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Home and Away
Opening title screen
Genre	Soap opera
Creator(s)	Alan Bateman
Starring	See Cast below
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	4391 (as of 2007-04-09)
Production
Running time	20-22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Channel Seven
Picture format	576i (SDTV), 1080i (HDTV)
Original run	January 17, 1988 – present
Links
Official website
IMDb profile

Home and Away (commonly abbreviated to H&A) is an Australian weeknightly half-hour television soap opera that has been produced in Sydney by Seven Network since July 1987. The show first went to air on Sunday 17 January 1988 with a two hour pilot and from then it premiered as a weeknightly program the night after on Monday 18 January 1988 at 6 p.m. before Seven News which then aired at 6:30 p.m.. Home and Away has also aired at the 6:30 p.m. timeslot however from 1992 the 7 p.m. slot has been its stable time.

The show is broadcast on the Seven Network and its affiliates from Monday to Friday at 7 p.m. in Australia and is exported to many countries including Ireland, New Zealand, Estonia, France, Norway, United Kingdom and many Asian countries.

When the show began in January 1988 ratings were low but soon improved and gradually the show's popularity grew. Originally Home and Away focused primarily on Pippa and Tom who ran the Summer Bay Caravan Park and lived there with a succession of foster children, but eventually the show's focus broadened to focus on the lives and loves of the inhabitants of the rest of Summer Bay.

Contents 1 History 2 Cast 2.1 Recurring cast members 2.2 Coming and going cast members 3 Locations 4 Production and broadcast schedule 4.1 Australian broadcasts 4.2 United Kingdom broadcasts 4.2.1 Five scheduling 4.2.1.1 Sponsorship 5 How Five Caught Up in the UK after a years absence 5.1 ITV regional scheduling 5.2 Other international broadcasts 6 Popularity 7 Theme 8 Awards 9 References 10 External links

In 1985, Seven Network axed the poor rating soap Neighbours; they continued producing that series for its remaining contract, ultimately producing 170 episodes. However Seven Network was unaware that Network Ten, a rival television network, was in talks with the production team to air the soap on their network in 1986.

When Neighbours returned, on Ten, in 1986, it initially attracted low ratings.^[1] The Network worked hard to publicise Neighbours^[2] by revamping the show and adding several new, younger cast members, and they launched a concerted publicity drive largely focused on these new actors.^[3] This paid off for Neighbours and its popularity grew; by the end of 1987 it was attracting high ratings in Australia.^[4] In October 1986, Neighbours started being broadcast in the UK, where it began to attract strong viewing figures. From about 1988 to 1991 Neighbours was regually watched by 20 million viewers in the UK.

In late 1986 the Seven Network’s head of drama at the time Alan Bateman was tasked with creating a pilot for a soap opera that was in no way a copy of Neighbours. Bateman soon found his inspiration when he stopped in Kangaroo Point, New South Wales on a family outing. Chatting to locals Bateman discovered that the townspeople were angered over the construction of a home for foster children from the city. Seeing the degree of conflict the plan for the new youth centre had produced within the community, Bateman recognised the drama that could be generated by this situation and began to develop it as the basis for the new soap opera.

Main articles: List of Home and Away characters and List of cast members of Home and Away

Actor	Role	Status
Nicholas Bishop	Peter Baker	2004-2005, 2006-2007
Holly Brisley	Amanda Vale	2005-2007
Tim Campbell	Dan Baker	2004-present
Lyn Collingwood	Colleen Smart	1988-1989, 1997, 1999-present
Indiana Evans	Matilda Hunter	2004-present
Mark Furze	Ric Dalby	2004-present
Jodi Gordon	Martha Holden	2005-present
Chris Hemsworth	Kim Hyde	2004-2007
Amy Mathews	Rachel Hyde	2006-present
Lynne McGranger	Irene Roberts	1992-present
Ray Meagher	Alf Stewart	1988-present
Bobby Morley	Drew Curtis	2006-present
Ada Nicodemou	Leah Patterson-Baker	2000-present
Paul O'Brien	Jack Holden	2005-present
Kate Ritchie	Sally Fletcher	1988-present
Chris Sadrinna	Brad Armstrong	2006-present
Jon Sivewright	Tony Holden	2005-present
Jessica Tovey	Belle Taylor	2006-present
Sharni Vinson	Cassie Turner	2005-present
Rhys Wakefield	Lucas Holden	2005-present

