Tag: The Young Doctors

Obituary: John Hamblin

John Hamblin, actor and long-time presenter on Play School, has died at the age of 87. Born in England, Hamblin had made some early acting appearances on British television and was a “ten pound pom” when he came to Australia in the 1960s. His first Australian TV appearance was a guest role in the adventure …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2022/09/obituary-john-hamblin.html

Obituary: Carol Raye

Carol Raye, former television producer and performer, has died at the age of 99. British-born Raye had a successful career in British film and television in the 1940s and ’50s. In the early 1960s, her husband’s work took the family to Kenya and Raye ended up working as a producer for the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2022/06/obituary-carol-raye.html

Melbourne Cup 1981

It was all smiles at Flemington Racecourse in 1981 as Holiday Island star Gaynor Martin is pictured with champion jockey Roy Higgins in the lead up to the 121st running of the Melbourne Cup. Despite all the smiles from the Holiday Island crew — including fellow co-stars Steven Grives and Nick Tate, pictured with Martin …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2021/11/melbourne-cup-1981.html

BBC celebrates Neighbours milestone

As Neighbours approaches its 35th anniversary on British television, BBC Radio 2 earlier this week hosted a three-hour tribute to the soap that at its peak was watched by over 20 million British viewers. The Brits were familiar with Aussie soaps, with earlier titles like The Young Doctors, The Sullivans, Sons And Daughters, A Country …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2021/09/bbc-celebrates-neighbours-milestone.html

Obituary: Mary Ward

Actress Mary Ward, best known as Jeanette “Mum” Brooks in Prisoner, has died peacefully in a nursing home at the age of 106. Born in Western Australia in 1915, she went to the United Kingdom in the 1930s to pursue a successful acting career. She had just signed a long term contract to work at …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2021/07/obituary-mary-ward.html

30 years since Chances

In the decade following the end of The Sullivans and The Young Doctors, the Nine Network had little success in establishing a successful serial drama. The TV graveyard of the 1980s and early ’90s is littered with Nine’s drama corpses — Starting Out, Kings, Possession, Prime Time, Taurus Rising, All The Way, Family And Friends. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2021/01/30-years-since-chances.html

Shimmering Light took ABC to the surf

In the late 1970s, ABC entered into a joint venture with Trans-Atlantic Enterprises in the US to produce six telemovies for broadcast in Australia and for sale overseas. While the telemovies were filmed in Australia, they would feature American actors in lead roles — a common tactic to attract overseas interest in selling Australian-made productions. …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2020/12/shimmering-light-took-abc-to-the-surf.html

Arcade: Going from hero to zero

By the turn of the ’80s it was the unofficial benchmark for each commercial network to have two successful soapie dramas in the schedule. Seven had Cop Shop and Skyways, and Nine had The Sullivans and The Young Doctors. The then 0-10 Network had the popular Prisoner and teen drama The Restless Years. For some reason, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2020/01/arcade-going-from-hero-to-zero.html

Prisoner stars before Prisoner

Last week marked the 40th anniversary of the debut of Prisoner. Most of the actors from the series had come from established acting backgrounds, though for many it was Prisoner that made them household (and even international) names even though they were not necessarily strangers to television. So what were some of the Prisoner cast …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/03/prisoner-stars-before-prisoner.html

40 years of Prisoner

It is 40 years ago this week that Prisoner first graced our screens, and a thankful 0-10 Network was relieved to have a ratings hit. In an era where it was almost mandatory for a commercial network to have two hit soaps on the go, the struggling network had teen drama The Restless Years and …

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Permanent link to this article: https://televisionau.com/2019/02/40-years-of-prisoner.html