Facts
| Tempany
Deckert is an avid collector of antiques: one of her most prized
possessions is a pair of aviator's goggles!
Some favourite characters could have turned out
differently: Isla Fisher (Shannon) was almost cast as Angel
Belinda Emmett first appeared as Gail in 1995, who
had a fling with Travis. A year later, she returned as Rebecca and
married him! |
| Jesse McGregor's
daughter was originally played by Kelly Glaister, a sister of Corey,
who played Angel's son, Dylan
While most soap stars claim they've always wanted
to be an actor, Nic had a rather different ambition when he was
a child - he wanted to be an undertaker!
Michael Palin, a British comedian actor, made a guest
appearance as a surfer
As a 'Super mum',
Pippa was always busy: she cooked for her large foster family,
and also did the baking for the Summer Bay Diner. Not only these,
but she also ran the Wave Cafe at the Summer Bay Surf Club. During
that time, she made more than 3,500 cakes and 10,000 muffins!
Daniel Amalm (Jack)
found fame on the catwalk |
Summer Bay, unnaturally, suffers a high
number of natural disasters: it has seen a flood, a cyclone, an earthquake
and a bush fire
For Nic Testoni's
first few weeks on screen, the credits of Home and Away
misspelt his name as Nick; they had copied it from one of his
previous shows, where it was also misspelt!
When Chloe cut her hair after her rape in 1996, it
was so that Kristy Wright could have a haircut herself
When schoolgirls at St Margaret's High in Airdrie
were allowed to choose their new uniform in 1998, they based them
on Summer Bay High's
Pop star Gina G used to perform with the band
Bass Culture whose songs were regularly heard on Home and
Away
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| The name
Travis Nash came from a combination of one of the crew at the time
and scriptwriter Sean Nash
The original actress of Natalie Nash, Angelica
la Bozetta, was in the all-girl pop group The Chantoozies
Tempany Deckert appeared in a sex education video
and had bit parts in Neighbours before taking on the role
of Selina Cook
Shane Ammann, the Bay's Curtis,
was born in snowy Switzerland
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| When Richard Grieve (Lachie) moved from
Neighbours to Home and Away, he didn't have to dye
his hair anymore; producers thought his natural hair suited his character.
Richard's hair turned grey when he was 15!
Norman Coburn once appeared in Coronation
Street as a labourer
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When Angel Brooks arrived in the Bay,
she had red hair. Producers refused to allow her to dye her hair; Melissa
George then lightened it gradually. It went unnoticed until a Channel
Seven boss saw her standing in front of a photo of herself in reception
and realised she had become blonde!
Judy Nunn and Ray Meagher have appeared in Prisoner:
Cell Block H
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| When filming of Travis and Rebecca's
wedding was due to take part, problems arose. Filming had to be cancelled
twice due to a month of rainy weather in Sydney
Home and Away was originally signed up
by Channel Seven for just 20 episodes; however, those twenty have
now become over 2,500
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The beach at Summer Bay is 20 miles
away from the studios where the rest of the soap is filmed. Companies
in Sydney run tourist trips to the location on filming days
Home and Away is shown in later timeslots
in Australia; meanwhile, in the UK, scenes are cut. Storylines
such as Laura's death after running across a railway track, Selina's
pregnancy and the school siege where Fisher was held at gunpoint,
were cut. Despite these cuts, the programme is shown uncut
in the afternoon in Ireland!
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| Rebekah Elmaloglou, who played Sophie,
has a brother, who played the terminally-ill Sebastian, who fell in
love with Stephanie Mboto in 1997
Judy Nunn (Ailsa) once wrote scripts for Neighbours
|
Darius Perkins, who played in Neighbours,
went for the role of Frank in Home and Away, but lost out to
Alex Papps and had to make do with playing bad guy, Gary Samuels, instead |
| Emmanuel Marshall, who played Summer
Bay High teacher Brett Egan, never sat in a classroom before as he was
educated at home by his parents |
Judy Nunn got married twice in a week
- a few days after her alter-ego Ailsa married Alf, she married Bruce
Venables, who, incidentally, spoke the series' first words
In 1998, Home and Away left Oz for the
first time ever to film in Ironbridge, Shropshire in the UK
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| Home and Away is being shown
in more than 15 countries and the audience
around the world is over 50 million viewers
Debra Lawrance and Dennis Coard (Michael and
Pippa) married in 1992 after meeting on set. When Debra fell
pregnant that year, producer made Pippa pregnant also to explain
her bump
In 1991, a stage musical of Home and Away
toured the UK, which starred Sharyn Hodgson, Julian McMahon, Justine
Clarke, Mouche Phillips and Adam
Willits. |
Norman
Coburn used to stutter as a child; he claimed he bunked off school
because of it!
