Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the everyday lives and relationships of the residents of Mount Thomas, a fictional small town in Victoria.
Jane Claire Allsop is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Jo Parrish on Blue Heelers.
Maggie Doyle is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by Lisa McCune. A feisty young constable from a policing family, Maggie arrived in Mount Thomas during the first episode, which follows her as she meets each of her colleagues in turn. The first female constable to join the station, she is faced with the prospect of not only learning how policing is a little bit different in a country town, but also with overcoming the chauvinism of some of the locals, and of some of her colleagues. She remained with the show for exactly half of its run, departing during the second episode of the seventh season, and was the fifth-longest serving character, appearing in 250 of the 510 episodes to air.
Thomas Arthur "Tom" Croydon is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by John Wood. A long-serving member of the police force, Tom has decades of experience of being a police officer in a small country town, and an attitude which earns him the respect, trust and even affection of his subordinates. As the most senior officer in the country town of Mount Thomas, he frequently acts as a mentor and father figure to the junior members of the station, but eventually a series of personal tragedies put him into a downward spiral which threatens both his personal and professional lives. He is one of two characters, along with Chris Riley, to appear in all thirteen seasons of the show, and is the only character to appear in all 510 episodes to air.
Patrick Joseph "P. J." Hasham is a fictional character in the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, portrayed by Martin Sacks. An experienced detective, P. J. served on major task forces and crime squads in Melbourne before the gaming squad he was attached to was disbanded due to corruption and he was transferred to the small country town of Mount Thomas as the only criminal investigator at the local station. Despite his stated preference for staying out of "uniformed matters", he worked far closer with his uniformed colleagues than many visiting detectives, and also preferred to dress down compared to the business dress usually favoured by other detectives. He was the last member of the original cast to leave the show, doing so midway through the twelfth season, and was the third-longest serving character, appearing in 483 of the 510 episodes to air.
Benjamin 'Ben' Stewart was a fictional character in the long-running Australian police series Blue Heelers. He was portrayed by Paul Bishop.
Deirdre Elaine "Dash" McKinley is a fictional character from the Australian drama series Blue Heelers, played by Tasma Walton. She made her first appearance in "The Kremin Factor", which was broadcast on 18 June 1996. One of her major storylines occurred during the 1998 season, when she was diagnosed with cancer. Dash was the youngest of nine children. She had a kind personality but a big mouth. She and her family always seemed to be the first to know the town's gossip and everyone's business. The character departed on 28 July 1999. She is the eleventh longest serving character after Tom Croydon, Chris Riley, P.J. Hasham, Maggie Doyle, Ben Stewart, Nick Schultz, Jo Parrish, Evan Jones, Adam Cooper and Tess Gallagher.
Jo Parrish is a fictional character from the Australian television police drama Blue Heelers, played by Jane Allsop. She made her first appearance during the sixth season episode "Hello Goodbye", broadcast on 18 August 1999. The character left in the eleventh season on 6 July 2004, after being killed in an explosion. She was the seventh longest serving character behind Tom Croydon, Chris Riley, P.J. Hasham, Ben Stewart, Maggie Doyle and Nick Schultz
The first season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 10 September 1993 and aired on Tuesday nights at 7:30 PM. The 45-episode season concluded on 22 November 1994. It had an average rating of 2.5 million and going to 3.5 million at its peak.
The second season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 21 February 1995 and aired on Tuesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 41-episode season concluded 21 November 1995. The cast for this season was the same as that of the preceding season, without Ann Burbrook as Roz Patterson, and with the introduction of Damian Walshe-Howling as Adam Cooper to take her place. This season of Blue Heelers was released on DVD on 1 December 2005 and was released in a two-part release; and later as a complete set.
The third season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 12 February 1996 and aired on Monday nights, and later, Tuesday nights, at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 26 November 1996. All main cast members from the previous season returned. Tasma Walton was introduced in episode 107 as Dash McKinley.
The fourth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 10 February 1997 and aired on Tuesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 25 November 1997. The main cast was the same as the previous season, except without Grant Bowler as Constable Wayne Patterson. Like previous seasons, the fourth season was released on DVD as a two part set and as a complete set, both on 6 April 2006.
The fifth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 24 February 1998 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 41-episode season concluded 25 November 1998. The 41-episode fifth season saw the show move to Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM, making way for All Saints on Tuesdays at 8.30 PM.
The seventh season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 9 February 2000 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 pm. The 41-episode season concluded 22 November 2000. The main cast was the same as the previous season except without Tasma Walton as Dash McKinley, and introducing Caroline Craig as Tess Gallagher. This season was released on DVD in a two part set on 31 July 2008.
The eighth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 21 February 2001 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 28 November 2001. The main cast returned from season 7 barring the departure of Lisa McCune as Maggie Doyle and with the introduction of Ditch Davey as Evan 'Jonesy' Jones. Like preceding seasons, the eighth season was released on DVD both as a two part set and a complete set, on 1 October 2008.
The ninth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 13 February 2002 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 pm. The 40-episode season concluded 20 November 2002. The main cast was unchanged frm the previous season but for the departure of Rupert Reid as Jack Lawson. Similar to previous seasons, the ninth season was released on DVD as a two part set and as a complete set, both released on 3 November 2009.
The tenth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 12 February 2003 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 26 November 2003. The main cast was the same as the previous season. Simone McAullay was introduced in episode 409 as Susie Raynor. The tenth season was released on DVD as a two part combination set on 4 May 2010.
The eleventh season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 4 February 2004 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 39-episode season concluded 5 November 2004. The core of the main cast remained from previous seasons, with only Caroline Craig as Tess Gallagher departing. There were also several new additions to the main cast, with Geoff Morrell as Mark Jacobs, Rachel Gordon as Amy Fox, Samantha Tolj as Kelly O'Rourke, and Danny Raco as Joss Peroni all being introduced. Like the previous season, the eleventh season was released on DVD as a two part combination set on 5 August 2010.
The twelfth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 2 February 2005 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded on 16 November 2005 with a double episode. The main cast saw the departure of Paul Bishop as Ben Stewart and Jane Allsop as Jo Parrish, and the introduction of Charlie Clausen as Alex Kirby and Matt Holmes as Matt Graham. The twelfth season was released on DVD as a complete set on 4 November 2010.
