Getting a role on Home and Away was a dream come true for Lincoln Lewis, who plays Geoff Campbell. Since he was a young child his ambition was to become an actor and star in one of the Australian soaps. Having previously auditioned for the roles of both Ric (Mark Furze) and Drew (Bobby Morley) Lincoln was thrilled to finally get the part of Geoff.
"Everyone in the cast is great," Lincoln told The Soap Show. "We love what we do and to have people watch the show and tell us they enjoy it is great."
One thing that would make Lincoln even happier is for young Geoff to get a girlfriend. He reveals: "In all the jobs I have done so far I have never had an on-screen kiss."
Showing posts with label Home and Away. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home and Away. Show all posts
Monday, 4 February 2008
Monday, 28 January 2008
Home and Away has plenty to Shout about
Home and Away actor Tim Campbell (Dan Baker) is wowing audiences with his portrayal of Aussie music legend Johnny O'Keefe in Shout The Musical.
Talking about the role, Tim told The Soap Show: "It's an actor's dream, I've got the best role in the world. I get to portray this icon of music." Hear the whole interview on this week's Soap Show at www.thesoapshow.com
More show information at www.shoutthemusical.com.au
Talking about the role, Tim told The Soap Show: "It's an actor's dream, I've got the best role in the world. I get to portray this icon of music." Hear the whole interview on this week's Soap Show at www.thesoapshow.com
More show information at www.shoutthemusical.com.au
Tuesday, 18 September 2007
Holly Brisley (Amanda) returns to Home and Away
Australian newspaper The Herald Sun reported today that Home & Away favourite Holly Brisley will be returning to Summer Bay next month! Holly has just completed a trip around the world which included some time in England, when she spoke to The Soap Show about her time on the top soap. You can read a transcript of the interview here:
Let's hope we see Holly as Amanda back on our screens soon. And, if she's back, will she be returning to the Bay alone?
Monday, 17 September 2007
Australian television news
Aussie Drama Rates its Way to the Top
After years of reality television and infotainment shows, it looks like Australian drama is finally heading back to the top of the ratings! With Sea Patrol and City Homicide both proving successful in the ratings and other dramas improving their viewing figures, things are looking pretty good at the moment. So what exactly are the viewing figures like? Here’s the rundown:
Sea Patrol debuted in early July with a massive 1.971 million viewers. It was the highest rated show of the night for its first eight weeks and despite some criticism for simplistic storylines and wooden acting, no-one can dispute the fact it is doing well for Channel Nine. Though ratings have since fallen by about a third, this is normal for any new show and it continues to be Nine’s best rating show on Thursdays. A second series has been confirmed.
City Homicide has had an equally impressive start on Seven, proving that there is indeed an appetite out there for well made Aussie drama. It has received generally good reviews and debuted with a two-hour special episode that gained it 1.648m viewers. Unusually for a new show the ratings actually improved for the following episode to 1.717m, though this is probably explainable by the timeslot. As the rating are an average of the show’s viewing figures over its time on air, City Homicide’s 2hr opener kept the show on air into the 9.30-10.30pm slot, a time when ratings are generally lower. In spite of this the high rating for week two shows that viewers obviously liked what they saw and came back for more. Could City Homicide end up lasting as long as its predecessors Blue Heelers and Homicide?
All Saints can do no wrong at the moment. Ratings have been on the increase this year and a show that was sitting comfortably around 1.2m is now regularly attracting audience figures of nearer to 1.4m on a regular basis. No doubt the show was helped along earlier in the year by being scheduled after Dancing with the Stars but nevertheless the show has continued to perform well. Its best rating episode in 2007 (so far) was on 10 April when it attracted a very healthy 1.609m.
Home and Away has also been a strong performer this year ratings-wise. A recent wedding storyline has made good ratings even better with an episode on Monday 3 September rating 1.508m. Figures remained high for the rest of the week with the show out-rating its more expensive local competition - Sea Patrol, McLeods Daughters and All Saints.
