Characters frequently quit beloved shows and soap operas and are replaced, and Home and Away is no exception.
Many characters have come to Summer Bay and gone, yet occasionally the characters stay and the actors and actresses leave.
leaving for a variety of reasons, including the actor’s decision to quit the role or the decision of the soap opera’s producers to rework the character.
Recasting occurs frequently, whether it’s because someone is going on to new projects or because they are growing up in the soap and require a fresh actor to fill the role.
Flynn Saunders
Martin Dingle Wall played Flynn from 2001 to 2002, then Joel McIlroy took over till he was killed off in 2006.
In 2006, the Summer Bay persona passed away after a heartbreaking cancer fight.
In 2016, after travelling from Australia to America, the original Flynn actor sat down for an interview with the Daily Telegraph and discussed his struggles with alcohol.
Even though drinking had a little role in his life, he said, “it was incredibly devastating and absolutely undesirable.”
I attended to my first AA meeting and the lightbulb momentarily dawned on me. “The first true gift of LA for me was going through these demons, this stuff that was being nourished really poorly by an emotionally negative relationship with taking a drink.
“I believe that 90% of your work is actually maintaining a healthy mind if you are going to be based in Los Angeles and working in the Hollywood industry.”
Smith, Hayley
Bec Hewitt (née Cartwright), who played Hayley from 1998 to 2005, is credited with creating and popularising the character.
She left the show in 2005 after seven years because she became pregnant after marrying tennis legend Lleyton Hewitt.
Bec expressed in a statement at the time that leaving all of her friends and co-stars would be “painful.”
But rather than eliminating the character or writing her out of the show permanently, the soap opera’s producers decided to recast the role and cast a different actress.
Ella Scott Lynch stepped into the position of Bec, filling large shoes, but she had Bec’s support and her best wishes.
Doug Stewart
Throughout Duncan’s time in Summer Bay, he was portrayed by a variety of different young actors. Duncan is the son of Alf (Ray Meagher) and Ailsa (Judy Nunn).
Duncan was portrayed by Lewis Devaney from 1990 to 1998, Brendan McKensy from 1998 till the character’s departure in 2001, and Brendan McKensy again from 2001 to the present.
But ten years later, Benedict Wall brought Duncan back to the adored Australian serial opera.
Before being cast as Duncan, Benedict reportedly had several auditions for the show.
Patterson, VJ
Since his infancy, VJ Patterson has existed as a character in Summer Bay.
VJ, a beloved character since 2000, is the son of Vinnie and Leah (Ada Nicodemou) (Ryan Kwanten).
Felix Dean originally played the child as a pre-teen, and at this point, he didn’t play a significant role.
VJ then vanished from view before reappearing as a boy with a completely different appearance.
In 2014, the character made a comeback and appeared considerably older. Matt Little now plays the part, and he is incredibly muscular.
VJ’s on-screen mother at the time commented: “VJ does leave the screens for a bit and then he comes back obviously grown up! It is believed that the actor was switched due to the character growing older.
He’s a big guy now because they wanted him to physically mature and appear a little bit older.
Felix Dean, the original actor, is now 25 years old.
The former Home and Away star was reportedly detained in October 2021 after being accused of assaulting a store employee, according to Digital Spy.
He had been arrested the previous month and charged with robbery intent and common assault in addition to the current charges.
Additionally accused with property damage stemming from an alleged incident in January 2021 was the former Summer Bay star.
He was denied bail and given a term of 19 months in jail with an 11-month non-parole period; however, because the sentence was retroactive to July 11, 2021, and he had already served some time, he was qualified for release on June 10, 2022.
ROO STEPHEN
The popular Australian soap opera’s long-running character Roo has been recast, along with many other Summer Bay names.
Roo used to be blonde and somewhat wild when the soap opera first started in the 1980s, but she is now a gorgeous brunette.
Justine Clarke, a young actress embroiled in a number of scandals, created Roo and laid the groundwork for this enduring and beloved figure.
She was a bully, the original Roo actor admitted in a 2020 interview with The Australian Women’s Weekly. On the street, people started giving me the finger and calling me a “bitch.”
Georgie Parker has played the part for more than ten years, but this wasn’t her first appearance on screen.
In the Australian medical drama series All Saints, Georgie played Sister Teresa Sullivan, a nurse and former nun, from 1998 until 2005.
