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We're aiming to start on 8th December.

Firstly, my thanks to @Chris J, @Dan F and Matt for all their hard work in collating the results and turning my commentary into such an excellent presentation. I always feel I have the easy job while they have to handle the technical stuff! Secondly, my thanks to everyone that's been following the reveals and posting their thoughts on the results and my commentary in here: It's been interesting seeing the reactions! As ever, a few mentions for characters who've gone missing since the last poll: As noted, no Fin, the highest placed character not to return. No More Recent Chloe (thanks, @atrus!), the most recent regular not to get votes. No Kit, who usually picks up points from someone. And no Zac, meaning only three of Leah's four husbands got votes!

And we’re live, with all those that scored 1-2 points… https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/mpc2024-index/ Big thanks to @Red Ranger 1 as ever for providing another excellent commentary

And there we have it, the Top Three have been announced. Click through for our news story where we recap on the Top 20 before revealing the final result. Find out who was voted Home and Away's Most Popular Character in our 2024 vote... Big thanks once again to @Red Ranger 1 for his commentary, and to those that voted in our eleventh Most Popular Home and Away Character poll.

Just popping on to say hope you all have a good Christmas

Quite random here, but read on, it involves a 1990s character. I guess due to the show being 37 years old next month, all of the 1990s can be The Early Years. I remember the storyline with Doctor Kelly Watson in the late 1990s when she thought she had HIV but was given the all clear. And during stress once she almost threw her pager at the wall as it kept bleeping. I get that today in 2024 when my mobile bleeps. I get my "Kelly Watson" rage where I almost throw it against the wall, or feel like doing it.

All the characters that scored 3 points... https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/147-166/

Edward & Peta. Two characters who I thought were great and loved their romance.

My thanks to all who make this annual "walk down memory lane" possible and so enjoyable. It always brings back memories of characters I'd forgotten all about and miss and also leads me to ponder anew ones I wish I had no memory of.

A very enjoyable rundown as ever! I'll make no comment on Tane and Cash being voted the second and third best characters of all time, but Alf's victory is deserved even if it's only by a whisker this time. And anyway, the fun is in the journey and the ever-entertaining writeups. Thanks to all those involved and for the hard work behind the scenes.

Characters that placed 80-99 https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/80-99/

Forgot to post in here yesterday, but all characters that placed at 100 and lower are now up https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/mpc2024-index/ Given it was the same person who voted for both Peter and Lorraine, who has been a regular poster in the Early Years threads, I think we're safe to assume it was written correctly

Totally agree RE these two! And their short longevity on screen adds to their enigma

Thank you to @Chris J @Dan F and @Red Ranger 1 for all the hard work they do for the Most Popular Character polls, it's so appreciated. Very happy that Alf won. Now to see the results again in two years time. Would love a Most Popular Couples poll to happen as A one of like you did way back in 2004 or 2006 can't remember which one it was to see who the Most Popular Couple of all time is. I feel like it would be fitting if it was Alf and Alisa or Sally and Flynn.

Completely agree! I've always used the term "sticking plaster" when evaluating and describing the impact of Rebecca and Travis' era. So said, I really do have a (somewhat recently rediscovered) fondness for many of the characters introduced in that 98/99 era who didn't last long into the Sutherland era... Especially Edward, Judith, Joel, Shauna, Natalie 2 and Mitch. I miss them all when they're gone (which I cannot say for many of the post-2000 introductions, especially the Sutherlands themselves). As much as it pains for me to admit it, I have to agree RE Ailsa. The writers had damaged her characterisation & role (irreparably so) in the community / show so much by the late 90s that I don't miss her when she's gone (it's more a case of missing her as she WAS, especially in the first year but even still a bit until about 94/5). Ailsa left for good for me in about 1994. She's more often than not pretty unlikeable from then onwards and, whilst her having more storylines again was great (and well performed by Judy), there's only so many times you can be held up at gunpoint, have car accidents and nervous breakdowns.

I was just recently watching some 1994 episodes and yeah they really don’t make the show that good anymore do they? The golden years were so much better.

And now into the top 50.... https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/40-60/

Those that placed 61-79 https://www.backtothebay.net/features/most-popular-character-2024/61-79/

Ales Papps just announced the tour on his instagram! https://www.instagram.com/alexpappsofficial/?hl=en A shout-out to all UK fans of Home & Away… In 2025 we’re coming over for a visit!! JUST ANNOUNCED: Home and Away: The Early Years Tour Relive the nostalgia and magic of iconic Australian series Home and Away, with a live ‘in conversation’ celebration featuring original cast members and 90s fan favourites on stage together for the first time ever in the UK! Summer Bay is getting closer each day… touring to Bath, London, Salford and Birmingham in May 2025. On-Sale Info: Thu 5 Dec 10am – Priority Booking Fri 6 Dec 10am – General booking Tickets: www.fane.co.uk/home-and-away We’d love to see you there!! So far the cast announced Frank Bobby Carly Chloe Tim Gypsy Adam Frank and Bobby together! This is amazing! Unfortunately I won’t be able to make it this time, but I hope this is the first of many!

