Matthew "Matt" Hancock is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephen Hunt. He made his first on screen appearance on 26 March 2001 and departed on 9 May 2002. In 2005, Hunt reprised his role as Matt for the show's 20th anniversary episode. Creation and casting In early 2001, the Neighbours scriptwriters decided to introduce some "new blood" to the show to fill the void left by the temporary departures of six regular characters. The writers created and introduced the five strong Hancock family. Eldest son Matt, played by Hunt, was the first member of the family to arrive, making his debut on 26 March 2001. Matt was Hunt's first television role and the actor relocated from Sydney to Melbourne for filming. Matt's arrival followed the departure of Lance Wilkinson (Andrew Bibby). In 2002, the entire Hancock family were written out of Neighbours. A writer for the Herald Sun said Hunt was disappointed with the decision as he thought the family had great on screen chemistry. Hunt explained "The producers decided to write the whole family out, which we were all unhappy about. It was disappointing for me because I thought there was so much more they could do with my character. But they turned him into the loser of the street." In April 2005, Kris Green of Digital Spy reported Hunt would be reprising his role of Matt for Neighbours 20th anniversary episode, which was broadcast in July of that year. Development Upon his entrance, Matt was said to be nineteen and the oldest boy in the Hancock family. He has a brother called Chris and half-siblings Leo (Anthony Hammer) and Emily (Isabella Oldham). Matt had a good relationship with his father, Evan (Nicholas Opolski), but not with his mother, Genevieve (Julie Campbell). Matt got on well with his step-mother, Maggie (Sally Cooper), and regarded her as "a good mate." Of Matt, a writer for the BBC's Neighbours website commented "As the eldest in the family Matt saw himself as playing a very adult role in their household. He was keen to take on all the attributes of adulthood, but not so ready to accept all the responsibilities." His parents wanted him to go to university, where he had been accepted onto an Arts course, but Matt decided to defer for a year. James Joyce of The Newcastle Herald said Matt was intelligent, but