Actor	Role
Alexa Ashton	Kelli Vale	2007-present
Kathryn Beck	Lily Nelson	2007-present
Patrick Brammall	Ethan Black	2007-present
Rodger Corser	Hugh Sullivan	2006, 2007-present
Cornelia Frances	Morag Bellingham	1988-1989, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004-present
Isaac Gorman	Ryan Baker	2005-present
Rebecca George	Const. Lara Fitzgerald	2005-present
Kim Knuckey	Sgt. McGrath	2005-present
Ashley Lyons	Cameron Reynolds	2007-present
Amy Mizzi	Kit Hunter	2003-2004, 2005, 2006-present
Anthony Gee	Kyle	2007-present
Cooper Scott	VJ Patterson	2006-present
Chloe Marshall	Pippa Saunders	2007-present

Actor	Role	Status
Danny Raco	Alex Poulos	Returns May 2007[5]
Norman Coburn	Donald Fisher	Returns Late June/Early July 2007[6]
Holly Brisley	Amanda Vale	Exits 2007[7]
Nicholas Bishop	Peter Baker	Exits 2007[8]
Chris Hemsworth	Kim Hyde	Exits June 2007[9]
Lincoln Lewis	Unknown	Debuts June 2007[10]
David Koch	Unknown	Debuts May 2007[11]
Joel Phillips	Jules	Debuts April 17th 2007

Aside from the residents' houses Summer Bay has several well-known locations including:

• The Surf Club - As with many real life Australian beaches Summer Bay has its own Surf and Lifesaving Centre. Over the years as well as serving its purpose as a centre for sea and land rescues it has been a place for the young people of the Bay to relax and socialise. Town meetings are often held in the Surf Club. It has also been used as a polling station and a private party/formal venue and has housed various food outlets. Several characters have been trained as lifeguards over the years and surf competitions take place occasionally.
• Noah's Bar - Located in and joined to the Surf Club. Originally intended to be a business venture between newly-weds Noah Lawson and Hayley Lawson, the bar was renamed after Noah's tragic death and changed hands after Hayley's move to France with Scott Hunter. The only known licensed premises regularly shown on the show, it is also used for private functions. Beth, Tony and Alf run the bar.
• Summer Bay Super Bods - The gym is also located next to the Surf Club. Currently owned by Amanda Vale, and run by Tony Holden and Kim Hyde. Previous employees include Jesse McGregor, and Hayley Lawson.
• The Bayside Diner - More commonly known simply as The Diner. Originally owned by Bobby Simpson and her best friend and aunt Ailsa Stewart, currently by Leah Patterson-Baker and Irene Roberts, although Alf still owns half the building, with Leah owning the other half. It was gutted by fire in 2000 due to Colleen Smart pouring a drum of oil, which she mistook for water, on a raging fire. The diner was forced to move location. Above is a two-bedroomed flat where Martha currently lives. The Diner is the first port of call for any residents of the Bay who wish to have a "choccy milkshake", laid-back dinner or take-away.
• Summer Bay High - The local co-ed high school. It is also used as an evacuation centre in extreme weather conditions such as hurricanes and has been the scene of a hostage situation. Most of the younger characters attend the school, and many of the adult characters have worked there as principals, teachers, admin staff and counsellors. These include Donald Fisher, Sally Fletcher, Irene Roberts, Amanda Vale, Tony Holden, Shauna Bradley, Brad Armstrong, Dan Baker and Noah Lawson.
• The Beach - The beach is an important part of the Bay and several major storylines have revolved around it. It is the main outdoor location, often used for casual encounters between characters. It also serves to showcase the looks of the cast, who are often seen wearing beachwear. There is a small salt-water swimming pool at one end of the beach which is used occasionally.
• The Police Station - Since the Zoe McAllistar saga began Summer Bay Police Station has been an increasingly popular setting for scenes. Peter Baker and regular character PC Jack Holden work there. Former officers include Nick Parrish,Joel Nash, Kim Mitchell, Detective Inspector Mike Carter and PC Pia Corelli. Other police officials are recurring characters (PC Lara "Fitzy" Fitzgerald, PC Ashton Nader, Detective Ken Harper and Senior Constable Darren McGrath) and regular viewers will know of their simple but recognisable characteristics, i.e. good cop, bad cop.
• Northern Districts Hospital - Illnesses, accidents and emergencies have seen many characters brought to the hospital for treatment. Current hospital employees include characters Dr. Rachel Armstrong, Nurse Julie Cooper and physiotherapist Samantha Tolhurst. Former hospital employees include Dr. Charlotte Adams, Dr. Lachlan Fraser, the late Dr. Flynn Saunders and Dr. Kelly Watson.