Norman Coburn's daughter, Nana, played two characters
in Home and Away: Vicki, who had a feud with Emma, and
as a mum who helped hide Dodge after he faked his death
Pippa was meant to be played by Carole Willesee whom
she was originally cast for. Carole left before filming started
and was replaced by Vanessa Downing. Debra Lawrance took over in
1990; Carole also turned it down that year.
Summer Bay is a fictitious town in Australia
Marilyn is named after Marilyn Monroe |
| Home and Away is
currently centered around characters Rebecca and Travis, who have been
guardians for Justine since Pippa left; Alf,
who runs the bait shop and is the Surf Club president and Summer Bay
know-it-all and his wife Ailsa (Judy Nunn), who runs the Diner where
all the residents hang out; Fisher, the school headmaster who keeps
all the kids in line, and his wife Marilyn,
who works at her own beauty salon and always lends an ear to listen
to everyone's problems and will always give her advice. They have just
taken Sam in and are parents to baby Byron, who arrived in March, 1999.
Then there is the Nash family, consisting of Travis' brother Joel, who
has rejoined the police force; his wife, Natalie, a PE teacher at Summer
Bay High and wonderful mother; their son Tom and daughter Gypsy, who
live in the Ross House with Travis and Rebecca since their home was
burnt down by their stalker Robert Perez. Irene has got back on track
after having a drinking problem and now looks after Will and his sister
Hayley. Jesse is bringing up his
child Rachel (Sara Mumcu) on his own. He shares a house with Sally and
the one-of-a-kind Vinnie, who is constantly scamming his way through
life. Sally and Vinnie are in a relationship, which still astounds the
residents of Summer Bay. Things are looking up for Chloe and her daughter,
Olivia. She has just recently married James, who adores her and Olivia.
Home and Away was brought about by Alan Bateman,
who was the Head of Drama at the time. He visited a small village
where he stopped for ice cream. there, he saw building work, which
was the main cause of the conflict in the town. The building was
to be a foster home. Residents there were against the building
as they saw it as trouble: their fears being that troublesome
kids would be brought from the city, while the other side wanted
to give them a chance. 'It had all the elements of a fine drama,'
he said. The idea for bringing a family together with many and
varied backgrounds – a family that is then thrown into a
new environment where the problems of a group of street-wise kids
come face to face with the traditional values of a small town
on the edge of the urban sprawl – was what started
Home and Away. Fortunately, Alan's idea is a success,
as Home and Away celebrated its 10th anniversary on 16
January 1999.
When Dodge first appeared in the soap, he was
played by Kelly Dingwall. When he returned, he was played by Kelly
Dale. It wasn't a change of actor - he had changed his name in
the time he'd been away
Some of the actors who have passed through Home
and Away include: Julian McMahon, who played Ben, is now starring
in the US television series Profiler; Craig McLachlan,
who appeared in Bugs, is working in the UK;
Dannii Minogue, who is working on her singing and TV careers in
the UK; Dee Smart, who has appeared in theatre and films; Guy
Pearce starred in the films The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen
Of The Desert and LA Confidential; Lisa Lackey had
a role in the Flipper series; and John Adam is working
with the Bell Shakespeare Company.
Guest appearances were made by John Farnham, Michael Palin, Kieren
Perkins, Samantha Reily, Susan O'Neill, Clint Robinson, Geoffrey
Robertson, Annalise Braakensiek, Mark Gerber, Kate Raison, Belinda
Giblin and Susie Maroney.
Only four of the original cast members remain
on the show, namely Ray Meagher (Alf);
Judy Nunn (Ailsa); Norman Coburn (Fisher)
and lastly Kate Ritchie (Sally).
Steven Matheson returned a
few times and was played by one of the original cast member, Adam
Willits
Home and Away was first shown on 18 January
1988. In Ireland, the pilot episode was shown on both 3rd and 4th
October. It wasn't until 11 February the next year when it started
showing in the UK. Despite this, viewers in London and Yorkshire
did not see it until the next day.
