Tess Gallagher is a fictional character in the Australian television series Blue Heelers, portrayed by Caroline Craig from 2000 to 2003. She arrived after Maggie Doyle's death. She arrives as the new Sergeant at Mount Thomas, taking Ben Stewart (Blue Heelers)'s assumed the position. This and her emotionally withdrawn and critical character initially fuels animosity between her and her colleagues. She eventually earns the department's respect, particularly by her colleague Senior Detective P.J. Hasham and her boss Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon.
Tess' family is pictured to be disjointed and hectic and leads her to adopt a survivalist attitude. Her mother is portrayed as an ignorant and misguided individual who cared little for her five children. Tess mentions that she has three brothers (although this is never confirmed) and one sister named Bridie, all of whom she supposedly raised throughout her own childhood.
Tess' upbringing served to mould her into a determined and successful individual both attaining a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the role of Senior Detective at Shepparton in Regional Victoria.
Tess' emotional withdrawal eventuates in a number of a failed relationships throughout the series. Her initial love interest, Probationary Constable Jack Lawson, although significantly younger than her manages to win her trust and convinces her to momentarily dispose of her cynical outlook toward men and committed relationship. This trust is soon destroyed as Jack is charged for the murder of a suspect and is seen to show no remorse for his action. Jack is replaced by Constable Evan Jones to whom Tess takes an immediate interest but is also taken aback by his relentless foolhardiness. As the Constable's interest in his Sergeant grows from an initial admiration to love, Tess is cautious with her relationship to the Constable and often harshly although reluctantly dismisses any form of affection from Jones that could potentially endanger her pseudo stable existence. The potential of a relationship with Jones scares Tess into marrying the rogue Doctor Josh Carmicheal. Josh's concealed homosexuality and criminal habit of stealing pethidine for a former schoolboy lover results in Tess' decision to divorce her husband. Jones is seen to support Tess both through her divorce with her husband and effective pregnancy with Josh's child by offering to marry her. Tess' history of failed relationship deemed this unwise but Tess does hold a firm friendship with Jones throughout her pregnancy until her final departure due to her contraction of pre-eclampsia.
Although Tess is originally seen as a volatile character there are instances during the series that showcase her vulnerability as a human being. Her empathy toward a truant child Hayley who also suffers a tormenting childhood see Tess foster the child and consider her adoption although this doesn't eventuate. Tess' eventual pregnancy also portrays her vulnerability as she faces the decision to either terminate her unborn child or potentially die.
Tess departs from the series due to the risk of untreated pre-eclampsia. Her departure effectively resulted in her reconciliation with her longtime estranged mother Denise. Ironically, this bond would fall into effect with Gallagher's long term decision of leaving the police force and going onto raise her ' unborn ' child alone. She is the Tenth Longest serving character behind Tom Croydon, Chris Riley, P.J. Hasham, Maggie Doyle, Ben Stewart, Nick Schultz, Jo Parrish, Evan Jones and Adam Cooper.
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.
Roz Patterson, was a fictional character in the Australian police drama series ‘Blue Heelers’. She was a starring character in the series from the beginning; but was the first character to leave the series, staying not even a year. She was portrayed by Western Australian actress, Ann Burbrook.
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.
Jack Lawson is a fictional character from Australia's police series, Blue Heelers. He came into the show in 1999 and was taken off in 2001, his character arrested for murder.
Nicholas 'Nick' Schultz is a fictional character in the long-running Australian television series Blue Heelers portrayed by William McInnes. He was introduced in the pilot episode and starred in the series between 1994 and 1998 before departing in episode 207. He returned to the series as a guest star for five episodes (441–445) in 2004 and a further two episodes (458–459) in 2005 as a homicide detective based in Melbourne. At the time of the show's cancellation, he was the sixth-longest-serving character, behind Tom Croydon, Chris Riley, P.J. Hasham, Maggie Doyle and Ben Stewart.
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. The show was a success, and by the end of its 45-episode first season the PJ-Maggie shippers had quickly amassed. 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, with the omission of 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.
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 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 sixth season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network on 10 February 1999 and aired on Wednesday nights at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 24 November 1999.
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 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 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 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.
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