21-39
The Home and Away Most Popular Character countdown continues. Playing with the big boys and girls now, as this update takes us from those still sharing the same number of points to those in three figures.
21. Kirby Aramoana (476 points)
Played by Angelina Thomson
Kirby’s had a massive rise after just scraping into the Top 50 last time round. She still feels like one of the most underused of the current cast, with her role largely consisting of bugging Mali with her enthusiasm, but she seems to be working for someone.
22. Rose Delaney (386 points)
Played by Kirsty Marillier
Rose has managed to jump ten places from last time round. It continues to be refreshing to have a police officer on the show who actually seems to follow the rules, even if it does put her at odds with the locals who are used to their mate on the force turning a blind eye to their misdemeanours.
23. Roo Stewart (339 points)
Played by Justine Clarke & Georgie Parker
Roo finishes just below the Top 20 but it’s still a strong finish for a character who seems to be at the back of the queue when it comes to storylines. Last time round, I wondered if her tutoring business was going to be as short-lived as her other roles. It was. She’s now secretary of the surf club. See how long that lasts.
24. Ziggy Astoni (334 points)
Played by Sophie Dillman
The lowest ranked of last time’s Top 10, Ziggy has a rather big fall from third place but is still finishing quite highly for a character who hasn’t been seen for a year and a half. After her short-lived marriage to Brody, she ended up leaving with Dean with an apparent storyline about post-natal mental health issues being cut short.
25. Bree Cameron (298 points)
Played by Juliet Godwin
Bree’s another one to have risen ten places since her debut appearance in the poll. Once set up as a decent doctor, she seems to have spend most of this year going through various obsessive compulsive disorders at work while being on and off with Remi.
26. Sally Fletcher (297 points)
Played by Kate Ritchie
Once seemingly unassailable at the top of the poll, Sally hasn’t even made the Top 20 this time round. She and Alf were the last two members of the original cast standing but with her 20 year stint overtaken by the likes of Irene, Leah and (if you add all her stints together) Marilyn, she’s not as associated with Home and Away as she once was!
27. Abigail Fowler (235 points)
Played by Hailey Pinto
The lowest ranked of the current regular cast but her placing isn’t to be sniffed at given she’s been on the show less than six months and spent a good chunk of that time in withdrawal. The younger sister of Eden and Levi seems to have done the impossible and brought the warring siblings together!
28. Heath Braxton (141 points)
Played by Dan Ewing
Dropping a few places from his Top 20 finish last time round, Heath was the middle of the original Braxton brothers and the one that apparently wasn’t meant to catch on, given he spent his first six months as a guest star. Learning he was a father and getting together with Bianca knocked off a few of his rougher edges and he’s still on Irene’s Christmas card list.
29. Donald Fisher (97 points)
Played by Norman Coburn
Once upon a time, Donald was just below Sally in the longest-serving list, but even more characters have overtaken his fifteen year stint since then. Probably still the show’s most famous school principal, not least because there aren’t any contenders anymore, he morphed from a villain in the pilot to one of the show’s trusted authority figures.
30. Pippa Ross (96 points)
Played by Vanessa Downing & Debra Lawrance
Like Sally, there was a time when it was hard to imagine the show without Pippa. And like Sally, she’s slowly slipping down the poll. Pippa was the heart of the show for its first ten years, navigating the difficult lives of her foster children who didn’t even notice when she turned into a completely different person one day.
31. Bobby Simpson (93 points)
Played by Nicolle Dickson
Bobby continues to be positioned just below Pippa but has slipped out of the Top 30 this time. Another iconic character from the early days, Bobby started off as tearaway before quickly getting turned into a foster mother and then following foster dad Tom’s lead in being one of the earliest regulars to be killed off after five years.
32. Morag Bellingham (83 points)
Played by Cornelia Frances
Morag seems to be holding firm, finishing just below her estranged daughter, who is thus sandwiched between her parents after the left field reveal that Donald got Morag pregnant. Another of Alf’s sisters, the show has kept Morag’s whereabouts vague since Cornelia Frances’ passing. If she still had her legal firm in the Bay, she’d be making a killing!
33. Perri Hayes (81 points)
Played by Cantona Stewart
Another new character introduced this year, Perri’s achieved a high finish without even having the benefit of a long-term contract. His being taken in by Tane to save him from his abusive father had a pleasing old school feel to it, slightly undermined by the way Tane lost interest in him on learning he’d got casual acquaintance Harper pregnant.
34. Jasmine Delaney (73 points)
Played by Sam Frost
A bit of a fall after finishing in the Top 20 last time, Jasmine nevertheless remains among the most fondly remembered of the recent characters, even though the show seems determined to have ex-boyfriend Cash and siblings Xander and Rose never mention her again. A lively nurse whose husband died after a few months of marriage so she ran off to live with his parents.
35. Casey Braxton (63 points)
Played by Lincoln Younes
The youngest Braxton (who wasn’t actually a Braxton) slips out of the Top 30 to finish a few places below his older brother. Casey was originally pitched as the bright star who was going to get out of the Braxtons’ cycle of crime and ended up as the one who died because of it.
36. Belle Taylor (50 points)
Played by Jessica Tovey
Belle rises ten places from last time round, finishing above husband Aden, who was pretty much the last option left for her after dating Ric, Drew and Lucas. She turned from the wild child into the surrogate big sister to Geoff and Annie and alternated with Aden about who was dealing with whose mental health issues.
37. Colby Thorne (47 points)
Played by Tim Franklin
Colby’s another one to have slipped out of the Top 30. He was another one where we weren’t quite sure if he was meant to be a good guy or not, as his killing his abusive stepfather in cold blood a year into his tenure cast a shadow over the rest of it. Dated best mate’s sister Mackenzie and had a brief marriage to Kate Ramsay from Neighbours.
37= Colleen Smart (47 points)
Played by Lyn Collingwood
Colleen holds onto her Top 40 place, having managed a 13 year stint as the resident gossip around the turn of the century. She managed a few guest appearances either side, as the mother of original character Lance and later aunt of current character Roo, who she once tried to set up with Lance. They’re probably even more horrified about it now.
37= Tori Morgan (47 points)
Played by Penny McNamee
And yet another one to have slid out of the Top 30, and that’s despite making a welcome return appearance this year for brother Justin’s wedding. Originally the level-headed one of the Morgan family, she had a few odd decisions in later years including impregnating herself with Robbo’s sperm behind his back, but managed a happy ending marrying fellow doctor Christian.
Next, explore the Top 20 with the characters who made it to positions 11-20.