One show that isn’t so buoyant in the ratings is McLeod’s Daughters which seems to have received a bit of a battering this year. The loss of a number of high profile (and much loved) cast members has combined with increasingly fanciful storylines to hit the show right where it hurts. A show which should be attracting around 1.3./1.2m has dipped since the departure of Aaron Jeffrey in June with one episode (29 August) even setting a new all-time low of 0.989m. Unimpressive ratings do not bode well for McLeod’s future and though an eighth series has already been commissioned for 2008, this could be the show’s last unless ratings pick up considerably.
Another looser in the ratings is poor old Neighbours. A recent, much publicised, revamp only provided a temporary reprieve in the ratings and it has since slipped back down to worrying levels. With station bosses hoping the show will attract in excess of 1m per night, ratings around the 0.7/0.8m level just aren’t good enough. Neighbours does have one thing in its favour though – with its solid fan base in the UK and its recent sale to Channel 5, the show is guaranteed to be in production for at least another three years.
Comedy also a winner
Drama isn’t the only thing that Australian audiences can’t get enough of as homegrown comedy is also finding plenty of support out there. Kath and Kim’s move to commercial television has been an out-and-out success so far. It’s debut on 19 August set new records at 2.521m and though ratings had decreased two weeks later, they were still sitting at a very satisfactory 1.767m.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s new sitcom Summer Heights High debuted on 5 September with 1.220m viewers tuning in. With the ABC’s ratings generally being lower than the commercial channels, this is certainly a good start. Thank God You’re Here continues to draw in the crowds for Ten – with the third series debuting at 1.771m, every episode since has improved on that very healthy figure. Its success peaked on 22 August with an incredible 2.050m, breaking the much hailed 2m barrier.
I hope you enjoyed that tour round the ratings – next time we’ll take a look at some more new shows coming your way.
MARTIN MCDOWELL
After years of reality television and infotainment shows, it looks like Australian drama is finally heading back to the top of the ratings! With Sea Patrol and City Homicide both proving successful in the ratings and other dramas improving their viewing figures, things are looking pretty good at the moment. So what exactly are the viewing figures like? Here’s the rundown:
Sea Patrol debuted in early July with a massive 1.971 million viewers. It was the highest rated show of the night for its first eight weeks and despite some criticism for simplistic storylines and wooden acting, no-one can dispute the fact it is doing well for Channel Nine. Though ratings have since fallen by about a third, this is normal for any new show and it continues to be Nine’s best rating show on Thursdays. A second series has been confirmed.
City Homicide has had an equally impressive start on Seven, proving that there is indeed an appetite out there for well made Aussie drama. It has received generally good reviews and debuted with a two-hour special episode that gained it 1.648m viewers. Unusually for a new show the ratings actually improved for the following episode to 1.717m, though this is probably explainable by the timeslot. As the rating are an average of the show’s viewing figures over its time on air, City Homicide’s 2hr opener kept the show on air into the 9.30-10.30pm slot, a time when ratings are generally lower. In spite of this the high rating for week two shows that viewers obviously liked what they saw and came back for more. Could City Homicide end up lasting as long as its predecessors Blue Heelers and Homicide?
All Saints can do no wrong at the moment. Ratings have been on the increase this year and a show that was sitting comfortably around 1.2m is now regularly attracting audience figures of nearer to 1.4m on a regular basis. No doubt the show was helped along earlier in the year by being scheduled after Dancing with the Stars but nevertheless the show has continued to perform well. Its best rating episode in 2007 (so far) was on 10 April when it attracted a very healthy 1.609m.
Home and Away has also been a strong performer this year ratings-wise. A recent wedding storyline has made good ratings even better with an episode on Monday 3 September rating 1.508m. Figures remained high for the rest of the week with the show out-rating its more expensive local competition - Sea Patrol, McLeods Daughters and All Saints.
One show that isn’t so buoyant in the ratings is McLeod’s Daughters which seems to have received a bit of a battering this year. The loss of a number of high profile (and much loved) cast members has combined with increasingly fanciful storylines to hit the show right where it hurts. A show which should be attracting around 1.3./1.2m has dipped since the departure of Aaron Jeffrey in June with one episode (29 August) even setting a new all-time low of 0.989m. Unimpressive ratings do not bode well for McLeod’s future and though an eighth series has already been commissioned for 2008, this could be the show’s last unless ratings pick up considerably.
