During his first stint, Robert has embarked on a longstanding feud with his brother Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) after discovering he started the fire that killed their mother Sarah (Alyson Spiro). Their rivalry led to the events of Robert having an affair with Andy's wife Katie (Sammy Winward), whom he later cheated on by sleeping with her rival Sadie King (Patsy Kensit), and culminated with him causing the tragic death of Max (Charlie Kemp) after the pair tried to kill each other by running the other down in their own vehicle. Robert subsequently left the village to avoid going to prison for Max's death, but came back briefly for Jack's funeral in February 2009.