Cleo Cullen

Cleopatra "Cleo" Cullen is a fictional character on the Irish soap opera "Fair City".

About Cleo

Cleo arrived in Carrigstown as a troubled homeless teenager. She had run away from home and was begging on the streets.
Dolores Molloy took pity on her and invited her to stay at her house. Cleo felt weird around Dolores as she didn't know why anyone would want to help her. Dolores saw Cleo as the replacement for her two daughters who had both died. She soon relaxed at her house and began to steal from Dolores. Dolores, however kept giving her another chance.

Cleo started to settle down until some girls she knew arrived in Carrigstown and mocked her because of her living with a religious woman. They started to pressure her into breaking into an old woman's home. She gave into the peer pressure and reluctantly broke in. However the old woman, Ursula Cruise, was home and was shocked to see the gang of girls. Cleo was horrified when the girls tied Ursula up and stole some of her belongings.

Dolores soon arrived at Ursula's house and was shocked to see what happened to her. She was more shocked to discover that Cleo was involved. Dolores had enough and reported her to the Gardai. Cleo was sent to a care home. Seeing how unhappy she was, Dolores agreed to be her foster mother.

However Cleo was uncomfortable when Ursula came to live with them after Ursula confessed to Dolores that she's afraid to live on her own. Cleo and Ursula didn't get on at first but eventually became good friends and each other's confidante, surprising Dolores.

Cleo struggled at school because she missed out a lot and was subject to much mockery from her classmates. She started skipping school but was caught by Dolores. Dolores arranged for Barry O'Hanlon to come around and suggest what she could do. Cleo wanted to show her gratitude but was unsure how. Ursula suggested she could make dinner for him. Cleo arranged for a dinner party cooked by her. Everyone was surprised by how good her cooking was.

Mike Gleeson, owner of The Bistro found out about Cleo and offered a waiting job with kitchen training. Cleo was delighted and her life looked to excel.

At a party, Cleo met Pierce Stanley. The two quickly started a relationship and she lost her virginity to him. Pierce was interested in writing so started attending a literature class taught by Heather Daly. At this point, Cleo noticed that Pierce's behaviour began to change. He always seemed distant and became obsessed with Heather. Pierce and Cleo drifted apart and broke up and Cleo wanted nothing more to do with him. However, soon after Heather and Malachy Costello came to Cleo and asked her to speak to Pierce after he behaved worringly. Cleo became upset when she saw him and tried to convince him to go to a mental hospital. Malachy and Heather agreed to stand by him and help him. Dolores comforted Cleo.

Cleo was too upset to return to the hospital to see him. A few months later, Malachy told Cleo that the hospital was about to release Pierce. She went to see him and it was clear that he was angry that she hadn't come to see him. Pierce and Cleo decided to remain friends though. He hasn't been see since.

In 2008, Cleo started to feel pressured at work by her boss Mike. In June, Bob Charles left a generous tip for Cleo which Mike refused to give to her until he had taxed it. This enraged Cleo. She was also angry after Mike refused to allow her to attend a cookery course and he also balmed her for one of Geraldine's mistakes. When Brendan Daly spilt a bottle of wine and Mike ordered Cleo to clean the mess even though he was present at the time of the incident, she threw her apron at him and walked out. Bob hired her to work behind the bar at McCoys.