Natalie Nash | |||||||||||||
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Home and Away character | |||||||||||||
![]() Antoinette Byron as Natalie | |||||||||||||
Portrayed by | Angelica La Bozzetta (1998) Antoinette Byron (1999–2000) | ||||||||||||
Duration | 1998–2000 | ||||||||||||
First appearance | 18 February 1998 | ||||||||||||
Last appearance | 11 October 2000 | ||||||||||||
Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||
Introduced by | John Holmes | ||||||||||||
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Natalie Nash is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away , played by Antoinette Byron. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 February 1998. Natalie was originally played by Angelica La Bozzetta until she quit the serial the same year. Byron was then cast in the role and she began appearing from the 1999 season premiere until her departure in 2000.
In 1997, following Debra Lawrance's decision to quit her role as Pippa Ross, producers decided to introduce a new family to run the caravan park, because the household was seen as the "centerpiece of the show". [1] They created the Nash family consisting of parents Natalie and Joel Nash, played by Angelica la Bozzetta and David Woodley respectively and children Gypsy (Kimberley Cooper) and Tom (Graeme Squires). The family come to Summer Bay from Hong Kong to start a new life. [1] They made their debuts in the episode broadcast on 18 February 1998. [2]
La Bozzetta quit the role in late 1998 to spend more time with her young daughter, so the producers recast the role to Antoinette Byron. [3] Of the fast turnaround after being cast, Byron stated "It all happened so quickly that I didn't have much time to think about it. I was planning on going back to L.A. on the Saturday and I was offered this job on the Tuesday. Then suddenly I was on set the very next week." [3] Byron admitted to some apprehension about taking over the role, but found the cast quick to welcome her to the show. Speaking about the recast, Byron thought viewers would adapt to a new actor in the role, especially as they make it their own. She that the American soap operas recast roles quite frequently and the public was used to it. [3] Byron made her debut in the 1999 season premiere. [4]
Natalie returns to Summer Bay in early 1998 with her husband Joel and teenage children Tom (Graeme Squires) and Gypsy (Kimberley Cooper). It is revealed that Joel and Natalie's reason for leaving was seventeen years earlier; Joel's father Jack (John Grant) was Natalie's swimming coach who molested her. She soon builds up a friendship with her brother-in-law Travis (Nic Testoni) and his wife Rebecca (Belinda Emmett).
Natalie, a keen sportswoman and enters a local rowing club but an injury forces her to stop competing. She begins training Tom and disapproves of his rivalry with Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten), telling him the object of a competition is to do his best, not beat one person. She is more accepting of Gypsy's relationship with Will Smith (Zac Drayson) but takes an instant dislike to Tom's girlfriend Sugar O'Donnell (Brooke Gissing). Natalie then takes the job of P.E. teacher vacated by Joel when he rejoins the police force. During this time, She asks Joel to try for another baby but they discover he has a low sperm count and the idea is abandoned.
The family's life is at risk when David D'Angelo (Tony Poli), a criminal who Joel had jailed begins a revenge campaign and kidnaps Gypsy. Natalie is also kidnapped but rescued by Joel and Travis. Gypsy is later found by the police and the family are left homeless when David burns the house down. They move in with Travis and Rebecca at the Caravan Park. When Travis and Rebecca leave for Canada, They take over the house and assume responsibility for Justine Welles (Bree Desborough) and Peta Janossi.
When Gypsy begins seeing Jesse McGregor (Ben Unwin), a series of misunderstandings lead to many Bay residents, notably Alf and Marilyn Fisher, mistakenly believing that Natalie and Jesse are having an affair. When Natalie finally finds out about the rumours, she finds the idea hilarious. Natalie is then caught up in Jesse's stolen car drama and is asked to look after his daughter, Rachel (Sarah Mumcu) while he goes on the run. Joel is annoyed when he finds out Natalie has contacted Jesse and makes a report to his superiors.
Shortly after Natalie visits her mother in Queensland, she discovers she is pregnant. Colleen Smart (Lyn Collingwood) begins spreading rumours that Joel is not the father; which turn out to be true. While in Queensland, Natalie had an affair with an old friend, Glen Tanner (Craig Elliot), who then follows her to the Bay. Although Natalie is not interested in picking things up, Gypsy spots them holding hands in a cafe and jumps to conclusions. Gypsy is later in a car crash, in which her boyfriend Charlie Nicholas (Toby Schmitz) is killed. The Guilt of Natalie's affair gets to her and she confesses all to Joel. They try to salvage the marriage; but they cannot and Natalie leaves for Queensland, taking Rachel with her.
Natalie gives birth to a son, Connor Nash (Connor Smith; McKenzie Roberts) and Joel is angry when he discovers she has given him the surname Nash. Some months later, when Joel has his leg partially crushed during a mudslide, Natalie returns with Connor. Even though Joel is now involved with Judith Ackroyd (Anna Hruby), Natalie offers to care for him in Queensland during his recovery. Joel refuses and Natalie decides leaving town when Judith drives an unknowing Joel to the house, having realised where his heart really lies. Joel and Natalie reconciled but Natalie felt people in the Bay would have a hard time accepting her and Connor so persuades Joel to go back to Queensland with her. She invites Gypsy but she decides to stay in the Bay, being among the group waving her parents off. Gypsy follows a year later with Will in tow and they marry with the family present.
