Rob Hutchinson is the abusive, controlling husband of Lorna Hutchinson.
Lorna had decided that she no longer wanted to be with him and ran away from him. In Series 10 Episode 18, he tracks her down and finds her in Greenock, and sees her kissing Marco D'Olivera. In Series 10 Episode 19, he shows up at Waterloo Road and tries to prove her that he's changed in order to win her back.
Rob used to run a company that ran charity press campaigns, and headteacher Vaughan Fitzgerald ends up enlisting him to help get Waterloo Road's side of the story to the press, against the proposed merger with Havelock High. Rob hears about Sonya Donnegan's 'cancer', and wants to use it to get the press to back Waterloo Road against the merger, but Sonya bottles it at the press conference and reveals that she does not actually have cancer. Later, when alone with Sonya, Rob shows his true colours, being verbally abusive and intimidating towards her and threatening her for faking her cancer. In Series 10 Episode 20, he is suddenly friendly towards her again.
After Marco tells Rob that he doesn't trust him, Rob attacks Marco and then locks him in the school fridge. Kenzie Calhoun catches him doing so, and Rob puts her in the fridge as well. Rob then tries to drag Lorna into his car to take her away, but she stands up to him and refuses to go with him. The police then arrive and arrest Rob for what he did to Marco and Kenzie after Justin Fitzgerald had found them and rescued them from the fridge. Rob is not seen again.
Behind the scenes[]
Rob is portrayed by actor Gareth David-Lloyd, who is best known for playing Ianto Jones in the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood from 2006 to 2009. He also appeared as Ianto in the Doctor Who episodes The Stolen Earth and Journey's End in 2008.
Quotes[]
- "Hello, stranger." (first line)
- Lorna: "I want you to leave. Now."
- Rob: "Like you did? Just like that. Without saying a word. I know thing weren't great between us, but you just walked out the door after three years of marriage. No note, no message, no sign to say you were at least OK. I was worried."
- Rob: "See, you need to play to your strengths."
- George: "And we don't have any."
- Rob: "On the contrary, you have one very powerful one."
- George: "And what would that be, your wife?"
- Rob: "Oh, forget that. I don't care about the school. Or its poxy campaign. I don't give a damn about any of that. But you made a fool of me. No-one does that."
- Sonya: "I honestly didn't mean-"
- Rob: "Just shut up, will you?! I mean, what sort of person fakes cancer anyway? You really such a sad, worthless loser who felt the need to do that? So lonely. No friends. No personality. No life. So you invent an illness, to get sympathy. Well, how pathetic's that? I tell you what, from now on, you better keep out of my way. Because you mess with me again, and I will break you, and you will not survive. Get outta my sight."
- Rob: "Oh, I'm sorry...you're just jealous, aren't you?"
- Marco: "What?"
- Rob: "Yeah. You're jealous because you've got the hots for my wife."
- "You think you know her, don't you? Little Miss Sweet-and-Innocent. But you don't. She's trouble."
- "Blind. Stupid. Same thing really. How you made deputy head I'll never know. I mean honestly. Not exactly done much for this dump, have you? Don't give me that little lost girl look. See? Nothing's changed at all, has it?"
- "Hell we are, get in the car." (final line)