Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera, which was broadcast on Network Ten from February 27 (Melbourne) and February 26 (Sydney) 1979 to December 1986 (Melbourne), running eight seasons and 692 episodes.
Janet Andrewartha was an Australian television and theatre actress and director and singer. Andrewartha began her career as a high school music teacher before attending drama school. She graduated in 1979 and began securing television and theatre roles.
Valerie Kathleen Lehman is an Australian actress and director, best known locally and internationally for her role as the antagonist "Top Dog" and self-styled Queen Bea Smith in the Australian TV series Prisoner for the first five series from 1979 until 1983 for 356 episodes.
Jacqueline Anne Woodburne is an Australian actress, who is notable for her roles in TV soap operas.
Debra Lawrance is an Australian actress. She is best known for her role on Home and Away, as Pippa Ross, which she played from 1990 to 1998 and in a number of subsequent return appearances, the most recent being in 2009.
Anne Mary Phelan was an Australian actress of stage and screen who appeared in many theatre, television and film productions as well as radio and voice-over.
Annie Jones is an Australian actress, known for her roles in soap operas and serials, most especially Sons and Daughters as Jess Campbell, in Neighbours as Jane Harris and Newlyweds as Allie Carter. She has won two Logie Awards.
Elspeth Ballantyne is a retired Australian actress, who appeared in theatre, television and film roles over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child actor and becoming a staple of the theatre starting from 1947, in a production of Macbeth and by the age of 15 in 1954 had turned pro., performing in stage roles for the next 37 years, including a stage play tour of the United Kingdom of her iconic Prisoner role at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.
Briony Behets is an English-born Australian former actress who found fame acting in Australian television soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s.
Joe Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Little. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 8 August 1988. Joe left in 1991 when Little departed the serial. In 2005 Little agreed to reprise the role as part of Neighbours' twentieth anniversary celebrations and remained for four months. Joe's storylines included his bad relationship with his mother, being widowed, life as a single parent and a custody battle to keep his child. Joe is deemed a stereotype Australian man and a likable rogue character. Little returned to Neighbours in 2022 to celebrate the show's final episode.
Melissa Jarrett is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jade Amenta. She made her first appearance on 8 August 1989. Melissa departed on 9 April 1991. Amenta reprised her role in a guest appearance which was broadcast on 4 December 2023.
Kerry Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Linda Hartley-Clark. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 1 February 1989. Kerry is Mavis and Harold Bishop's only daughter and David Bishop's sister. Kerry left home when she was young to travel the world. She met Eric and fell pregnant with their daughter, Sky. Following her arrival in Erinsborough, Kerry began a relationship with Joe Mangel and they eventually married. Kerry adopted Joe's son and fell pregnant again. However, while out protesting a duck hunt, Kerry was shot and she and her unborn child died. Kerry departed on 10 September 1990, but Hartley-Clark returned in 2004 and 2006 to record voice-overs. She also appeared in 2005 as Kerry's look-alike Gabrielle Walker.
Nadine Lynette Garner is an Australian actor who started her career as a teen performer.
The Penguin Award was an annual award given for excellence in broadcasting by the Television Society of Australia. It was founded in 1954. The award trophy depicts an ear listening to a television tube, but strongly resembles a penguin, hence the name. The award was designed by Des White, an artist and designer at the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Cornflakes for Tea is a 1981 Australian children's miniseries.
Vikki Blanche is an Australian actress and director. She made her television debut in the children's series Home in 1983, followed by a role in the ABC drama The Keepers. Shortly after graduating from the National Theatre in late 1984, Blanche was cast as Julie Robinson in the soap opera Neighbours, which began airing in March 1985. After seven months she decided to leave the serial so she would not be typecast in the future. Blanche joined the cast of The Flying Doctors as Paula Patterson in 1988. She also appeared in the sitcom Col'n Carpenter and the 1991 miniseries Rose Against the Odds. Blanche then spent 18 months living and studying acting in New York City. Upon her return to Australia, she was cast as Senior Detective Chris Faithful in the second season of the ABC police drama Phoenix. After an appearance in the 1997 feature film Road to Nhill, Blanche wrote and directed The Other Days of Ruby Rae, which earned her a nomination for Best Screenplay in a Short Film at the 2000 AFI Awards. Blanche has since gone on to direct television commercials.
David Clencie is an Australian actor. He made his debut aged 15 in the children's television series Sam's Luck. He was cast in the lead role of Sam Parkes, after impressing the producer while auditioning for the ABC network. He then appeared in police drama Cop Shop and the 1981 miniseries I Can Jump Puddles. The following year, Clencie joined the cast of The Sullivans as Steve Sullivan, a role which he considered to be his big break. He also had roles in Home, A Country Practice, and Starting Out. From 1985 until 1986, Clencie played Danny Ramsay in the soap opera Neighbours. He left the cast after he and the producers agreed that his character would be rested. After leaving Neighbours, Clencie had a career in real estate and became a voice-over artist for television commercials. He made guest appearances in numerous television dramas, including Blue Heelers. He briefly reprised his Neighbours role in July 2005.