Another looser in the ratings is poor old Neighbours. A recent, much publicised, revamp only provided a temporary reprieve in the ratings and it has since slipped back down to worrying levels. With station bosses hoping the show will attract in excess of 1m per night, ratings around the 0.7/0.8m level just aren’t good enough. Neighbours does have one thing in its favour though – with its solid fan base in the UK and its recent sale to Channel 5, the show is guaranteed to be in production for at least another three years.
Comedy also a winner
Drama isn’t the only thing that Australian audiences can’t get enough of as homegrown comedy is also finding plenty of support out there. Kath and Kim’s move to commercial television has been an out-and-out success so far. It’s debut on 19 August set new records at 2.521m and though ratings had decreased two weeks later, they were still sitting at a very satisfactory 1.767m.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s new sitcom Summer Heights High debuted on 5 September with 1.220m viewers tuning in. With the ABC’s ratings generally being lower than the commercial channels, this is certainly a good start. Thank God You’re Here continues to draw in the crowds for Ten – with the third series debuting at 1.771m, every episode since has improved on that very healthy figure. Its success peaked on 22 August with an incredible 2.050m, breaking the much hailed 2m barrier.
I hope you enjoyed that tour round the ratings – next time we’ll take a look at some more new shows coming your way.
MARTIN MCDOWELL
Australian soaps and actors
Our Aussie TV expert Mac is well known to The Soap Show visitors for his regular column Mac on the Box. In this occasional series, Mac answers some of the questions that our visitors and listeners have put to him over the past few months.
First up this time is one from Felicia who asks:
Do you have any information on defunct 80's soapie, Richmond Hill? Felicia explains that she loved the programme and would like to know whether any distributors have any plans to release the series on DVD.
Richmond Hill was a soap that lasted for 92 episodes in 1988 and starred a number of familiar faces including Maggie Kirkpatrick as Ivy Hackett, Gwen Plumb as Mum Foote, Felicity Soper as Susan Miller and Paula Duncan as Janet Bryant. One thing that fans of this show might not be aware of is that the character of Jill Warner was played by Dina Panozzo, the sister of one of The Soap Show’s favourite guests Oriana Panozzo (who played Susan in Sons & Daughters)!
A number of its cast are still regular faces on television today including Emily Symons who, after appearing here as Anne Costello, went on to find success in both Home & Away and Emmerdale. Amanda Muggleton, who appeared as Connie Ryan, returns to TV soon in a newly recorded episode of City Homicide which will debut in Australia later this year.
Richmond Hill is one of the few soaps that was cancelled unexpectedly at the peak of its popularity, surprising fans all over the world. Shown on Network Ten, it was axed to make way for E Street, an untried new series that struggled for a while to build up a following that was as big as that of its predecessor. In relation to a DVD release, it seems unlikely at the moment but given the popularity of other recent Aussie soap releases, never say never!
Next are three questions from Johanna who writes all the way from Sweden:
I have heard somewhere that Sue Devine, who played Tracey Morris in Prisoner, had appeared in The Sullivans but I can't find any information to confirm it. Do you know if that's true? If she was, do you know her character’s name?
Firstly, I can confirm that Sue Devine played the role of Vonnie, best friend to Kitty Sullivan. She appeared in about fifty episodes in which she was a nurse who got engaged to naval seaman Peter Robinson (but cheated on him with an American serviceman. Vonnie's behaviour came between her and Kitty (who was good friends with Peter) and their friendship ended.
In your Sullivans podcast you mention Olivia Hamnett is dead. Do you know any more about the circumstances? She was one of my favourite actresses.
Olivia died of a brain tumour a few years ago but I do not have any further details. She is survived by her husband Peter Regan, an original cast member of The Box, with whom she emigrated to Australia in the early 1970s.
What is Jodie Yemm (Norman Yemm’s daughter) doing now?
Jodie Yemm has now retired from acting.
Jane asked what Danny Roberts from Sons & Daughters has been up to since leaving his role as Andy Green.
