| Melissa Bannon Raffter | |
|---|---|
 Mel and her husband Ben on their wedding day | |
|
Marital Status |
Married |
|
Status |
Deceased (2010) |
|
First Appearance |
Pilot |
|
Last Appearance |
Rest in Peace |
|
Portrayed by |
Zoe Ventoura |
|
Eye Colour |
Blue |
|
Hair Colour |
Brown |
|
Date of Birth |
7 October 1982 |
|
Date of Death |
28 October 2010 |
|
Cause of death |
Car crash |
Melissa 'Mel'' Rafter (nee Bannon) is a fictional character on Packed to the Rafters who appeared on the show from its first episode till the penultimate episode of the third season. She is notable for being the only main character to have been killed off in the show's history. Mel was portrayed by Zoe Ventoura.
Season 1[]
'Mel was introduced in the first episode of season one,, when Dave goes to the hospital, and Mel is his nurse. In the next episode, "Playing a Googly", Carbo and Ben begin to look for a housemate to pay rent, and Mel applies and gets the position. She moves in with them, much to the horror of Dave, scared that Mel will recognise him, and spill of the delicate nature of why Dave went to the hospital.
The relationship between Ben and Mel begin as a friendship until Ben becomes attracted to her. In "Taking the Lead", Ben and Mel wake up in bed together, not remembering why or how. This rocks their friendship because Ben now realises he wants to be more than friends, while the first thing Mel says is "We're housemates, Ben. This can't happen again. We're better off as friends. And Carbo can't know." Soon after, Mel is going out on a date with her friend from work, Heath, and Ben, not realising it's a date, offers to go with her. Mel doesn't know how to tell him, so she agrees. Ben soon realises the nature of her outing, so leaves the two, and goes to the bar for a drink. There we see Lauren, a girl who is being harassed by a guy who obviously wants to go out with her, but she pushes him away saying "I have a boyfriend". The guy doesn't believe her, so she grabs Ben and kisses him. The guy leaves then, warning Ben to keep a better eye on his girlfriend. Lauren and Ben then begin seeing each other, and so do Mel and Heath. Mel and Ben agree just to be friends, now that they had both found someone. Lauren turns out to be a bitch though, and Mel turns down Heath.
Eventually Ben racks up the nerve to kiss Mel, and they agree to be together, as long as they take it slow.
Although their relationship appears to be going well, Ben later falls for and sleeps with Kat Ripley who later robs their house. Mel leaves and returns to Perth, but later agrees to give Ben another chance.
Season 2[]
Ben and Mel's tentative dating fails when she meets Luke Hanson. They go through a rough patch, but eventually, end up together. She also meets Carbo's mum Rita for the first time and eventually accepts Ben's marriage proposal. They are happily married.
Season 3[]
Mel finds out that her sister-in-law Sammy, Nathan's wife, is still in Sydney. She initially keeps it from Ben, but eventually tells him and Nathan is angry when he discovers though the three reconcile. Ben and Mel begin planning to start a family but struggle immensely.
When Carbo finds a love interest in the form of Retta, Ben and Mel are split on accepting her but Ben warms to her on the day that Retta moves into the house. Unfortunately, that same night, Mel is killed in a car crash after being distracted by a message from Ben and driving through a stop sign. Her family is left devastated.
Post mortem[]
Ben struggles for a long time with Mel's death, and in depression, once jumps off a cliff. His family support him as he rejoins the workforce and he eventually meets Emma. Although Emma is sceptical about starting a relationship knowing Ben will always love Mel, she eventually agrees to it. When Carbo and Retta later become pregnant, Ben's memories of Mel resurface after a long time, due to their own family planning at the time of her death, and also after Retta sadly miscarries. Emma catches on, and despite being fine with this before, decides that she is no longer fine with Ben still loving Mel resulting in their break-up.