The show is filmed five days a week for 46 weeks of the year. The crew is given a four week holiday at Christmas and a two week break for recuperation mid-year. A normal shooting day is 7:00am to 6:00pm, but can go later if shooting goes over time. There are an average of 8 weeks between shooting and airing the program. The interior shots are filmed at a permanent set for the show in Seven Sydney's Epping studio. The exterior scenes are filmed on location at Palm Beach and at Long Reef Beach in Sydney's Northern Beaches region. Filming normally takes place early in the week here.

Home and Away is broadcast in Australia on weekdays at 7:00 p.m.. The show airs for 46 weeks each year (except for occasions where worldwide events take priority such as tennis and Olympic Games). Each new season begins on the second Monday in January (an exception to this was the 2006 season where it returned on the third Monday), and the season finale airs on the last Friday of the ratings period (usually the last Friday in November, although was not the case in 2006 as it was aired on the first Friday of December). The show rates very well in its timeslot, receiving between 1.1 and 1.5 million viewers per episode. The show's main rival is Temptation on the Nine Network, which usually comes second in this timeslot. In this timeslot Network Ten screens, at various times of the year, programs such as the Big Brother Australia Daily Show, The Biggest Loser, or repeats of The Simpsons, which usually come third in ratings behind networks Seven and Nine.

During the broadcast there are three ad-breaks and immediately following the broadcast of each episode is a short promotional trailer for the next episode.

Repeat episodes of the series were broadcast between 1999 and 2002, with a one-year break in 2000. The first 623 episodes (except for Episode 469, which was overlooked when Seven were showing the tennis in September 2001) were shown in this run, before it was taken off in May 2002, and so far has never returned. Restrictions due to contracts with actors who appeared in the early days of the series prevent the Seven Network from showing repeats of Home and Away, or releasing DVD sets[1].

The show has more overall viewers in the larger UK market than it has in its home market,^{[citation needed]} but a higher proportion of viewers in Australia due to Australia's smaller population.^{[citation needed]} All ITV regions showed the same episode each day however it was shown at different times, with the first opportunity to watch normally at lunchtime, followed by a teatime screening.

UK regions have historically had different timeslots for the programme. Most regions aired it at 5.10pm, however Central and Anglia originally showed it at 6.35pm, later 6pm. Thames and Granada then moved the show from 5.10pm to 6pm, Border at 6.30pm. TSW at 3.25pm (6:30pm from 1992) before their successor Westcountry Television moved the series to 5.10pm in 1993.

TSW's scheduling was controversial. In 1991 the lunchtime showing was 1.20pm with the repeat following at 3.25pm. TSW persisted with the 3:25pm slot for a long period (apparently to avoid having to schedule two quiz shows consecutively), despite the fact many of Home And Away's teenage followers would still have been at school at this time. All regions screened at 5pm from March 1999.

In the UK episode from 1993 onwards were sometimes censored for content. Two episodes were dropped in their entirety, one due to similarities to the Dunblane massacre, another due to similarities to the James Bulger kidnap.

In 2000, episodes aired in the UK were aired only one week previously in Australia.

The shift in the UK from ITV in June 2000 to Five damaged the programme's ratings; contract obligations kept it off air in the UK for a year (although episodes from 1997 were broadcast on ITV2) and the smaller audience share Five has is believed to contribute to the show achieving ratings significantly lower than those it enjoyed on ITV. Five funds more than half of the production costs, and it is officially Five's second highest rated show.

In accordance with European Union regulations for shows of this time-length, only one advertisement break is inserted into the programme at approximately the halfway point. An omnibus edition aired on Saturday mornings when that week's episodes were all repeated until October 2005. Five Life, a brand new channel, started airing the omnibus from October 2006.

Home and Away was first aired on Five on 2001-07-16. At this stage it was fifty weeks (250 episodes) behind Australia. Due to the breaks in transmission in Australia, it has been catching up in the UK ever since and is currently only eleven weeks behind.^{[original research?]} It is believed that by December 2008 that both the UK and Ireland will have caught up fully with Australian episodes (this is not the case for New Zealand as they too take their summer break at this time)

The deal between the channels was reached on February 24, 2000.^{[citation needed]}

The night before Home and Away was launched on Five a recap episode was broadcast featuring Sally Fletcher and Leah Patterson-Baker. This was repeated from 12:30-1:30pm the following day.

July 2001-December 2005: Monday to Friday 12.30pm-1.00pm (repeat of previous day's episode)

January 2006 until the present: Monday to Friday 12.00noon-12.30pm (repeat of previous day's episode)

Monday to Friday 6.00pm-6.30pm. The nightly episode new to analogue viewers (from October 2006 episodes are first screened on Five Life the day before they are shown on Five).

