‘My smile gives it away!’
All Together Now star Rebecca Gibney (pictured) was hesitant to talk to TV Week about her relationship with boyfriend, Southern Sons vocalist Jack Jones but has conceded, “I think my smile gives it away.” But the Logie Award-winning actress is guarded about revealing too much about her private life. “I believe people are entitled to their privacy so I’m just going to say I’m very happy and let the relationship run its course and develop,” she told TV Week. Gibney is more enthusiastic about discussing the success of All Together Now.  The new Nine Network series received some less than flattering reviews in the press when it debuted but it has gone on to become one of the year’s successes. “In some ways it was good we had some negative reviews, so people weren’t disappointed with the show,” she said. “But some writers were unfair to slam the show before it had a chance.  It’s upsetting when you’re trying to get a good Australian product off the ground, which is better than most of the American sitcoms, and you get negative press. It has proved a lot of them wrong and it’s going to get better.”

A new Guy hits Summer Bay
Another former Neighbours star is about to join the cast of the Seven Network’s Home And Away. Guy Pearce has signed on for a seven-week guest role in the series, playing the character of David Croft, the nephew of Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn).  “It’s certainly an interesting character, very different from anything I’ve done in the past – especially Mike Young (his Neighbours character),” Pearce told TV Week.

‘When Cathy brought the script home I nearly died…’
A late-night rendezvous between teenager Nicki Taylor (Cathy Godbold) and boyfriend Adam (Brenden Carter) on Chances is set to see their relationship consummated, but the actress involved has distanced herself from her character’s behaviour.  “I don’t believe in sex before you establish a long-lasting relationship and definitely not at my age,” Godbold told TV Week.  “Mum has complete trust in me.  She knows I don’t let my standards slip and go back on what I believe in.” Godbold’s mother is television veteran Rosemary Margan, who despite trusting her daughter’s judgement was daunted by the proposed storyline. “When Cathy brought the script home I nearly died,” she told TV Week. “I trust Cathy very much but as your only daughter you do tend to worry and I’m a bit of a worrier.”

Briefly…
It was a double celebration for showbusiness veteran Vic Gordon – his 80th birthday and 60th year in showbusiness – and there were plenty of friends to help him celebrate, including Val Jellay, Rosie Sturgess and Vikki Hammond.

The arrival of Jim Robinson’s (Alan Dale) illegitimate son Glen Donnelly (Richard Huggett) in Neighbours is set to raise a controversial romance with an immediate attraction to half-sister Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) who makes a return to the series this week. “The attraction is there straight away,” Huggett told TV Week.  “As soon as they meet they are attracted to each other. They try to talk it through, but they can’t come to any solutions on how to resolve it.  They know they’d like to have something, but society says you’re not allowed that.  That’s their dilemma.”

Meanwhile, Neighbours is set to lose a number of cast members as many of them have contract renewals coming up. Ian Williams, who plays medical student Adam Willis, is confirmed to be leaving, while co-stars Lucinda Cowden and Beth Buchanan are also believed to be quitting when their contracts expire. Producers are also in discussions with long-serving cast members Ian Smith and Anne Charleston about their future in the series.

John Laws says…
”Stuart Littlemore draws a long bow when he takes the high ground to offer barbed criticisms of the media in his ABC program Media Watch. Now the problem associated with such a program is that in bringing down decision after decision against fellow media operators, it leaves itself wide open to similar criticism. In other words, people in glass houses should be most careful when throwing stones. Take, for instance, a recent program in which Littlemore tut-tutted about the screening of violence during news programs.  While telling viewers how terrible this was, Littlemore – to prove his point – then proceeded to screen the offending scenes. He reasoned that he had to do this because the subject could not be discussed adequately in any other way.  Littlemore could have put it another way – he was a victim of the TV medium. He knew he couldn’t simply talk about the TV violence.  The medium itself demanded he join everyone else in screening it.  He had no option but to re-screen everything he was complaining about. Why didn’t he admit it as such?”

Program Highlights (April 6-12):
Saturday:  ABC launches it new late-night music program Racket, hosted by James Valentine with Stephanie Lewis, Toby Creswell, Joanne Corrigan and Tim Ritchie.

Sunday:  Nine crosses to Eastern Creek, Sydney for six hours of the Australian 500cc Motorcycle Grand Prix with commentators Darrell Eastlake and Barry Sheene.  In the evening, Seven launches its new game show The Main Event, hosted by Larry Emdur.  Sunday night movies are Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Seven), Her Alibi (Nine) and Throw Momma From The Train (Ten).

Monday:  Actor Lewis Fitzgerald guest stars in A Country Practice (Seven) as a city slicker who succumbs to a heart attack when he takes charge of his brother’s farm while he is being treated for a rare hydatids infection.

Tuesday:  In Chances (Nine), Rebecca’s (Natalie McCurry) nude modelling assignment is set to turn heads.

Wednesday:  ABC’s science and technology series Quantum returns for a new series.

Thursday:  The Seven Network’s popular sketch comedy show Fast Forward returns for a new series.

Friday:  Lady Mary Fairfax, the matriarch of the Fairfax media empire, is featured on Nine’s Burke’s Backyard as host Don Burke explores the gardens of her historic Sydney property, Fairwater.

Source: TV Week (Victoria edition), incorporating TV Times and TV Guide.  6 April 1991.  Southdown Press.