40-60
The Home and Away Most Popular Character countdown continues. Things start to get serious as we enter the Top 60, with 22 points separating the characters in this section.
40. Charlie Buckton (44 points)
Played by Esther Anderson
Charlie continues to feature strongly despite a bit of a dip. After something of a chequered romantic history, she was paired with the popular Brax for her last year on the show and got shot dead by one of his many enemies. Possibly the first really really bad police officer.
40= Sophie Simpson (44 points)
Played by Rebekah Elmaloglou
And a strong showing for Sophie, given its over 30 years since her heyday on the show and nearly 20 since we last saw her in 2005. Famous for one of the show’s earliest teen pregnancy plots and for making a load of lamingtons.
42. Robbo Shaw (41 points)
Played by Jake Ryan
Another dead police officer. Even the writers didn’t quite seem to know whether Robbo was a good guy or not in a rather confused debut storyline. He became a father again with the aid of best friend Tori and a test tube before getting a rather dramatic exit at the hands of people he was meant to have sent to jail.
43. Shane Parrish (38 points)
Played by Dieter Brummer
Well, he’s finished over 20 places higher than his one-time wife! Shane started out as a bit of an obnoxious troublemaker before settling down after a year and getting into a long-term relationship with Angel that ended with him dying of sepsis on their first wedding anniversary.
44. Martha Mackenzie (34 points)
Played by Jodi Gordon
And Martha’s finished nearly 40 places higher than her one-time husband! She was the second child born on the show before coming back less than seventeen years later as an 18-year-old and proceeding to marry Jack twice, in the middle of a string of disastrous relationships that saw her end up with his cousin.
45. Bella Nixon (32 points)
Played by Courtney Miller
Bella first appeared threatening brother Colby with a crossbow. She managed to settle down a bit after that, quitting school on the grounds that we never saw it anyway and becoming a photographer. And ending up back with on-off boyfriend Nikau which was…good news?
45= Ryder Jackson (32 points)
Played by Lukas Radovich
It’s kind of appropriate that Ryder ends up sharing a place with his BFF, since his and Bella’s friendship was often the best thing about both characters. Yet another grandson that Alf didn’t know about until he turned up on his doorstep, he had a decent run on the show before getting a job on a cruise ship.
47. Chris Harrington (29 points)
Played by Johnny Ruffo
Johnny Ruffo joined the list of past regulars who’ve passed on this year. Chris arrived as the older brother of rather staid new character Spencer and proceeded to make much more of an impression as an honorary Diner lady, even if he did get a rather weak exit in the wake of the more dramatic endings of 2016.
48. Ari Parata (28 points)
Played by Rob Kipa-Williams
The largely self-appointed patriarch of the Parata family was on bad terms with both Tane and Nikau when the family first appeared but they all pulled together. The curious decision, after a year of building up him and Mackenzie, to reunite him with a previous unmentioned past love was probably the writing on the wall for the character.
49. Aden Jefferies (27 points)
Played by Todd Lasance
Introduced as a short-term boyfriend for Cassie and then returning two years later as a bully, Aden settled down slightly after being taken in by Roman and had an on/off relationship with Belle that culminated in one of the show’s more short-lived teen marriages. He stuck around and dated Nicole for a bit.
49= Ailsa Stewart (27 points)
Played by Judy Nunn
The fourth longest lasting of the original cast, Ailsa appeared for just shy of thirteen years, marrying Alf in the show’s first year and setting up the original Diner in the second. She even managed to set up the second Diner just in time to do a dying swan act in the kitchen.
49= Gypsy Nash (27 points)
Played by Kimberley Cooper
Gypsy took a lot of getting used to but ultimately turned out to be the jewel of the Nash family, outlasting the rest of them to turn from a rather catty schoolgirl to a caring assistant social worker. She married Will and we try not to remember her last stint either.
49= Vinnie Patterson (27 points)
Played by Ryan Kwanten
Leah’s first husband appears on the same number of points as his one-time housemate, who he bonded with over the fact everyone looked down on them. He started out as a get-rich-quick-merchant so it’s perhaps ironic that his attempt to provide for his family ended in him being jailed for fraud.
53. Rory Templeton (26 points)
Played by Joshua Orpin
One of these characters is not like the others… In the middle of an update full of old regulars, we have a guest character from this year. Rory arrived in a blaze of publicity as the leader of the new River Boys, spent a few weeks having sex with Felicity, then went to jail for murder.
54. Hayley Smith/Lawson (25 points)
Played by Rebecca Cartwright & Ella Scott Lynch
The highest rated and longest serving of the Smith siblings. Hayley had quite a few relationships, including a short-lived marriage to on-off boyfriend Noah, to the point she didn’t quite know who her child’s father was, not helped by someone switching the DNA results because reasons. She was also an artist.
54= Ric Dalby (25 points)
Played by Mark Furze
Another of the grandsons Alf didn’t know about until he turned up, although at least there was a twist in that Alf knew before Ric did. Starting out as a bully, he got taken in by Sally and Flynn and went through a succession of jobs before following his girlfriend to college so he could work in a nearby garage.
56. Willow Harris (23 points)
Played by Sarah Roberts
Willow started out as a dodgy character working for some even dodgier characters, until the introduction of her old friends made her seem a bit less dodgy. After bouncing back and forth between Justin and Dean, she ended up dating a woman and then no-one at all until it was time to leave to reunite with her off-screen.
57. Dani Sutherland (22 points)
Played by Tammin Sursok
Dani surprisingly proves the most popular Sutherland, which didn’t seem to be the case when she was on the show! She had a hard time of it, not helped by all her major love interests either preferring someone else or dying. Ultimately left to become a writer. Because she…wrote something, I guess.
57= Matilda Hunter (22 points)
Played by Indiana Evans
And from a Sutherland to a Hunter, as Matilda finishes on the same number of points as her one-time stepsister and three below the guy she had a sunset ending with. She was another one that started off looking down on Summer Bay but was won over by its charms and turned over a new leaf after being burned in an explosion.
57= Noah Lawson (22 points)
Played by Beau Brady
Meanwhile, Noah finishes three below the wife he didn’t have a sunset ending with on account of getting shot. Starting out as a biker who also worked as a cleaner, playing surrogate older brother to Seb saw him mature a bit and even try out for council at one point. He was nearly a counsellor turned councillor! I’ll get my coat.
57= Shannon Reed (22 points)
Played by Shannon Reed
Heading a bit further back in the show’s history for Shannon, still in the same update as fellow man-eater who ended up with a woman Willow. She was one of Michael and Pippa’s foster children, usually in pursuit of some crusade or other. Weirdly, the 7Two repeats have led to people shipping her with Shane. Odd how tastes change.