Home and Away began its debut on 16 January
1988 with the 2000th episode being shown on 30 August 1996
The ice cream Sam ate in the opening credits of 1996
is actually mashed potatoes
Early episodes of the soap are currently shown
on Living in the UK (available on satellite, cable and digital)
and also on Seven Network in Australia
Home and Away has won the Logie Award for
Most Popular Series for eight of its ten years on air at the time.
It won four years in a row from 1993 to 1996.
Home and Away went overseas and filmed
an episode in Ironbridge, UK, which went to air on 30 March 1998.
Emily Symons and Lynne McGranger joined Tempany Deckert and Adam
Willits, who came back for this one episode. Home and Away
producer Russell Webb decided it was time to go over to the UK,
due to the popularity of the show, and film an episode especially
for the UK market.
Channel Seven actually filmed Debra Lawrence (Pippa
Ross) having her baby (in Home and Away, it was called Dale,
but Debra was really pregnant at the time. Anyway, apparently Channel
7 cut the scene because they thought it was too explicit for the
viewers as it was a real birth and not a fake one. In the end, they
only showed one scene were Pippa was actually getting her backed
rubbed by Michael. It's still not known who actually cut the scene;
some say it was Channel Seven but some also say Debra Lawrence threatened
to quit the show if it was shown as she felt it would be an invasion
of privacy.
(thanks to Mike Grant, October 1999)
It is always summer in Summer Bay. The climate is
supposedly to be very mild, so it is never too cold for someone
to be going for a swim – but try telling that to some of the
actors at 6.30 on a Sydney winter morning! Home and Away
will shoot rain, hail or shine.
There is an on-set tutor to help any of the young
actors who are continuing their education. At present Ryan Clark,
Zac Drayson, Rebecca Cartwright and Brendan McKensy are the students.
Kate Ritchie, who has been with the show since it first started,
balanced her studies with acting and completed her Higher School
Certificate in 1997.
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Deaths: nine deaths have occurred:
-
Pippa's first husband Tom Fletcher
had a heart attack while driving
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Michael, drowned
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Sophie's boyfriend David
-
the school teacher, had a car
accident
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Fisher's son Alan had a brain
haemorrhage
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a surfer (Rory) was eaten by
a shark
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Bobby died in a boating accident
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Laura Bonetti, the Italian exchange
student, Curtis' girlfriend, ran in front of a train
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Shane died as the result of blood
poisoning
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Jesse's fiancée Kylie died of
a drug overdose in jail. In 1998, Home and Away was
nominated for Most Popular Series and for a Silver Logie for
Most Popular Program on Australian TV. In 1999 the show was
nominated for Most Popular Program; Rebecca Cartwright, Kimberley
Cooper and Graeme Squires were up for Best New Talent; and
Belinda Emmett was up for the Gold and Silver Logies.
Ten weddings have taken place in Summer Bay
-
Marilyn and Donald's wedding
in October 1996
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Alf and Ailsa renewing their
vows;
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Bobby and Frank
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Ben Lucini and Carly
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Pippa and Michael; Bobby and
Greg
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Shane and Angel
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Travis and Rebecca
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The tenth wedding is that of
Chloe and James, which was shown on 5 May 1999 in Oz
Other 'almost' weddings not to be forgotten include
that of Roo and Frank. Roo was at the altar, ready to marry Frank.
However, he left the altar at the last minute and took off in
his car. He ended up in a serious car accident, being in a coma
for several days.
Also, Jesse and Kylie were at the altar. Minutes
later, the police arrived and stood by. Kylie stopped and went
up to them, who then took her in for questioning for a crime she
committed in her past.
There is no place called Summer Bay; the show
is actually filmed in the suburbs called Palm Beach
Pregnancy storylines have been on the soap for ten times:
-
Pippa gave birth twice (Christopher
and the second child who later died due to SIDS)
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Sophie had a little girl
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Ailsa had Duncan
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Bobby and Selina both had miscarriages
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Angel gave birth to a daughter
called Shane
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Chloe gave birth to her baby
girl, Olivia, in Oz in April 1998
-
Marilyn gave birth to baby Byron
in 1999
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created 7 May 1999
updated 17 July, 2002
© 1998-2003 Home and Away.org
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