In January, Home And Away will mark 37 years on air. Ray Meagher has been there the whole time – and the years have flown.
“I don’t know where the 37 years have gone,” he tells TV WEEK. “It’s pretty incredible. People ask, ‘Why is (H&A) so successful?’ And my stock-standard answer is always, ‘If we knew that, we’d all go away and write one.’
“But the success is not something that any one person’s responsible for. It really is a collaborative effort.”
Ray highlights the show’s ability to churn out two-and-a-half hours of television a week. And that means a lot of time with co-stars such as Georgie Parker and Emily Symons – which is fine by Ray.
“Parker’s like the Energiser bunny – she’s got so much energy, it’s ridiculous,” Ray laughs. “But she’s such a fine actor.
“And Emily, I’ve never seen a more consistent performance in my life.”
It’s been a big year for Ray’s beloved character, Alf Stewart, who suffered a shock heart attack (“His ticker seems to just rebel against everything every now and again”), and could have died if not for doctor Levi (Tristan Gorey) coming to his aid.
And off screen, Ray reached a significant milestone, turning 80 earlier in the year. TV WEEK celebrated Ray’s birthday with him with a special photo shoot and cake.
While the actor admits age is “not something I think about all that much”, he does like to keep active.
“I never let them drive me from the wardrobe and make-up vans to the set,” he says. “I can’t be too old if I’m still doing that because nobody else seems to do it on a regular basis.”
After another busy year on the beloved Aussie drama, Ray is looking forward to spending time with close family over Christmas, including his sister-in-law Pat (“who is almost like a mother figure”) before relaxing by the beach (not Summer Bay), north of Brisbane.
“We’ve got a little pull-the-door-shut place and we love it, so we’ll be up there for a while. It’s like I imagined the Bay might have been once.”
Home And Away will return in 2025 on Channel Seven.
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