Between July 2001 and October 2005, Channel Five screened an Omnibus on Saturdays.

Five Life shows episodes new to the UK every weeknight at 6:30pm and shows a repeat at 4pm on weekdays. An omnibus edition is broadcast every Saturday containing the five new episodes shown on Five Life that week.

Home and Away broadcasts have received sponsorship since they moved to Five. Sponsors include:

• Bodyform, between mid-2001 and mid-2004;
• KFC, between mid-2004 and late 2005;
• Weetos and Weetabix minis SLOGAN; "With Fun Extras", since mid-2006.

July 16, 2001- December 28, 2001 episodes 2841-2960 (episodes Australia saw between June and November 2000)

December 31, 2001- October 11, 2002 episodes 2961- 3190 (episodes Australia saw in 2001)

October 14, 2002- August 29, 2003 episodes 3191-3420 (episodes Australia saw in 2002)

September 1, 2003- July 16, 2004 episodes 3421-3650 (episodes Australia saw in 2003)

July 19, 2004- May 27, 2005 episodes 3651-3870 (episodes Australia saw in 2004)

May 30, 2005- April 14, 2006 episodes 3871-4100 (episodes Australia saw in 2005)

April 17, 2006- March 30, 2007 episodes 4101-4130 (episodes Australia saw in 2006)

• As off October 2, 2006 UK Viewers who had Sattelite, Cable or Freeview Television could watch episodes of Home and away 1 day in advance on Five Life. The 2006 Season ended there on May 29, 2007 with the 2007 starter airing the day after on May 30, 2007

May 30 / April 2, 2007 episodes 4331-45?? (episodes Australia saw/will see in 2007)

• Ireland does not air episodes over the Christmas breaks but for some reason is only 2 days behind Five.

This Schedule= Five

Thursday and Friday (Monday and Tuesday to Ireland), Monday-Wednesday (Wednesday- Friday for Ireland)

This Schedule = Five Life Wednesday-Friday (Monday-Wednesday for Ireland) Monday and Tuesday (Thursday and Friday for Ireland)

• When ITV lost rights to the show in February 2000 so did TV 3 in Ireland as they both simulcast each other.

• However during the Year's absence ITV 2 were allowed to air some episodes from 1997. These episodes included the Joey, Sol and Selina storyline, Pippa's departure etc.

• Five have recently informed the press that speculation they are about to air old episodes is untrue. They cannot air episodes prior to those aired in Australia in 2001, including the 4 and a half months of episodes they used when H&A first launched onto that channel because by technical rights they still belong to ITV

This section does not cite its references or sources. Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) Any unsourced material that has been or is likely to be challenged may be removed at any time. This article has been tagged since April 2007.

ITV Region	Programme Schedule Pattern AXED IN ALL ITV REGIONS IN JUNE 2000 AS SERIES RIGHTS LOST TO FIVE
	Start Date	Daytime Times Screened	Evening Times Screened
Central Television	Saturday, 11 February 1989 at 5.00 p.m.	11.00 daily from June 1989. 11.00 moves to 12.30 in September 1989. From 17 January 1991 the 12.30 episode switches to 13.20 then ???	Mondays to Fridays 18.35, then 18.00, then 17.00
Yorkshire Television (YTV)	as Central	as Central	Mondays to Fridays 17.10 then 17.00
Granada Television	as Central	as Central	Mondays to Fridays 17.10 then 18.00 then back to 17.10 then back to 18.00 then 17.00
Television South (TVS)	as Central	as Central	repeated from 17.10 17.35 until winter 1999 when it aired at the slightly earlier time of 17.00 until it got axed.
Television South West (TSW)	as Central	as Central	Mondays to Fridays 17.10 then 15.25 in 1991 and 1992 (only 95 minutes after the end of screening 1) then 18.30 then 17.10 then 17.00
Channel Television	As TVS	As TVS	As TVS
Thames Television	as Central	as Central	as STV although Friday episodes remained at 17.10 while Monday to Thursday was 18.00
Anglia Television	as Central	as Central	as Central
Tyne Tees Television	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire
Scottish Television (STV)	as Central	as Central	Mondays to Fridays 17.10 then 18.00 then 17.00
Grampian Television	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire
HTV Wales	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire
HTV West	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire
Border Television	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire until late 1990s then 18.30
Ulster Television	as Central	as Central	as Yorkshire

In New Zealand, the show used to be broadcast on TV One, later TV 2 but now screens on TV3 on weekdays at 5:30pm, (repeated 10:30am on weekdays and an omnibus airs on Sundays at 10:15am). 1995 episodes were briefly shown on Prime TV at 3:30pm weekdays. NZ is exactly 5 weeks behind Australia.

