24 Facts About Tom Croydon

Thomas Arthur "Tom" Croydon is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by John Wood.

Tom Croydon is one of two characters, along with Chris Riley, to appear in all thirteen seasons of the show, and is the only character to appear in all 510 episodes to air.

The character of Tom Croydon was created by Hal McElroy and Tony Morphett to be the senior officer at the Mount Thomas Police Station.

Tom Croydon joined the Victoria Police sometime around 1971 and was assigned to the police station in his hometown of Mount Thomas where he served as a probationary constable under Sergeant Rice.

At some point prior to the first season, Tom Croydon was posted to the same station as Pat Doyle, the father of one of his future subordinates, and the pair's acrimonious relationship would persist for decades.

Tom Croydon oversaw a team made up of traffic officer Nick Schultz, detective P J Hasham and wet-behind-the-ears youngsters Maggie Doyle and Wayne Patterson, later joined by a third young officer in Adam Cooper.

At first, Tom Croydon is positive that the driver of the other car was at fault, but was distraught to learn that his wife had suffered a heart attack and veered into oncoming traffic.

In 1999, Tom Croydon became a minor celebrity when, following a police chase which resulted in an apparently fatal crash, he prayed for God to absolve the driver, Tim Sullivan, of his sins, only for Tim to sit upright in the ambulance.

In late 2001, Tom Croydon found himself struggling to reconcile his attraction to a new woman, the local Anglican priest, Grace Curtis, with his lingering love and affection for his late wife.

Tom Croydon's life is further complicated when his friendship with the suspects in a theft case, both of whom are former colleagues, was suspected of interfering with his objectivity.

Later that same year, his impending marriage to Grace was put at risk when her ex-husband arrived in town and Tom Croydon is suspected of playing a part in his subsequent death.

In 2004, Tom Croydon narrowly escaped death when the police station is bombed with Jo Parrish and Clancy Freeman still inside.

Tom Croydon, meanwhile, had bonded with a fellow cancer sufferer, and seemed content to spend time with her, leaving the rest of his team splitting time between working to clear his name, and scouting out their potential future postings.

Finally, with his reputation intact, and after much coaxing from Amy and Kelly O'Rourke, Tom Croydon finally accepts an invitation to a family reunion which his youngest daughter had been trying to invite him to.

Tom Croydon is shown to be a caring father to both of his daughters, but he frequently shows a tendency to nag and the risks that his job can place those close to him under causes him to become estranged from both Anna and Susan on more than one occasion.

Tom Croydon is depicted as a long-time resident of Mount Thomas, and so he is shown to be friends with a number of local personalities.

Friends since they were children, Chris is often the person that Tom Croydon turns to when he needs a friend to lean on, especially after Nell's death in season 1.

Tom Croydon was especially close to Clancy Freeman, a mentally disabled local man who idolises the police, and in particular "Senior Tom Croydon".

When his mother died from cancer, Tom Croydon arranged for Clancy's home to be turned into a group home so that he would not be alone, and would have access to a live-in carer.

When Clancy and his girlfriend had a child and it became clear they were incapable of offering proper care, Tom Croydon organised a foster mother who was willing to let the parents visit regularly.

Tom Croydon has a strong bond with P J Hasham built on their mutual respect for each other.

Tom Croydon is firm, loyal to the officers under his command and committed to justice.

Tom Croydon takes an old-fashioned approach to policing, firmly believing that being a cop in a country town involves more than just charging people for every minor infraction.

Things change after the station is bombed in season 11, causing Tom Croydon to go off the rails.