The 2000 season

[adam436]

On 03/04/2026 at 11:44, j.laur5 said:

I was under impression PTB were choosing between Judith  or Colleen to write out in late 2000

Where did you hear that? I've never heard that before and I really can't see any situation where the producers would be likely be choosing between them? Colleen filled the soap staple role of busybody and comedy foil, whereas without Edward's story arc, Judith added nothing that couldn't be provided by an existing character. I find Anna Hruby a stronger actress and Judith a much more likeable and grounded charcater, but Colleen served more of a purpose at that point. 

 

22 hours ago, c120701 said:

Interesting, I wonder if they knew by then that Judy Nunn wasn’t going to renew her contract and that swayed the decision.

I got the impression that Judy made it quite clear that writing novels was her focus in her later years, so the producers probably knew it was coming sooner or later. With the major overhaul that occured in 2000 - including a new Diner set and the loss of the Stewart house which were both Ailsa's domains - it wouldn't surprise me if it was almost a mutual decision. Ailsa also had some of her biggest storylines in 1999/2000 - the Shauna story and the car accident/paranoia about Alf - after years of essentially being a supporting character, so it's entirely possible the producers knew it was coming and wanted to make the most of the time that was left. 

[j.laur5]

35 minutes ago, adam436 said:

Where did you hear that? I've never heard that before and I really can't see any situation where the producers would be likely be choosing between them? Colleen filled the soap staple role of busybody and comedy foil, whereas without Edward's story arc, Judith added nothing that couldn't be provided by an existing character. I find Anna Hruby a stronger actress and Judith a much more likeable and grounded charcater, but Colleen served more of a purpose at that point. 

 

I got the impression that Judy made it quite clear that writing novels was her focus in her later years, so the producers probably knew it was coming sooner or later. With the major overhaul that occured in 2000 - including a new Diner set and the loss of the Stewart house which were both Ailsa's domains - it wouldn't surprise me if it was almost a mutual decision. Ailsa also had some of her biggest storylines in 1999/2000 - the Shauna story and the car accident/paranoia about Alf - after years of essentially being a supporting character, so it's entirely possible the producers knew it was coming and wanted to make the most of the time that was left. 

I said I was under impression as in my feeling was they wanted to write out other older character and I was saying I think they choosing between those two since they had least amount purpose and  not there as long as others like Alf /Irene /Donald.