Diana Marshall is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jane Badler. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 22 June 2010. Badler had a four-month contract with the show and she began filming her first scenes in April following a successful audition. Badler revealed that the writers are fans of the 1983 television miniseries V, which she starred in, and wrote the role of Diana with her in mind. They named the character Diana in a homage to the role she played in the show. The character departed on 20 September 2010.
Diana is an ambitious, driven businesswoman who works for Lassiter's International. She arrives in Erinsborough from New York on a business trip and decides to try to take control of the company. She also wants to get revenge on the former lover who broke her heart, Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Diana wants to get to the top, but Paul stands in her way as his place within the company is secure. However, Diana discovers that Paul has been embezzling money and uses this to get what she wants. Diana clashes with many of the other Erinsborough residents and she is not well liked. She is described as a "villainess", a "dangerous femme fatale" and a woman on a mission. Diana sleeps with Paul, despite the fact that he is married and she becomes a suspect following an attempt on his life. Badler and Diana were well received by critics.
Character creation and casting
In March 2010, it was announced that Badler had joined the cast of Neighbours as "super-bitch" Diana Marshall. Badler said that when she met with the writers, they told her that they are big fans of V and so they wrote the part of Diana with her in mind. They named the character Diana in a homage to the role she played in V. The writers did not know that Badler was living in the county until a chance meeting brought them together. Badler revealed that the guitarist in her band managed to connect her to Neighbours''' executive producer, Susan Bower and when she tried to get her music featured on the show, she was asked to play Diana instead. Badler said that she still had to audition for the role, which she said was "depressing" as she hates auditioning. However, she said it was fun as the part was for a bad girl, which is the kind of role she enjoys playing. She added "Now I'm happy that I had to earn the role; I feel as though it was made for me."
Badler had a four-month guest contract with the show and she began filming her first scenes in April which were due to air in June 2010. Badler admitted that filming her first scenes were hard and she "could not get it together". She said "I noticed a few of the other new people. They all went through the same thing, where you have a day where you just go, 'Wow, I can't seem to function!'". Badler also said that occasionally there were no rehearsals and that it was "very daunting" and challenging. She added that the cast were "really nice" and that she got used to the quick pace of filming. Badler's debut episode aired on 22 June 2010. When Badler was asked if the door would be left open for Diana to return, she said "Oh yes, absolutely. I was contracted for four months and the way that it ended is very up in the air and I'm sure that they will use me whenever they need to shake things up a bit, you know".
Character development
Characterisation
Before Diana made her first appearance, she was being described as being a "mega bitch", an "Erinsborough villainess" and a "manipulative businesswoman." Diana is a dangerous femme fatale, who is "beautiful, sexy and strong". TV Soap said she is a woman on a mission. Badler described her character's background saying she had a dysfunctional upbringing, which made her strong and a fighter. Diana has had to fight for everything in her life, so she works hard in order to survive. Badler added in an interview with Network Ten that Diana is highly ambitious and very driven, which makes her kind of like a man. Diana is one of the chiefs of Lassiter's International, but she knows that she will not get to the top of the company because Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) is the heir to the Robinson fortune.