Lance Smart is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Peter Vroom. Vroom appeared from the pilot episode as one of the serial's original characters. Lance is characterised a "slow witted" larrikin and those around him see him as a "joke". Lance forms an on-screen partnership with Martin Dibble (Craig Thomson) and their characters were subsequently used as the serial's comedy characters. Both Vroom and Thomson said that their characters did not provide a realistic representation of young people as the production team often censored their dialogue. Lance also has an over-protective mother Colleen Smart (Lyn Collingwood) with whom he had to contend with. His main romantic relationship is with Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) and the pair became engaged. Their romance was short-lived as Lance decided against marrying her. Lance and Martin were named as the "thickest characters ever to grace soapland" in the Daily Record. Vroom was axed from the series alongside Thomson after producer Andrew Howie wanted to focus on new characters. Vroom finished filming in March 1990 and departed during the episode aired on 11 April. Vroom later returned to the soap in 2000 on a guest contract. He subsequently made short returns during the five years that followed and his final appearance aired on 1 December 2006.