Mickey Gannon

Michael "Mickey" Gannon is a fictional character in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by child actor Fletcher O'Leary. He first appeared in June 2007.

History
Mickey first appeared when his mother, Kirsten (Nikola Dubois), came to Erinsborough to find Mickey's father, Kirsten's ex-boyfriend Ned Parker (Daniel O'Connor). Kirsten claimed she needed time alone to grieve for her grandparents, and needed Ned to looked after Mickey. Ned, not even aware he was a father, agreed, but it became obvious that he didn't know the first thing about looking after Mickey, and his dog Jake.

After an incident in which Mickey lost his dog, Ned and his son bonded. However, not long after, Kirsten called, explaining she needed more time alone, possibly leaving Ned with the child indefinitely. In a later episode Kirsten re-appeared and told Ned it was time for her to live her life, seemingly leaving Mickey with Ned permanently.

Ned decided to tell Mickey he was his father over a special dinner, however Mickey fell into the Number 30 pool trying to rescue a dead bird (that had died due to faulty wiring in the pool's light), and was soon rescued by Frazer Yeats (Ben Lawson).

Mickey made a fast recovery and doctors give him the all-clear. Ned came clean to an overwhelmed Mickey that he was his father.

Mickey also accidentally reversed his uncle Steve's truck into a mini-bus full of Ramsay Street residents. After a few scares, everyone survived. However, Mickey overheard his uncle and father talking to the police and was terrified he was going to get into loads of trouble so that his dad wouldn't love him any more. So, he ran away with his dog, and was found by Declan Napier, who claimed to live on the streets. It turned out that Declan was in fact the son of Rebecca Napier, who had recently been revealed as Oliver's biological mother. Mickey was discovered when Jake the dog was hurt and Declan took both Mickey and Jake to his house, and asked his mother to call a vet. Mickey was hidden without Rebecca's knowledge, but the vet that turned up was Steve Parker, Mickey's uncle, and his cousin Bridget. They recognised Jake, and Mickey was returned to Ned. Ned assured him that while he had done something wrong, he still loved him, and he was never to run away again.

It seemed that Mickey was going to live with Ned permanently. He developed a strong bond with Ned's girlfriend, Janae Timmins (Eliza Taylor-Cotter) and got to know his Aunt Miranda, Uncle Steve, cousins Bridget and Riley and Lou Carpenter, calling him Pop. He also joined the local junior football team, the Pups, and started a new school, making lots of new friends. But then out of the blue, his mother turned up again, expecting Ned just to hand Mickey over so that they could leave. However, Ned put up a fight, and so began a very confused time for Mickey.

Mickey was 8 years old when he arrived, but celebrated his 9th birthday on 5th September 2007. His mum organised a barbecue for him in the park, and invited Ned and Janae. Kirsten used Mickey's birthday to try and turn him against Ned, knowing that Ned didn't know it was his birthday. Luckily, Mickey was saved any upset by Janae realising in time and turning up with Lou, Harold and lots of presents. Later though, Ned told Mickey that he hadn't known it was his birthday, but Mickey forgave him, saying that all he had ever wanted was for his dad to be there on his birthday.

Eventually though, after worrying about hurting his mum, dad and Janae, he told a child psychologist that he wanted to stay living with Ned and Janae. His mother was distraught at the news, and in desperation ran off with Mickey, putting his life at risk.

Kirsten was tracked down and confronted by Ned and Janae. Mickey gesticulated quite clearly he wanted to live with his father. The next day Kirsten apologised and promised to live with him once she got her head and life in order.

Recently, Mickey stumbled upon Ned and Janae, who were about to "go at it". After many questions, Ned and Janae finally started explaining The Facts Of Life to him. They stated that it (sex) is a lot like cheese and Vegemite, and you need just the right amount of it together to create something special (babies). He claimed he knew what it meant and went off to play with his friend. When Steve came over to ask Ned how he went, he discovered that Mickey had been taking a lot of cheese and Vegemite sandwiches over to his pets, thinking they would get babies. Mickey then asked his friend if he wanted to have babies and his friend said okay, with Mickey replying that "you have to take special care of them and love them forever."

In 2008, Mickey will be involved in a storyline with Charlie Hoyland (Aaron Aulsebrook-Walker). Charlie walked into the road outside No. 32, whilst Steph and Toadie were talking. Charlie was almost run over by Angus Henderson (Jonathan Wood), but Mickey saved him.

Family tree

 * Steven Parker (uncle), married to Miranda Parker (aunt)
 * Riley Parker (adoptive cousin)
 * Bridget Parker (adoptive cousin)
 * Stuart Parker (uncle), married to Sindi Watts (aunt)
 * Ned Parker (father) had a relationship with Kirsten Gannon (mother)
 * Michael Gannon
 * Raylene Manson (great aunt)