After starring in the daytime soap The Power, The Passion in 1989, Danny dropped out of the acting business for a few years and then returned to it in the mid 1990s. Now going under the name of Daniel, he has guested in a number of shows over the last ten years including Blue Heelers, Water Rats, Fire, Stingers, Big Sky and Home and Away (where he played Ailsa’s brother in 1997). At the time that he filmed his guest role in Blue Heelers he was romantically involved with Tasma Walton, who played Dash in the series and who his character holds hostage for much of the episode! His film roles have included Blackwater Trail and a very small part in Mission Impossible II.
Melanie was wondering if I could find some information on the actor Paul Keane who played Des Clarke in the early days of Neighbours. She really liked his character and found there wasn’t much information about him on the Neighbours website.
After Neighbours, Paul retired from acting and reportedly experienced issues surrounding drug addiction. He was unwilling to return to the show in 2003 to film scenes in which Jamie Clarke returned to Ramsay Street and it seems unlikely that he will return to acting in the future as he was never totally at ease with the media glare that such a career brought into his life. Something else you may not be aware of is that before Neighbours, Paul made a fleeting appearance in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1985 Grundy soap Possession alongside his Neighbours co-star Anne Charleston.
Dip asked what Mark Conroy (Glen) and Haydon Samuels (Tick) from Sons & Daughters are doing now.
After a short guest role on Home & Away in 1989, Mark Conroy retired from acting.Haydon Samuels became one of the few to make the successful transition from child actor to adult actor. After Sons & Daughters he appeared in the childrens series Hills End, then featured in a variety of guest roles in leading Australian dramas such as Police Rescue and Wildside. It may be interesting to fans of Haydon to realise that he actually became an actor after winning a successful media hunt across the continent for a young boy who was up to the challenge of the starring role in I Live With Me Dad, a film released by Crawfords Productions in 1985. Though not available on DVD, video copies of this film still appear for sale online from time to time and are well worth keeping an eye out for – Haydon fans will definitely not be disappointed!
Leanne has been frustrated by the appearance of a new character in Emmerdale as she is sure that the actor concerned used to be in Neighbours. She thinks he used to play the character of Mark Gottlieb and wants clarification.
Unfortunately you are only half right on that one Leanne! The actor in question is Richard Grieve who used to play Cheryl Stark’s nephew Sam Kratz in Neighbours. He then moved on to play Dr. Lachlan Fraser in Home & Away for a year. Having now relocated to the UK, he appears regularly in Emmerdale as Jonny Foster (minus the hair dye he used in Neighbours to keep his locks jet black!)
Now for one that I haven’t been able to answer…Jamie asked about the whereabouts of Kaye Chadwick who played Prisoner heavy Bev Cavelli in many episodes without ever managing to speak more than a line or two!
All I can say is that Kaye has continued to keep as low a profile after Prisoner as she did during it with the result that I have been unable to establish any information – sorry! I don’t ever like to admit TOTAL defeat in these matters so I will continue to make enquiries and report back if I uncover any relevant information. I’ve still a few other sources to try on this one…
First up this time is one from Felicia who asks:
Do you have any information on defunct 80's soapie, Richmond Hill? Felicia explains that she loved the programme and would like to know whether any distributors have any plans to release the series on DVD.
Richmond Hill was a soap that lasted for 92 episodes in 1988 and starred a number of familiar faces including Maggie Kirkpatrick as Ivy Hackett, Gwen Plumb as Mum Foote, Felicity Soper as Susan Miller and Paula Duncan as Janet Bryant. One thing that fans of this show might not be aware of is that the character of Jill Warner was played by Dina Panozzo, the sister of one of The Soap Show’s favourite guests Oriana Panozzo (who played Susan in Sons & Daughters)!
A number of its cast are still regular faces on television today including Emily Symons who, after appearing here as Anne Costello, went on to find success in both Home & Away and Emmerdale. Amanda Muggleton, who appeared as Connie Ryan, returns to TV soon in a newly recorded episode of City Homicide which will debut in Australia later this year.
Richmond Hill is one of the few soaps that was cancelled unexpectedly at the peak of its popularity, surprising fans all over the world. Shown on Network Ten, it was axed to make way for E Street, an untried new series that struggled for a while to build up a following that was as big as that of its predecessor. In relation to a DVD release, it seems unlikely at the moment but given the popularity of other recent Aussie soap releases, never say never!
