Audrey Long

Audrey Long (2009)
Wendy Playfair
Episodes: 4794, 4798

Children: Christine Jones

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When Melody accompanied Belle to the local community centre to help her with a story, she was shocked to come across her estranged mother Christine and grandmother Audrey, who was confined to a wheelchair.Although her initial reaction was to run away, Belle persuaded her to return and, after being left alone, she ran into them again and spoke to Christine, learning that she had had a troubled history with Audrey which had led to her running away as a teenager, with Audrey being resident in New Zealand.

Melody had had little contact with Audrey as a result of the feud and, hoping to get to know her, invited her to have dinner with her, Miles, Alf, Jai and Annie at the caravan park.Initially, the dinner went well, although Melody was slightly discomforted by Audrey’s dismissive attitude towards Christine.However, when Jai let slip that Melody was between schools, Melody was forced to admit she’d been expelled from Summer Bay High.Audrey furiously accused her of bringing shame upon the family and called her a silly girl when she knocked over a glass of water, causing her to leave the table in tears.Although both Alf and Christine stressed that Audrey’s behaviour was due to her being ill and Audrey was pleasant enough when she left, the experience gave Melody an insight into her mother’s childhood.That night, Melody and Christine received the news that Audrey had died after suffering a double stroke.