Mcleod's Daughters: articles


Sixth series for McLeod's Daughters

LOOKS like we'll be seeing those McLeod girls for a while longer yet.

But just whether all the cast will sign on for another year remains to be seen.

A Channel 9 spokeswoman says cast negotiations are ongoing and the network hopes everyone will return, including Bridie Carter (Tess Silverman) who is due to give birth this month, and Myles Pollard (Nick Ryan).

Meanwhile, Rachael Carpani has been catching up with film industry doyen Lyn Pike ahead of International Women's Day on March 8. Carpani revealed she could have been a journalist instead of an actress.

She deferred the final year of a journalism degree to focus on acting - but she plans to get back to it one day.

"I want journalism to fall back on," she says.

March 05, 2005
The Advertiser



McLEOD'S DAUGHTERS SADDLES UP FOR SIXTH SERIES

The Nine Network has announced that it will commission a sixth series of McLeod's Daughters, Australia's number one home-made drama program.

McLeod's Daughters recently returned for 2005 with strong ratings and consistently ranks in the national Top 10 with an average of 1,445,000 viewers.

Nine Network CEO, Mr David Gyngell, said, "McLeod's is an extremely successful brand for Nine and a quality local production. The network appreciates the commitment and hard work of all those involved in the show."

Nine's Director of Drama, Posie Graeme-Evans, said, "McLeod's has come back as strong as ever. This gives me great personal satisfaction - it is a tribute to the very fine work that the producers, the cast, the crew and the script department all achieve."

The cast includes Simmone Jade Mackinnon, Bridie Carter, Aaron Jeffery, Myles Pollard, Rachael Carpani, Michala Banas and Brett Tucker.

There is more compelling drama in store for the heroes and heroines on McLeod's Daughters this year: Drovers Run is menaced by the scheming of a snake-in-the-grass relation; a larrikin mechanic brushes fatefully with the law; a tender heart is broken as a girlhood lover returns; a dark stranger brings intrigue and romance; a daredevil prodigal brother causes anguish for a popular vet; and patriarch Jack McLeod speaks from the grave to claim someone as his own.

While the women of McLeod's Daughters carry the heart of the story, men feature strongly in the series. As well as the Ryan family, local vet Dave Brewer (Brett Tucker), Tess's former fiancé, has become a central character.

Regular guest stars include John Jarratt as Terry Dodge, partner of Meg Fountain, played by former core cast member Sonia Todd, who has returned from her year in the city; Inge Hornstra as the manipulative Sandra, Harry Ryan's new wife; and Dean O'Gorman as Jodi's boyfriend, Luke Morgan. This year viewers will also enjoy the talents of Jeremy Sims when he plays Stevie's former lover and father of her daughter Rose (Basia A'hern).

In 2004, McLeod's Daughters won a swag of TV Week Logie Awards including Most Popular Australian Drama, Most Popular Australian Program, Most Popular Actress (Lisa Chappell) and Most Popular Actor (Aaron Jeffery).

McLeod's Daughters has been sold internationally to the Hallmark Network and screens in 120 countries, throughout the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Asia. The series is a co-production between Millennium Television and Nine Films and Television and is produced with the assistance of the South Australian Film Corporation.

March 16, 2005