Herald Sun critic Jackie Brygel observed that the character "has never been a shrinking violet". [5] In May 2000, Brygel commented on the state of Natalie's marriage, saying "Joel and Natalie, a typical Summer Bay couple who have had their ups and downs, are going through something of a down phase. This, in case you've missed the past few episodes, is very likely because Nat had a brief affair and, oh yeah, fell pregnant to her lover." [6] Ahead of the character's departure, Brygel was surprised, writing "It's not often that something truly unexpected happens in Summer Bay. But, here at Soapdish, we like to give credit where credit's due and, therefore, we feel obliged to hand it to the writers of this show this week. Natalie finally reveals her plans to her family – she is going to live in Queensland. And we thought it was only ex-Ramsay Streeters who left the world of soap to live in the Sunshine State." [7]
Channel 5 chose the episode where Natalie and Joel return to Summer Bay with their children, Tom and Gypsy, as one of their best episodes from the last 25 years of the serial. [8]
Hayley Rose Smith is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away. She was portrayed from September 1998 to September 2005 by actress Rebecca Cartwright and from September to November 2005 by Ella Scott Lynch, after Cartwright left the show for personal reasons.
Summer Bay is the fictional coastal town featured in the Australian soap opera, Home and Away. Palm Beach, the northernmost beach in Sydney, is used for the show's exterior scenes in order to depict the Bay. Between 2010 and 2014, the Lane Cove River Tourist Park in Macquarie Park was used as the location for filming of scenes involving the Summer Bay Caravan Park.
Vincent "Vinnie" Patterson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Ryan Kwanten. He made his first on screen appearance on 14 July 1997 and departed on 1 March 2002. The character made a brief return appearance in the episode shown on 19 November 2004 without Kwanten reprising the role, appearing wearing a bear costume and played by an uncredited actor.
Jesse McGregor is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by actor Ben Unwin. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 May 1996. The actor departed in 2000, but returned in 2002 and departed once again on 26 July 2005.
Joe Scully is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Shane Connor. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 October 1999, along with his family.
Lance Wilkinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Andrew Bibby. He made his first on-screen appearance on 9 August 1995. Bibby was cast in the recurring role of Lance after an audition. After a year, Bibby auditioned for another character called Jon and the writers chose to turn him into Lance. Lance was a bookish, paranoid boy, with a kind heart and keen wit. Lance departed on 29 March 2001, but Bibby reprised his role in July 2005 for the show's 20th anniversary, in 2018 and also for the final episode in 2022. Bibby reprised his role in a flashback sequence the following year.
Matthew "Matt" Hancock is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Stephen Hunt. He made his first on screen appearance on 26 March 2001 and departed on 9 May 2002. In 2005, Hunt reprised his role as Matt for the show's 20th anniversary episode.
William Smith is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Zac Drayson. He made his first on-screen appearance on 13 February 1998. Will was a regular on the show from 1998 to 2002. He continued to make frequent guest appearances until 2005. In 2010, it was announced that the character and Drayson would be returning to the show. Will returned to the series as a guest with his daughter on 14 October 2010. On 7 February 2011, Will was finally revealed to have been the murderer of Penn Graham after a long running storyline. He left the series on 8 February 2011.
Gypsy Nash is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Kimberley Cooper. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 18 February 1998. Gypsy and her on-screen family the Nashes were introduced to fill the void of Debra Lawrance's departure as Pippa Ross, to form the main family at the caravan park home, often described as "the centre of Summer Bay". Cooper quit the serial in 2001 and last appeared on 15 February 2002. Cooper has won two awards for her portrayal of Gypsy and is often referred to as a "sex symbol" of the serial. In June 2011, it was announced that Cooper had reprised her role as Gypsy. She returned on 9 September 2011 and departed on 13 October 2011.
Ken Smith is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, played by Anthony Phelan. He made his first appearance on 26 April 1999 and departed on 28 July 2000 following the character's death. Phelan reprised the role when the character reappeared as a ghost until 2004.
Travis Nash is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by actor Nic Testoni. He made his first appearance on 10 April 1995 and departed on 11 August 1999.
Joel Nash is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away played by David E Woodley. Joel made his first appearance on 18 February 1998 and departed on 11 October 2000.
Peta Janossi is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Home and Away, portrayed by Aleetza Wood. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 27 May 1999 and departed on 14 July 2000.
Harry Reynolds is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Justin Melvey. He made his first on-screen appearance on 13 September 1999 and departed on 26 January 2001.
Colleen Stewart is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Lyn Collingwood. The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 7 March 1988. She was introduced as a recurring character by producer Alan Bateman. She served as comic relief and busybody from 1988. She returned briefly in 1997 before returning as a regular on 23 September 1999 until January 2013. Colleen has been portrayed as the serial's "local gossip", a role that been well received by certain critics. Many storylines have centered on her over protective nature towards her son Lance Smart. Collingwood revealed that she often pitched storylines for Colleen in the hope they would play out on-screen. Collingwood decided to leave the series in January 2012 and Colleen departed on 23 May 2012. She made a brief return from 27 November 2012 and officially departed on 24 January 2013.
Thomas "Tom" Nash is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Graeme Squires. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 February 1998. Tom was introduced to Home and Away along with his family. Zac Drayson was originally cast in the role, but when the producers thought he would be more suitable for Will Smith, Squires received the part. The actor decided to leave Home and Away in early 2000 after two years and he made his screen exit on 16 May 2000. Squires returned to film the show's 3,000th episode special in 2001.