The original cast of Home and Away with a question mark over the top
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Home and Away original cast: Where are they now?

From lawyers and accountants, to a real-life foster mum, the original Fletcher family have lots of strings to their bows

Home and Away won the hearts of viewers as soon as it burst on to our screens back in the 1980s and the Home and Away original cast quickly became household names.

The early episodes revolved around foster parents Tom and Pippa Fletcher and their foster kids.

Home and Away cast from 1988
The original cast of Home and Away have gone on to do all sorts of things (Credit: Channel 5)

There was Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Lynn Davenport, Steven Matheson, and Sally Keating (who was later adopted by Tom and Pippa and changed her name to Fletcher).

Shortly after they arrived in Summer Bay, the Fletchers also fostered troubled teenager Bobby Simpson.

So where are the actors who were the stars of the early days in Home and Away now?

Here’s the lowdown on what they’re all up to.

Vanessa Downing as Pippa in the original Home and Away credits
Vanessa Downing, shown here in the original opening credits, played Pippa Fletcher (Credit: YouTube/Channel 5)

Vanessa Downing, who played Pippa Fletcher in the Home and Away cast

Vanessa carried on acting after she left the Home and Away cast, but that wasn’t the only string to her bow!

Vanessa was also a lawyer and worked for a top Sydney firm for many years.

Roger Oakley in the original Home and Away credits
Roger Oakley, shown here in the original opening credits, played Tom Fletcher (Credit: YouTube/Channel 5)

Roger Oakley, who played Tom Fletcher

Roger is still acting and has a long CV of all the roles he’s played in the years since Tom Fletcher’s tragic death.

He’s been in just about every other Aussie television series including Neighbours, Blue Heelers, All Saints, and Utopia, and most recently appeared in the drama Glitch.

Alex Papps, who played Frank Morgan

Alex kept acting for a few years after he left the Home and Away cast, then turned his hand to presenting.

Since 2005, he’s been the host of the Aussie version of Playschool. And his co-host is Justine Clarke, who played Frank’s love interest, Roo Stewart.

Steven Matheson, played by Adam Willits, in the original Home and Away credits
Adam Willits, shown here in the original opening credits for Home and Away, has gone into insurance (Credit: YouTube/Channel 5)

Adam Willits, who played Steven Matheson in the Home and Away cast

Brainbox Steven was a teacher first but later had a career change and worked in IT. And his alter-ego Adam had a similar change of heart when he left Home and Away. He left acting and went into insurance.

Carly Morris in early Home and Away
Sharyn, who played Carly, has become a foster mother – the perfect case of life imitating art! (Credit: YouTube/Channel 5)

Sharyn Hodgson, who played Carly Morris

Sharyn’s another ex Home and Away star, who left acting. She became a natural therapist, and a childcare worker. And in a cute twist of fate, she also became a foster mother – just like in the show that made her famous.

Kate Ritchie, who played Sally Fletcher

Kate stayed with Home and Away for several years, growing up on screen and appearing in hundreds of episodes.
She’s a real Aussie national treasure and has been a DJ and a presenter on many shows, and she’s even written children’s books.

Most recently, she’s been a judge on Australia’s Got Talent, alongside our own national treasure, Alesha Dixon!

Bobby and Frank at the altar on their wedding day in Home and Away
Bobby married Frank in Home and Away, and in real life actress Nicolle became an accountant (Credit: YouTube/Channel 5)

Nicolle Dickson, who played Bobby Simpson in the Home and Away cast

Like many of her Home and Away co-stars Nicolle continued to act for a short while after she left the show.

But by the late 1990s, she’d decided to make some changes and she did an about turn.

Nicolle, who has two grown-up sons, began working with her husband, doing the books for his business, then studied for an accountancy degree and started a new career in finance.

Helena Bozich, who played Lynn Davenport in Home and Away

Helena hasn’t acted since she left Home and Away. And when producers tried to reunite the original cast for Sally’s exit, they couldn’t track Helena down.

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Home and Away airs weekdays at 1.45pm on Channel 5 with first look episodes airing at 6.30pm on 5Star.

Which of the Home and Away original cast did you like best? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think!


Kerry Barrett
Freelance Soap Writer

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