87-101

Update number three: three points!

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  87. April Scott (3 points)

  Played by Rhiannon Fish

  April slid off the poll last time round but has managed to claw her way back up to the third rung. April started off as a quirky, independent environmentalist and ended up as none of those things, with her role reduced to hanging off Dexter’s arm and loudly insisting he was her soul mate.

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  87= Atticus Decker (3 points)

  Played by John Adam

  And a debut appearance for the witness protection handler with odd ideas of “service”, who looks curiously like one of Summer Bay High’s old teachers. But hey, he might have impregnated the woman he was protecting but at least he hasn’t turned out to be evil, which puts him ahead of most guest detectives.

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  87= Barbara Stewart (3 points)

  Played by Barbara Stephens & Rona McLeod
  

  The first of Alf’s sisters to appear in this poll. Barbara turned up back in the 80s as a kindly motherly figure, before returning in the 90s played by a different actress as a scheming villain in shoulderpads. This was quietly forgotten when the original actress briefly returned in Episode 4000.

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  87= Beth Hunter (3 points)

  Played by Clarissa House

  One of the show’s ultimate matriarchs, Beth acted as the mother figure to the Sutherlands, Hunters and Holdens at various points, although she was infamously bad at juggling them in the first few months, sending her own children to boarding school or Irene. Eventually died in an off-screen car accident.

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  87= Carly Morris/Lucini (3 points)

  Played by Sharyn Hodgson

  One of the original foster children, Carly got put through an awful lot in her time on the show including alcoholism and being raped (sorry, “attacked”). She also attracted a lot of male attention, and ended up in a not-entirely-blissful marriage that nevertheless has still been going strong during her 2000s return appearances. Her departure in the same week that Pippa married Michael signalled the end of the show’s first era for many.

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  87= Lance Smart (3 points)

  Played by Peter Vroom

  Another original cast member, Lance was the more kind-hearted of the show’s original wide boys, likely to give Pippa his last dollar, although he still got involved in scrapes from manufactured bands to hot dog stands. He also got engaged to Marilyn twice, something that Colleen seemed to keep forgetting.

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  87= Olivia Fraser-Richards (3 points)

  Played by Ivy Latimer & Raechelle Banno

  The daughter of Chloe and Lachie, last seen as an 8-year-old in 2005 before heading off to a happy ending living in the city with her Uncle James… Sorry, what? The sulky blonde girl living with Irene? No, I’m sure she’s a different character…

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  87= Rebecca Fisher/Nash (3 points)

  Played by Jane Hall, Danielle Carter, Belinda Emmett & Megan Connolly

  Donald Fisher’s younger daughter had a different face every time she turned up and was played by four different actresses in all, meaning she is most remembered for the rather macabre fact that two of them died young, making Belinda Emmett one of the few regular cast members sadly no longer with us. The show was kinder to Rebecca, last heard of living with husband Travis and their son.

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  87= Rhys Sutherland (3 points)

  Played by Michael Beckley

  Rhys continues to poll rather strongly for someone who was last seen twelve years ago and was completely absent from the early polls. Maybe occasional repeats of 2000s episodes by Channel 5 have caused people to forgive him for cheating on Shelley and trying to keep Kane and Kirsty apart, and instead focus on his dry wit.

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  87= Rosie Pritchard (3 points)

  Played by Teri Haddy

  Rosie gets the same number of points as she did last time, managing to hold her own despite a relatively brief time on the show. Rosie was kind of like Tabitha with a more sympathetic ending, as her loneliness and rather obsessive attempts to hold on to her new friend saw her get in over her head with the wrong boy and end up with the pregnant by rape storyline that she seems to have passed on to Billie.

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  87= Sam Marshall (3 points)

  Played by Ryan Clark

  One of the show’s primary child characters, Sam isn’t even halfway through his tenure on 7TWO as he managed to hang on into the new millennium and have a teenage group form around him. Suffered from severe abandonment issues after having about three parents walk out on him and two die.

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  87= Sarah Lewis (3 points)

  Played by Luisa Hastings Edge

  Sarah continues to remain oddly popular, even managing to gain a couple of extra points this time round. Somehow managing to gain sympathy even after gunning down one of the show’s hunks in cold blood, Sarah was one of the earliest examples of the Rent-a-Psycho approach of the mid 00s.

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  87= Stacey Macklin (3 points)

  Played by Sandie Lillingston

  The amiable businesswoman from the early years, who managed to outlast several regulars despite never making it onto the opening titles. She’s also Martha’s aunt, for anyone keeping track. Achieved notoriety by getting engaged to three men in the same year and not marrying any of them. That’s fast work even by Sally’s standards.

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  87= Tony Holden (3 points)

  Played by Jon Sivewright

  Tony was nowhere to be seen last time round but evidently that was enough to get his fans out this time, as he picks up three points. The kindly patriarch of the Holden clan, Tony managed to gain a lot of de facto stepchildren and a younger wife and remains one of the characters you’d most like to be like when you grow up.

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  87= Eve Jacobsen a.k.a. Zoe McCallister (3 points)

  Played by Emily Perry

  The successor to Sarah Lewis now has the same number of points as her. Eve turned up in town bent on revenge for the death of the woman she loved but had trouble finding anyone who’d actually met Sarah so ended up taking her revenge on a bunch of newcomers and guest characters instead.