“McLeod’s Daughters is more than a work.”
It is often said that bad news or misfortune comes in threes.
Depending on who you ask, the saying is either considered to be a dumb superstition or totally true, but Bridie Carter has had her fill.
Before the COVID pandemic gripped the world in 2020, the actress and her family went through one of the worst droughts Australia had ever seen on their farm in Lismore, NSW.
Then came the raging summer bushfires that witnessed the nation’s destruction of individuals, homes and precious wildlife.
It seemed like blow after blow; an endless loop of bad news that it seemed she couldn’t find her way out of.
We have been suffering from bushfires and drought where I live. “Then the rain came, but more [bad news] came, “Where I live, we have been suffering from bushfires and drought. Then the rain came, but there was more [bad news] to come,’ says WEEK–TV, Bridie, 50.
“The idea of time in 2020 was impossible to provide because it was really odd.”
Ironically, Bridie was invited to help raise money for rural areas at a meet-and-greet at McLeod’s Daughters.
She did not hesitate, but acknowledges that while she was busy supporting others, she might have used some support herself.
It means more to me than you do, “It means more to me than you do,”[McLeod’s and supporting the rural communities on which the show is based].[McLeod’s and helping the rural communities on which the show is based].
I was asked to do a drought telethon, but I can’t tell you how much we spent on feeding the farm’s own animals. Our dams have been largely dry. I was raising money for the drought as an actress… I’m the drought. I live it, so I get it on a personal as well as a professional basis.
It meant a lot to be able to give back to a group that needed it. We are fed and dressed by our producers. They’re the backbone of society and I’m going to be in debt to them forever. I’m related to the ground.
Soon after, as all was put under lockdown by the pandemic, her life was threatened again.
It was all a massive building on COVID, and it was so terrifying,” she says.”My industry was shut down; shooting ended, theatres went dark, and no one knew when it was going to open up again. This is my livelihood; this is my way of helping my family.
Bridie remained thankful that there was “much work to be done” on the farm between acting jobs where in her walk-in closet she would do voice-over duties.
She went on to home-school with her husband Michael, her kids Tobias and Otis, a job she admits was happy but challenging.
“I enjoyed seeing them at home,” Bridie says. But as a teacher? Yeah. Ok, I’ve lost it a couple of times, as I’m sure other parents have, too. Even if they say they haven’t, they lie.
As time passed and the arts continued to be left in the shadows, literally, the impact she had feared for her family became a stark fact. Then, the phone rang.
“She says with a grin, “My agent called out of the blue and said, ‘You have a work opportunity.’ I almost fell out of my chair,’
I asked myself, ‘What do you mean? What? How? ’
And they said, “Home And Away, I want you to take a look at that position.” I was surprised, but they had just returned to shooting [after a COVID hiatus], so I read the brief and talked about this fantastic character to the producers. All at once, it was wild and great! ”
In McLeod’s Daughters, Lisa Chappell and Bridie played half-sisters Claire and Tess.
Bridie remained sceptical of her exposure to the show at unprecedented times, but was impressed by how her needs were handled by the cast and crew.
“She says, “They were so supportive of me and also of becoming a working mum,” “So I was able to film and then go back to my children’s home. Between home and Summer Bay, I was flying.
Her character, Susie, as the new kid in town, is bound to cause a few waves. But first of all, a veteran character named John Palmer, played by Shane Withington, sends a fluttering heart.
It’s one of the best roles I’ve ever performed,” Bridie says, “Susie is so fascinating and assured that she’s who she is. Playing with Shane was so much fun, and I had a ball playing out this novel. When that happens, particularly on a long-running show, it is special.
The TV WEEK Logie Award winner is best known for playing Tess Silverman in McLeod’s Daughters, so it was sufficient for her to join another popular series such as Home And Away to melt down her fans.
I got great support on social media from fans,” she says smilingly.”
Fans of McLeod’s love Home And Away, and have a huge following overseas. People are now searching for where to watch Home And Away in certain nations, which is lovely to listen to.
Another good thing for me personally that comes out of this role is that we need entertainment and escapism more than ever in a time when people are suffering. My role as an actor is to tell stories and talk, so it’s quite a pleasure to do that in this setting.
As fans eagerly await her arrival at Summer Bay, they will have to wait even longer for news of the highly anticipated McLeod’s Daughters film.
Bridie hopes it’s the blessing individuals deserve after such a turbulent 2020.
She said, “We’re planning the first film draught.
I just feel like we’re going to have this awesome gift that will last forever and then tie it up and hand it over to the fans. Nothing better than that is there; they are our kin.
Bridie believes that joining the show in 2021 is not only a career-high in her life, but one that changed her entire view of the world: who she is, where she wanted to be, and the importance of being connected to the land on which we live, no matter what life throws at it.
Drovers Run is home to more than a fictional location.
I was never able to live again in the area. I’ve been on my farm for 20 years since McLeod began, and our family is the ground, the community, and the fans.
Human beings are not meant to walk alone, we are meant to walk together and stay linked. This is a present I’m more than happy to give.
