seen to be smiling. Nevertheless, it spelled the end of his association with Ambridge.

Get the details of organisations that offer information and support regarding domestic violence