While filming the pilot in 1987, the producers decided they needed to change the character's mean persona and job, as they thought he would be "more useful" as the headmaster of Summer Bay High. Coburn explained, "They came to me halfway through and said, 'We don't want him to be a villain any more – can you soften him up and make him a bit nicer?'
During the production of the pilot in 1987, the producers decided to change the character's antagonistic personality and job, believing he would be "more valuable" as the headmaster of Summer Bay High. Coburn explained that they wanted to make him more agreeable and less menacing.