Frank Holloway


Detective Senior Constable Frank Holloway, born 25 June 1952, was a fictional character in the Australian police drama Water Rats who was portrayed by Colin Friels. Frank was one of the original characters in the series when it started in 1996. When the show started he and his partner Rachel Goldstein were the two original main characters in the show.

Character biography

Frank grew up on the Sydney wharves, in The Rocks, and became a cop at a young age, much to the dismay of his father. He had two younger brothers, Jimmy and Kevin. Jimmy continued to work on the wharves, but Kevin decided to follow in Frank's footsteps and became a police officer. Frank was married twice – his first wife was Doreen McGuiness, and his second wife was Liz Robinson.
Early on in season one, his brother Kevin joined Homicide and was partnered with Frank's best mate, Knocker. Kevin, however, found out that his partner was corrupt and was killed because of it. Frank later found out that it was Knocker who killed Kevin, and for a while, kept it a secret from Rachel, who was dating Knocker. Frank also had a relationship with Caroline Cox, a crime scene officer. It is unknown how or why the relationship ended, but it was implied that Frank was jealous of another man, who Caroline used to know.
In season two, Frank had a brief relationship with Melbourne detective Nicola Burke, while he and Rachel were visiting the Victorian capital to investigate a murder. He also asked Rachel out, though she didn't think their partnership would work if they had any other relationship other than colleagues/friends.
Season three saw Frank reunite with his second wife Liz, though the relationship didn't last as Liz was offered a job in New York City. She did, however, ask Frank to go with him but he told her that he didn't think it would work. Liz thought he would say that, telling him that he had too much to lose. Later on in the season, Frank met Louise Bradshaw, an undercover detective. The pair had a relationship until Louise was killed during shoot out.
Frank left in season four, after the death of an old friend. He sailed off to Venezuela to relive a dream, in his boat called Footloose. He wanted Rachel to go with him, but she told him that she couldn't.