I have actually just booked mine. As I say hope there is a meet and great. The 80s to about 2000 were truly the golden. Era. My fave period was 1993 to 1999

Even if your favourite actor isn't in this, it's still a decent line-up. I'm sure the organisers have a list as long as your arm of people who said no, couldn't travel on those dates or were asking for too much money. The Neighbours cast has shown that there is a market out there for this sort of nostalgia. I hope the Home and Away fans in England will support this and give the organisers the opportunity to do more of them in the future. It isn't as if Channel 7 is doing anything to help the early years of H&A.

Thanks for the heads up, bit of a glitch with categories but Chris has now fixed

@Red Ranger 1can i say for a start that your write ups are iconic, i love them. im also very surprised with who been in the poll so far as some people i didnt expect to see. glad Michael was low as i didnt like him and at least Tom will be higher them him.

I won't be able to go to any of these, but if I could, I'd be first in the queue. I hope the tour is a resounding success because if it isn't, that's the last time we'll see something like this.

I paid 109 pounds. With. Early booking fees for two people so I would say tickets are about 40 pounds each

This is so exciting and seems to have had a great reaction online a waiting tickets going on sale too!

Nvm her, Nick Hardcastle sticks out like a sore thumb!

I guess we'll have to wait and see how it goes with Bree, Levi may have been able to persuade her to see someone not just for her own good but any patients. Justin does only have Claudia's version of why Eric is like he is but Leah only has Eric's version of why Claudia is the way she is, the old she says/he says problem. Maybe a mixture of the two. Would have been a big moment for Tane too feeling his baby kick for the first time. Tane is torn between Perri and the baby , wouldn't be easy for anyone. Carl, let's not forget, is very sneaky so if he knew Tane was more on the case, he'd be nowhere near Perri. Plus Perri is 'protecting' Tane as Carl has threated serious damage to him. Matter of luck Perri got out from under Carl's clutches and managed to overpower him?

Fair enough.

The Macklin Corporation kind of just fizzled out, perhaps because every character involved left - Frank, Roo, Stacey and Tom. Tom kept working there until he had his stroke, but it had pretty much run its course in my opinion. Maybe if Tom or Stacey didn't exit permanently, it would have been revived. Or at least kept as career for Tom, but only seen when the plot required. I'm sure it's been mentioned in passing in the mid-late 90s. Mostly just references to guest characters staying there, but never seen. "Upper class" characters like Diana Fraser who would never have stayed at the Caravan Park. I might be wrong though.

They bombed out on the bottom 10 of the Aussie top 100 and their follow-up didn't even chart.

Frank Morgan probably liked playing Springsteen's music and dancing to it in his room, and if Summer Bay House had a power cut he would be Dancing in the Dark. I cannot think of any famous Americans who have been in H&A. The show has had the odd American character such as that showbiz man in 1988. As we know many famous Brits and Australians have been in H&A from Michael Palin to Lleyton Hewitt.

I wouldn't be surprised if he played Born in the USA til the tape popped driving Tom and Pippa crazy

Though as explained to you last time around—and also pointed out in both the initial post in here and the page on the main site—it's not about who you find most interesting out of the current characters It's supposed to be your favourite characters over the entire history of the show, or for however long you've watched. So your Blind Freddy vote (which we obviously didn't count) could have gone to Billie or someone else you preferred.

I liked it and was disappointed it was so short. When she returned from 6 months in Cyprus (having fled the bay from Jamie Sharpe), she met Tamara (who was staying in Leah's while she was away) and helped her. I think then Leah decided helping kids in the school would be a new direction for herself. It lasted almost two years. Due to school budget cuts, Zac (who was acting principal at the time and dating Leah) let her go. It was used as a storyline to cause drama for them especially as they took on Evie and Oscar at the time as well as Hunter burning down Leah's house. I was hoping after that storyline, Leah would get her job back but it didn't happen.

I liked seeing John Farnham in H&A in 1988 briefly where he met Sally. It would have been ace if Bruce Springsteen had done a cameo in the show, seeing as Frank Morgan was a fan of his, and he was seen reading a Bruce Springsteen magazine in the opening credits, titled "The Boss".

I was nicely sat down watching the old episodes of home and away on Amazon prime and really getting in to it then it got to episode 199 and it stopped and I tried to find if there was any where else if it was show but couldn't find it every other soap you can watch from the begining up until the current day are Amazon going to show any more episodes

And then Irene got the job when Pippa left, despite being completely IT illiterate. I remember someone playing on a prank her by changing the font colour on her Word documents to white so Irene thought she'd lost all her work. Like Pippa, surely there would have been more qualified and experienced candidates...

Was the job Pippa took the same one which Joanne Brennan had previously held? If it was, you can understand why Donald opted for somebody who wouldn't deal drugs to the kids or accuse him of sexual harassment.

If they do, they should roll out lesser repeated ones

I take your point, but we really need to see some indication of it on screen, rather than being left to assume. As it is, it seems like the moment Harper told him she was pregnant he went from being devastated to acting like Felicity never existed.

Surprised this song wasn’t played on the jukebox (‘cross-branding synergization’, as business-types call it nowadays)… Oh, and you can thank me for this morning’s earworm. Honey Dip girl, driving me KRAY-ZAH!

Hi Team, Would it be possible not to put the full spoiler in the summary of the news stories on the front page please? Love the site and rarely have cause to raise an issue, but I like to pick and choose the level of spoilers/teasers I read and have been invested in this character’s story given the fostering/troubled teen element so would’ve preferred to see it play out.