Next are three questions from Johanna who writes all the way from Sweden:
I have heard somewhere that Sue Devine, who played Tracey Morris in Prisoner, had appeared in The Sullivans but I can't find any information to confirm it. Do you know if that's true? If she was, do you know her character’s name?
Firstly, I can confirm that Sue Devine played the role of Vonnie, best friend to Kitty Sullivan. She appeared in about fifty episodes in which she was a nurse who got engaged to naval seaman Peter Robinson (but cheated on him with an American serviceman. Vonnie's behaviour came between her and Kitty (who was good friends with Peter) and their friendship ended.
In your Sullivans podcast you mention Olivia Hamnett is dead. Do you know any more about the circumstances? She was one of my favourite actresses.
Olivia died of a brain tumour a few years ago but I do not have any further details. She is survived by her husband Peter Regan, an original cast member of The Box, with whom she emigrated to Australia in the early 1970s.
What is Jodie Yemm (Norman Yemm’s daughter) doing now?
Jodie Yemm has now retired from acting.
Jane asked what Danny Roberts from Sons & Daughters has been up to since leaving his role as Andy Green.
After starring in the daytime soap The Power, The Passion in 1989, Danny dropped out of the acting business for a few years and then returned to it in the mid 1990s. Now going under the name of Daniel, he has guested in a number of shows over the last ten years including Blue Heelers, Water Rats, Fire, Stingers, Big Sky and Home and Away (where he played Ailsa’s brother in 1997). At the time that he filmed his guest role in Blue Heelers he was romantically involved with Tasma Walton, who played Dash in the series and who his character holds hostage for much of the episode! His film roles have included Blackwater Trail and a very small part in Mission Impossible II.
Melanie was wondering if I could find some information on the actor Paul Keane who played Des Clarke in the early days of Neighbours. She really liked his character and found there wasn’t much information about him on the Neighbours website.
After Neighbours, Paul retired from acting and reportedly experienced issues surrounding drug addiction. He was unwilling to return to the show in 2003 to film scenes in which Jamie Clarke returned to Ramsay Street and it seems unlikely that he will return to acting in the future as he was never totally at ease with the media glare that such a career brought into his life. Something else you may not be aware of is that before Neighbours, Paul made a fleeting appearance in the pilot episode of the short-lived 1985 Grundy soap Possession alongside his Neighbours co-star Anne Charleston.
Dip asked what Mark Conroy (Glen) and Haydon Samuels (Tick) from Sons & Daughters are doing now.
After a short guest role on Home & Away in 1989, Mark Conroy retired from acting.Haydon Samuels became one of the few to make the successful transition from child actor to adult actor. After Sons & Daughters he appeared in the childrens series Hills End, then featured in a variety of guest roles in leading Australian dramas such as Police Rescue and Wildside. It may be interesting to fans of Haydon to realise that he actually became an actor after winning a successful media hunt across the continent for a young boy who was up to the challenge of the starring role in I Live With Me Dad, a film released by Crawfords Productions in 1985. Though not available on DVD, video copies of this film still appear for sale online from time to time and are well worth keeping an eye out for – Haydon fans will definitely not be disappointed!
Leanne has been frustrated by the appearance of a new character in Emmerdale as she is sure that the actor concerned used to be in Neighbours. She thinks he used to play the character of Mark Gottlieb and wants clarification.
Unfortunately you are only half right on that one Leanne! The actor in question is Richard Grieve who used to play Cheryl Stark’s nephew Sam Kratz in Neighbours. He then moved on to play Dr. Lachlan Fraser in Home & Away for a year. Having now relocated to the UK, he appears regularly in Emmerdale as Jonny Foster (minus the hair dye he used in Neighbours to keep his locks jet black!)
Now for one that I haven’t been able to answer…Jamie asked about the whereabouts of Kaye Chadwick who played Prisoner heavy Bev Cavelli in many episodes without ever managing to speak more than a line or two!
All I can say is that Kaye has continued to keep as low a profile after Prisoner as she did during it with the result that I have been unable to establish any information – sorry! I don’t ever like to admit TOTAL defeat in these matters so I will continue to make enquiries and report back if I uncover any relevant information. I’ve still a few other sources to try on this one…
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