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.
 

[James Martin]

On 04/04/2026 at 21:46, 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. 

You have to factor in her illness as well leading to a temporary recast. It was clearly on good terms as she returned for Alf's NDE.  12 years was a very long time on an Australian soap back then; until Neighbours came along soaps lasted 5 or 6 years at a time and in both Australia and the UK, they were often shown on a regional basis; depending on where you lived The Young Doctors finished somewhere between 1992 and 1995.

[adam436]

I wasn't suggesting on bad terms - more a case of Judy probably wanting to move on and the producers not persuading her to change her mind or stay longer. The show was clearly moving into a new era with a huge overhaul of the cast and aesthetics to make it appeal to a younger audience, so it might have also suited the producers to have lost one of the "big four" at that point. I doubt the producers would have axed one of them, but it was possibly convienent for them that one wanted to leave. All the original cast moved to the background in the early 2000s/Sutherland era. Apart from his brain tumour, Alf was quite isolated in terms of family and relegated to a flat above the Diner. Fisher had his moments (Seb's introduction, the London episodes, June Reynolds/his exit) but was largely a background character. Even Sally took a backseat in 2001/2002 in favour of her peers like Leah and Vinnie, Shauna, Charlotte etc. It wasn't really until Flynn 2.0 came along that she become a more prominent character again. 

Another thing about the 2000 cast turnover is that most of the exits didn't really get annouced ahead of time. It was the norm in those days for magazines to announce comings and goings months before they occured onscreen, but I can't remember too many of those actors getting one. The veterans like Sam and Ailsa did, but I remember being genuinely suprised to see the likes of Jesse, the Nashes, Justine, James, Judith, Edward and Peta all depart when they did. Eagle-eyed me did notice Ken was removed from the opening credits prior to his death though. 

Maybe the producers didn't want to create a sense of "panic" among fans with the highturnover, since they went back to the practice of confirming most comings and goings ahead of time until around 2004/2005. 

[Homeandawayfan.]

Neighbours and H&A certainly have/had outlived the 6 to 7 year Australian soap usual life by several decades. I guess their overseas sales, sunny locations and more focus on younger characters kept them alive.