australian television information archive

Happy Ever After?

As Mitch prepares to marry Rose in All Saints, Terri makes a decision that will impact on everyone's life!

With her real-life wedding plans under way, Joy Smithers is given a dress rehearsal of the big day in this week's episode of the Seven Network's All Saints, as her character Rose Carlton finally gets to meet Dr. Mitch Stevens (Erik Thompson) at the alter.

Walking up the aisle with her daughter Sasha acting as flower girl, Joy says that her character's fairytale wedding felt as special an occasion as the real thing.

"The preparation that went into it from the wardrobe, hair and makeup departments was amazing," she says. "It was hysterical—things were changing at the last minute and there were countless wardrobe fittings. It was exactly like a real wedding!

"I loved all the fussing around, and walking down the aisle time and time again was great. In real life, you only get to do it once."

But will Mitch and Rose exchange vows after all? Their courtship has been fresh from the pages of a romance novel, but Mitch still harbours a love for Terri—and as he gets set to say ""I do" to Rose, Terri is making a big decision of her own. She plans to leave the religious order!

"Terri's choice to go into the order was an escape route to avoid facing her life and her family," Georgie explains. "It's not making her happy, so she decides to leave.

"It's not a decision she makes so that she can get Mitch before he walks down the aisle, and it won't change who she is in a hurry. She's not about to go out and buy red lingerie or anything."

Despite that, Terri's decision to leave the order means that she is finally available to Mitch. However, he's oblivious to her decision, one that could have far-reaching implications for both of them.

"Mitch originally wanted to be with Terri, but she wasn't available and he respected that," Erik concedes.

"He wants to settle down, get married and have a family, and he's truly committed to Rose. He really does love her."

With preparations for the All Saints wedding on the boil, Joy and her fiancé, advertising executive Tony Haines, elected to postpone their wedding until her small-screen nuptials are a thing of the past.

"There would have been too many weddings at once!" she laughs. "I didn't want to compete with the on-screen wedding. There were fittings for the show on weekends, so imagine trying to organise your own fittings as well.

"This wedding gave me the chance to live out a fantasy that I wouldn't experience in real life. My daughter Sasha was able to be a flower girl as well, which was great."

While Joy was caught up in the excitement of being part of a television wedding, it was just another day at the office for Erik.

"I got married last year, and this felt different," he says. "I came in the day after being fitted for the tuxedo and went to work.

"In real life, I was married at a vineyard in South Australia. My wife Caitlin and I had planted daffodils there a few months before our wedding day so that they were in bloom, and we had our reception in an old barn.

"Mitch's wedding is very different to my own… and it confirmed why I didn't have a traditional wedding in the first place!"

In a gripping conclusion to this week's episode, Mitch and Rose rush to get to the church on time after they agree to help a patient at the hospital, just before their ceremony commences. It emphasises the commitment they share, and their belief that the marriage will be one of hearts and minds.

They finally reach the alter… just as a breathless Terri, who has renounced her vows, runs into the church.

Will she stop the biggest day of Mitch and Rose's life to tell him that she is, at last, free from the order? Or will she allow the wedding ceremony to proceed—and in so doing lose the person she loves so dearly?

By Erin Craven
TV Week
week of July 17, 2000