him that it was a mistake. Declan encourages Rebecca to divorce Paul, but she tells him that Paul knows everything. Declan tells her that they need to leave. When Kate finds them packing, Declan tells her that he pushed Paul. However, he is covering for his mother. Declan is devastated when his best friend, Ringo, dies. Kate tells Declan that they will not get back together and Declan is not happy when she starts dating Mark. He lies to her that Mark threatened and punched him. When Kate discovers that he lied, she tells him to stay away. Declan realises that Rebecca is not happy with Paul and he confronts his step-father. Paul tells him that he will tell Mark that Rebecca pushed him, if she tries to leave. Declan discovers that Rebecca has been having an affair with Michael Williams (Sandy Winton) and warns her to be careful. Rebecca leaves Paul after she gets an affidavit from him and she, Declan and India move into a hotel. Paul becomes manager of Lassiter's again and demotes Declan. When he verbally attacks Rebecca, Declan quits his job and he moves in with Kate. Declan calls Oliver, who arrives to help Rebecca escape Paul. Declan tells Rebecca that he and India are leaving with Oliver and Rebecca later makes the decision to leave with them. Reception The character has been popular in terms of his appearance. Nick Levine of media reporting website Digital Spy claimed in a section aimed specifically at gay readers, that Declan (played by Sorensen at the time) was one of the main reasons to tune into Neighbours after its move in the UK to Five. Levine was commenting on the character's appearance and favoured the character different occasions branding him as 'something nice to look at' and has commented that he is a 'fittie'. ATV New Network also said that the reason Declan is so popular with viewers was because of Sorensen's acting abilities and good looks. Both Five and Sorensen spoke out about how the character is one of Neighbours''' most popular characters. Channel Five's Holy Soap website praised the character's heroism in scenes where he rescued Josh during the dance party roof collapse, they also said it is one of the character's most memorable scenes. Ruth Deller of entertainment website Lowculture included Declan in her February 2009 feature about soap characters she loathes because of his