6-10

And just to make you wait a couple of days longer, here’s the bottom half of the Top 10.

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  6. Donald Fisher (66 points)

  Played by Norman Coburn

  Don slips a couple of places but still puts in a respectable showing. I’m not sure when the last time he got even an oblique mention from ex-wife Marilyn was, so he’s doing well to stay in people’s minds. The firm-but-mostly-fair headmaster for most of the show’s first decade and a half remains a favourite among those who’ve seen him.

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  7. Leah Poulos/Patterson (61 points)

  Played by Ada Nicodemou

  In September of this year, Leah surpassed Sally’s tenure of 4,610 episodes to officially become the show’s third longest-serving character, and celebrates by making the Top 10 for the first time since 2010. She was in the doldrums a bit last time out, but her romance with Justin and post-kidnapping storyline have given her a much needed burst of life.

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  7= Marilyn Chambers/Fisher (61 points)

  Played by Emily Symons

  If you add all Marilyn’s stints together, she may just about be right behind Leah in the tally if she’s still on the show in two years’ time. This year saw a bit of a shake-up for her as well, as she broke up with John and ended up taking Leah’s old place as Alf and Roo’s lodger. This…does not feel like as much of a burst of life, but she’s kept her place in the Top 10 anyway.

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  9. Pippa Fletcher/Ross (50 points)

  Played by Vanessa Downing & Debra Lawrance

  It’s easy to get complacent about Pippa being in the Top 10, even if she has dropped three places from last time, but there was a period when it looked like she was destined to be stuck round about where Phoebe Nicholson is. Pippa pretty much was Home and Away for its first decade and her leaving seemed unthinkable, but eleven years on from her last appearance, we’re still here!

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  9= Ryder Jackson (50 points)

  Played by Lukas Radovich

  Ryder put in a creditable showing last time round, but this time he’s got more than twice as many points to crack the Top 10. In some respects, it’s been a quiet year for Ryder, as he hasn’t had a sniff of romance since that girl that posted a sex tape of him online last year. In other respects, it’s been a busy one, as he managed to meet both his father and his uncle (who never met each other!) in short order.