Adapted from Zoe-Foster Blake’s bestselling book, The Wrong Girl was a hilariously heartful drama that followed 29-year-old protagonist Lily Woodward as she navigated life and love.
With an all-star cast, and rave reviews, this two-season series quickly became a favourite in the TV Week office.
That being said, we thought we would take a trip down memory lane and see what the cast have been up to in the five years since the last episode aired.
Jessica Marais as Lily
Jessica played the protagonist of the show Lily.
(IMAGE: Channel 10)It seemed for a while that Jessica was simply everywhere from roles in hit shows Packed to the Rafters, Love Child as well as The Wrong Girl.
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But after winning a number of Logie awards (and being nominated for countless others), Jessica has taken a step back from the spotlight, her last on-screen appearance in coming-of-age film Chasing Wonders.
In 2018, the actress cited her mental health struggles as her reason for wanting to step back from acting.
In recent years Jessica has taken a step back from acting to focus on her mental health.
(IMAGE: Getty)She was slated to begin filming Amazon Prime Packed to the Rafters reboot – Back to the Rafters – in early 2020, but quit the production shortly after, citing personal reasons.
Marais first spoke publicly about her mental health issues in a 2014 interview with our sister publication The Australian Women’s Weekly, revealing bipolar episodes have been a part of her life since she was 12.
“There’s a history of bipolar in my family and I was diagnosed at one point with bipolar. I’ve had cognitive therapy training, so I choose not to be medicated,” she said at the time.
“There’s probably one day a month when I am an absolute mess.”
Nowadays Jessica enjoys a life out of the spotlight and has seemingly retired from acting, content working in hospitality in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and enjoying being a mum to daughter Scout, whom she shares with ex-partner and current Home and Away star James Stewart.
Ian Meadows as Pete
Ian also writes and produces for television.
(IMAGE: Channel 10/Supplied)After stepping out of the shoes of Pete on The Wrong Girl, Ian went on to star in Dead Lucky (2018), True Story with Hamish & Andy (2018), Clickbait (2021) and more recently in RFDS (2021) which he also co-created and co-wrote.
He’s also worked as a writer on several other local series including Playing for Keeps (2018) and season two of Foxtel original Upright (2022) starring Tim Minchin and House of Dragon star Milly Alcock.
Rob Collins as Jack
Rob hasn’t aged a day!
(IMAGE: Channel 10/Supplied)A year on from the final episode airing, Rob was awarded the TV Week Logie Award for Best New Talent for his role as Jack in The Wrong Girl.
He then went on to star in the likes of Glitch (2017-2019), Total Control (2019-2021), Firebase (2021-2023) and most recently alongside fellow actor Ian Meadows in RFDS (2021 – 2023).
Speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2021, Rob said that he felt ”lucky” to have had the opportunity to work consistently and in diverse roles.
”I feel as if I’ve come into this industry at a point where a lot of folks have worked really hard before me; I’ve breezed in and am reaping the benefits of their work,” Rob said.
”It certainly feels as if there’s a thirst for seeing First Nations people, and people of colour, on screen.”
Something tells us great things will continue to come from this on screen AND on-stage actor.
Did you know that Rob also landed the role of Mufasa in the original Australian Tour of The Lion King?
Hayley Magnus as Simone
Hayley is an avid bookworm.
(IMAGE: Channel 10/Getty)This now LA based actress has gone on to star in the likes of Cake (2020), Mapleworth Murders (2020) and most recently in Mythic Quest (2022).
She was also nominated for the 2017 TV Week Logie Award in the Best New Talent category for her role as Simone in The Wrong Girl but lost out to co star Rob Collins.
When Hayley isn’t acting, she’s busy reading and writing book reviews as well as making her own ceramics – half the profits of which she donates.
You can join her book club here.
Kerry Armstrong as Mimi
By the time she starred in The Wrong Girl, Kerry was already a staple on the Australian acting scene.
In the years since the final episode aired, Kerry had a 57-episode arc on Neighbours (2018-2020), had supporting gigs on Frayed (2019-2021) and most recently Grey Nomads (2020-2022).
She even starred in the Peacock original series Joe vs Carole (2022).
Craig McLachlan as Eric
The last few years have played out in the public eye for Craig.
(IMAGE: Channel 10)In January 2018, a joint investigation by both the ABC and Fairfax Media reported that the actor had been accused of sexual harassment by several actresses across his career.
The now 57-year-old filed defamation suits against both media outlets shortly after, with an official charge of common assault, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted indecent assault filed a year later in 2010.
The trial ended on December 15, 2020, and Craig was acquitted on all charges.
When his defamation suit against the ABC and Fairfax finally made it to trial, he chose to discontinue the suit 10 days, in May 2022.
As a result of the ongoing legal case, The Dr Blake Mysteries was canceled in 2017 after five seasons.
Craig is set to appear in the new season of SAS Australia, due to air in the latter half of 2023.
Madeleine West as Erica
Madeleine is also a fan favourite on Neighbours.
(IMAGE: Channel 10)After starring in The Wrong Girl, Madeleine went on to star in another Zoe Foster Blake book adaption – Playing for Keeps.
She also continued to star in the role of Dione Bliss in Neighbours up until 2020 after 546 episodes and 20 years.
According to her Instagram, the now 42-year-old still works as an actor, author and mum as well as devoting her time for advocacy against child sex abuse crimes, after admitting in 2017 that she was a victim herself.
Christie Whelan Browne as Nikkii
It’s been a tough few years for Christie…
(IMAGE: Channel 10/Instagram)You may know her as Nikkii from The Wrong Girl, but others may know her from Neighbours (2019-2020), Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell (2019 – 2022) and most recently We Interrupt This Broadcast (2023).
Christie is one of the actresses who accused Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Wrong Girl co-star Craig McLachlan of indecent assault.
Speaking of the legal case, Christie told The Guardian that she struggled to find work, describing the time as ”very painful”.
”But I made it my mission to continue working, to make it clear I wasn’t broken or beaten.”
The actress now uses her time to advocate for women who have experienced sexual assault.
”I know what it meant to me when people were willing to put their face and voice to a supportive comment, when others shied away because they knew it would provoke the trolls,” she says.
”But I’m not afraid anymore. I would prefer to be someone who uses their voice. I am never going to be quiet anymore.”
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