Table of Content
Meagher now holds that record alone and he is the only remaining original cast member in the show. Meagher along with Lynne McGranger , Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson-Baker) and Emily Symons are the longest-serving cast members currently in Home and Away. In 2010, Georgie Parker joined the cast of Home and Away as Alf's daughter Roo Stewart, originally played by Justine Clarke in 1988–89. Home and Away has been sold to over eighty countries around the world, making it one of Australia's most successful media exports.
From 2000 to 2003, the theme song to Home and Away was sung by The Robertson Brothers and it was the first version to use only male vocals. A 30-second updated version by The Robertson Brothers was used from 2004 to 2006. In January 2007, a new version was introduced and performed by Israel Cannan, who played the character Wazza in the show. After Cannan's version received many complaints from fans, the Seven Network decided to re-record the theme song in April 2007 with vocals provided by Luke Dolahenty.
Storylines
Many of the cast have spent several years on Home and Away, including original cast member Judy Nunn who left the series in 2000 after 12 years playing the co-owner of Summer Bay's diner. Other original cast members Norman Coburn played high school principal Donald Fisher until 2003, and Kate Ritchie departed in 2008 after 20 years playing Sally Fletcher. Both Coburn and Ritchie along with Ray Meagher entered the 2002 Guinness World Records as the longest-serving actors in an Australian drama series.
In November 2014, the show filmed an episode at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra with several cast members, as a tribute to the Anzac Centenary. There have been nine different versions of the theme song used throughout the years. The lyrics remained the same since the show's inception, but a number of verses were gradually cut back over the years due to time restrictions.
Broadcasting
On 22 March 2020, Home and Away suspended production over the COVID-19 pandemic. Although it was initially stated that the show would continue filming, the decision was later made to halt production, despite neither the cast or crew testing positive for the virus. Furthermore, on 23 March, the show was removed from Seven's schedule to make way for extended coverage on the pandemic.
The decision to remove the cast and shorten the titles was due to time restrictions. Since then, many viewers in Australia and the United Kingdom have wanted the full-length title sequence with the cast to return. Home and Away is set in Summer Bay, a fictional seaside town in New South Wales. Locations within the town include the beach, a high school, diner, bait shop, garage and a surf club, which includes a gym, small kiosk and an upstairs restaurant. Characters in the show live at surrounding neighbouring areas such as the Summer Bay House, Summer Bay Caravan Park, Beach House, The Farmhouse, Pier Flat, and Saxon Avenue. Other fictional towns mentioned and sometimes seen in Home and Away are Mangrove River and Yabbie Creek.
Top cast
The Jackeroo Ranch estate in Kenthurst had been used for the exterior sets of the Summer Bay House and Caravan Park since 1988. After both sets were destroyed by a bushfire in December 2002, the caravan park set was moved and filmed at other locations such as the Waratah Park Earth Sanctuary between 2007–09 and the Lane Cove River Tourist Park between 2010 and 2014. A replica of the Summer Bay House was rebuilt in its original location at the Kenthurst estate several years later, with the exception of a grey roof instead of a red one. The caravan park set moved back to the estate after the house was rebuilt, and both exterior sets made their on-screen returns in 2015. The Summer Bay House is the only house to still be seen on screen since the pilot episode.
It was the most watched program of 2014 on the RTÉ Player with over four million viewers. As of 2014, the show is available to view in Northern Ireland on 5STAR daily at 3.30pm and 6.30pm as well as the regular Channel Five airings. The show is however blocked in Northern Ireland via the SKY platform on both RTE1 and RTE2, yet it remains available on Irish platform Saorview for both Irish and Northern Irish viewers. The geo block has been lifted on the Sky platform in Northern Ireland and all airings are available to view. Home and Away is consistently RTÉ's most-watched soap opera, and in 2021, the series was streamed by 4.9 million viewers. Home and Away follows the lives and loves of the residents in Summer Bay, a fictional seaside town in New South Wales.
The exterior scenes are filmed mainly at Palm Beach, while the interior scenes are filmed at the Australian Technology Park in Redfern. The triple bill episodes continued to receive low ratings until the Thursday, 9 May episodes, which improved with 617,000 viewers. The following week's triple bill saw a further rise with 627,000 viewers, while the episodes broadcast on 30 May received 638,000 viewers and ranked at 7th place for the evening. The 2020 season return saw a series low for a premiere with only 548,000 tuning in. The 2021 season has seen an increase in ratings with most episodes attracting over 600,000.
Irene gets a call that Mick has had an accident and has to leave to see to him. Robbo is undergoing retraining prior to assignment and makes a point of beating a cadet, Jason. In June 1996 the credits changed so Shane approaches from the other side of the screen, causing Angel to be confused.
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera produced by the Seven Network since 1988. This list documents the current cast of actors and characters, recurring cast and characters, as well as new, returning and departing cast members. If a character has been portrayed by different actors, the most recent portrayer is listed first.
A shorter, 15-second version sung by Dolahenty and Tarryn Stokes debuted in 2009. During the show's first season in 1988, a rape storyline for the character Carly Morris outraged the public and a protest erupted, as viewers deemed it an inappropriate subject to be covering in an early evening time slot. At the end of the first episode, Tom and Pippa take in their sixth foster child Bobby Simpson . They were replaced by a large photo collage showing various locations around Summer Bay.
Home & Away had its best days in the mid 90's when they actually had good actors and a few decent storylines. It started to go down hill after about 1997 when the characters became all to similar and the storylines revisited (but then again what soapy doesn't?). This show is watchable until you feel the recycling and then its a turnoff.
The following night, the viewing figure fell to 581,000 and the show ranked 10th for the night. The first triple bill on 21 February pulled in 577,000 viewers and ranked 8th for the evening. The ratings for the triple bill episodes continued to fall from 524,000 to 414,000 viewers, and on 28 March 2019, the triple bill pulled in a series low of 383,000 viewers and ranked 14th for the night. April 2019 saw a slight rise in the viewing figures; the first episode of the month drew in 740,000 viewers and ranked 9th for that night.
On 12 May 2020, it was announced that the show would recommence production following the nine-week suspension. On 19 July 2021, Home and Away was forced to postpone scheduled filming due to new COVID-19 lockdown restrictions in Sydney. The show was already on a two-week production break, which was then extended. In early August, a spokesperson for the show confirmed filming had resumed. While Home and Away features a mix of young cast members and older, more experienced actors, the show has always had a definite youth focus, with the younger characters dominating much of the storylines.
