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Home and Away is a popular long-running soap opera in Australia. The show was devised by Alan Bateman and has been produced in Sydney, New South Wales, since July 1987. The show has aired on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. At the beginning, the show was screened on Seven at 6:30 pm and currently airs Mondays through to Thursdays at 7 pm. airs Mondays through to Thursday at 7 pm. Home and Away is the most successful programme in the history of the Logies and has earned a total of 38 Logie Awards since premiering in 1988, including Most Popular Australian Drama. The cast has earned several awards including Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television, Silver Logie Award for Most Popular Actor, and Most Popular Actress.

History[]

After the Seven Network cancelled their soap opera Neighbours on 12 July 1985 due to low ratings. A couple of years later, Seven's head of drama, Alan Bateman, became desperate to get back into the soap market and began to work out how to launch another soap that was not a copy of Neighbours. While on a trip to Kangaroo Point in New South Wales with his family, Bateman began talking to locals who were "up in arms" over the construction of a foster home for children from the city. Seeing the degree of conflict the "influx of parentless children on a tight-knit community" was having, Bateman came away with the idea for a new serial. He explained "Nobody in the community wanted them to move in and I began to wonder how streetwise city kids would adapt to the new lifestyle. Suddenly I thought, there is my slice of life in a community." Bateman began outlining the storyline and set the serial in the fictional town of Summer Bay. While Seven Network executives were unconvinced by the idea, audience research was positive. The soap opera was initially called Refuge, but the name was changed to the "friendlier" title of Home and Away once production began. When the show began in 1988, it focused on Tom Fletcher and his wife, Pippa. They had four foster children, Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lyn Davenport, and an adopted daughter, Sally Fletcher. They soon fostered Bobby Simpson, a local tearaway, much to the annoyance of Donald Fisher. They bought the caravan park and quickly built strong friendships with the locals, Ailsa Stewart, Alf Stewart, and Neville and Floss McPhee. Home and Away celebrated its 21st year in production with a celebration in Sydney on 23 July 2009. The mayor of Sydney's Pittwater Council presented cast members with the key to Palm Beach, the filming location for the show.

In preparation for the show's 25th anniversary, Seven's new digital channel 7two began airing episodes from the very beginning. Channel 5 announced similar plans to celebrate the show's 25th anniversary by showing the best of certain classic episodes of the show (as voted for by viewers), showing 2 episodes a day from each year the series has been on air, beginning with the 1988 pilot to the present.

Characters[]

  • Main articles: List of current Home and Away characters, List of Home and Away characters, and Recurring characters of Home and Away

Former cast[]

Notable former cast members include Heath Ledger (Scott Irwin), Isla Fisher (Shannon Reed), Melissa George (Angel Parrish), Julian McMahon (Ben Lucini), Dannii Minogue (Emma Jackson), Chris Hemsworth (Kim Hyde) Simon Baker (James Healy), Guy Pearce (David Croft), Jason Clarke (Kick Johnson), Ryan Kwanten (Vinnie Patterson), Sharni Vinson (Cassie Turner) and Naomi Watts (Julie Gibson). According to Kip Gamblin (Scott Hunter, 2003–2005), "The acting apprenticeship so many had received on the set of Home and Away had paved the way for their success."

Broadcast and Viewership[]

Apprenticeship so many had received on the set of home and away had paved the way for their home and away is broadcast in Australia weeknights at 7:00 PM on the seven network. The show airs for approximately 46 weeks each year. Each season usually begins in January and the season finale airs in November. A double episode of Home and Away airs on Thursdays at 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The show is often the highest rating programme in its time slot, usually receiving between 1,000,000 and 840,000 viewers as of 2013. The last five episodes shown are broadcast on Seven's free-to-air digital channel 7TWO around 2:00 pm on Sundays.

International - Home and Away is seen in 9 different countries. These countries include: France, Belgium, Ireland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Norway, Lithuania, Greece (cancelled) and Estonia (cancelled).

Film Locations[]

Palm Beach


External Links[]

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