In Ireland, the national state broadcaster RTE has shown the programme since its inception. It has continually been a highly popular show, that has attracted a very wide and loyal fan base. The show is broadcast weekdays at 1:25pm on RTÉ One and repeated at 6:30pm on RTÉ Two regularly getting into the top 5 ratings for that week. It is approximately three months behind Australia. The show is now also repeated on RTÉ Two on Saturdays and Sundays (subject to no live sport etc.) with two episodes on Saturday and three on Sunday. Also on one occasion a double-episode was shown on a Friday.

Estonia is quite behind various other countries. Currently episodes from 2003 are shown on Kanal 2 every weekday at 6:30pm. In summertime (June-August), two episodes are shown instead of one. Other countries that broadcast Home And Away include: Belgium on Kanaal Twee with a double broadcast on weekdays; Denmark; Iceland; Israel; Lithuania; Norway; Poland; Serbia; Macedonia; South Africa; Sweden; France.

The series is also broadcast in the following countries via the Australia Network: American Samoa; Cambodia; Cook Islands; East Timor; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kiribati; Laos; Macau; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Mongolia; Niue; Northern Mariana Islands; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; Thailand; Tonga; Vanuatu; Vietnam.

Home and Away has seen a resurgence in popularity since 2003,^{[citation needed]} beginning with the Angela Russell storyline.^{[citation needed]} The "Summer Bay Stalker" storyline in 2005 was another storyline that was wildly successful,^{[citation needed]} attracting many new viewers to the show.^{[citation needed]} The Stalker storyline was brought back in 2006, ending with an explosion at the wedding of couple Jack Holden and Martha Mackenzie. The show also started airing more risky material in 2006 with storylines including drug use, violence and family love triangles, which proved to be popular with audience and a few times pushed the show which is normally rated G into a PG rating.^{[original research?]} Television programs are not rated in the UK, but episodes that originally aired in 2001 have been released on DVDs there.

The show has often broken in to the weekly top ten most watched shows in Australia according to OzTam.^{[citation needed]} The success of the show was seen at the Logie Awards of 2006 with the soap's actors winning many awards and Home and Away winning the award for outstanding Australian drama series.

The 2006 season finale aired 2006-12-01 and attracted a total audience of 1,220,000, making it the fifth most watched show in Australia on the day and the most watched soap on the day.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, the British sketch show Man Stroke Woman preformed a sketch where the characters sing the theme tune to Home and Away on a London Bus.

The current theme, which has been in use since the show's first 2007 episode, was recorded by Israel Cannan, who had previously appeared on the soap as 'bad boy' Wazza.

• Version 1: Mark Williams and Karen Boddington (1988-1995)
• Version 2: Doug Williams and Erana Clark (1995-1999)
• Version 3: The Robertson Brothers (2000-2003)
• Version 4: The Robertson Brothers (2004-2006)
• Version 5: Israel Cannan (2007-)

Home and Away has won many awards in the past, in particular at the Logies. Below is a list on Logies won:

• 2006: Kate Ritchie, for Most Popular Actress
• 2006: Paul O'Brien, for Most Popular New Talent - Male
• 2006: Jodi Gordon, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 2006: Most Popular Drama
• 2005: Bec Cartwright, for Most Popular Actress
• 2005: Chris Hemsworth, for Most Popular New Talent - Male
• 2004: Kip Gamblin, for Most Popular New Talent - male
• 2004: Isabel Lucas, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 2001: Tammin Sursok, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 2000: Justin Melvey, for Most Popular New Talent - male
• 1999: Kimberley Cooper, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 1996: Dieter Brummer. for Most Popular Actor
• 1996: Nic Testoni, for Most Popular New Talent
• 1996: Most Popular Series
• 1995: Dieter Brummer, for Most Popular Actor
• 1995: Melissa George, for Most Popular Actress
• 1995: Most Popular Series
• 1994: Most Popular Series
• 1993: Most Popular Series
• 1991: Craig McLachlan, for Most Popular Actor
• 1991: Most Popular Drama Series
• 1989: Nicolle Dickson, for Most Popular New Talent

• Home and Away on Yahoo!7
• Home and Away on five.tv
• Home and Away at the Internet Movie Database
• Weblinks Directory of Home & Away sites