11-22

As we move into the Top 20, there’s thirteen points between those at Number 20 and those at Number 11, signalling the arrival of the real heavy hitters.

  • 11. Matt Page (31 points)

    Played by Alec Snow

    A bit of a rise for Matt, one of the most popular current characters who recently acquired a little sister to be cute with in addition to his sardonic wit. And the departure of Sasha, with whom he previously had most of his scenes, has allowed him to get out and interact with more characters. Like Maddy. And Evelyn.

  • 12. Bobby Simpson/Morgan/Marshall (30 points)

    Played by Nicolle Dickson

    A bit of a dip for a character who was in the Top 10 last time, but then it’s been a while since Bobby disappeared off of 7TWO screens as the second main character to die. Taken in by Tom and Pippa in the pilot, Bobby surprisingly turned out to be the long lost daughter of Donald Fisher and Morag Bellingham and managed to fit two marriages into a relatively short time on the show.

  • 13. Pippa Fletcher/Ross (28 points)

    Played by Vanessa Downing & Debra Lawrance

    The lowest ranked of last time’s Top 10, Pippa slips three places but manages a fairly high placing all the same. “Who’s your favourite Pippa?” is pretty much the Home and Away equivalent of “Who’s your favourite James Bond?”… although with the character last seen on screen seven and a half years ago, you suspect these days many people would answer with “Who’s Pippa?

  • 14. Billie Ashford (25 points)

    Played by Tessa de Josselin

    The highest placed new entry! Since coming to Summer Bay, Billie has been nearly drowned, badly burned in a fire, framed for arson, raped, taken hostage, in a plane crash, nearly blown up and run over by a car. So she’s got to be due some good luck soon, right? Right?

  • 14= Kyle Braxton (25 points)

    Played by Nic Westaway

    I could make a crude remark about Kyle lying alongside Billie but I think I’ll refrain. The late arrival Braxton managed to get past the rather unpromising first impression and turn into the most level-headed of the brothers… until the show decided to have him take the rap for a girl he barely knew and go to jail for something he didn’t do. Don’t think you can get round us with a Presto special, either!

  • 16. Chris Harrington (24 points)

    Played by Johnny Ruffo

    The highest rise of any character between polls: Chris was in the first update with one point last time round but is probably one of the most missed of the many departures this year. His surrogate son relationship with Irene, faux bro relationships with Sasha and Olivia and emotional scenes after the loss of Hannah seem to have earned him several fans.

  • 16= Leah Poulos/Patterson/Baker (24 points)

    Played by Ada Nicodemou

    Last time round, Leah finally seemed to be getting out of a rut as she chose to better herself and become a guidance counsellor… only for the show to put a stop to that and send her back to the Diner. It’s not all bad news though, as the emergence of VJ, her marriage to Zac and her taking over as leading lady at the caravan park have meant a larger role than she was once used to.

  • 16= Miles Copeland (24 points)

    Played by Josh Quong Tart

    A bit of a rise for Miles too, who barely scraped into the Top 40 last time round. And is alongside Leah for anyone else wanting to make crude jokes. Miles turned up around the time of Sally’s departure to take her place as custodian of the caravan park and foster parent. He also cut his hair and grew a beard.

  • 19. Heath Braxton (23 points)

    Played by Dan Ewing

    One of the first Braxtons seen and the first to leave the regular cast, Heath had a pretty decent character arc from thug to family man, helped by the fact that he seemed to be picking up children all over the place at a rate that surprised even him. Looked to be the only one to get a happy ending, until Brax’s last return gave him the same.

  • 20. Celia Stewart (18 points)

    Played by Fiona Spence

    Introduced in the show’s second week, Celia was the gossipy spinster of the early years, so it’s perhaps no wonder she turned out to come from the same gene pool as Colleen. Various attempts to reinvent Celia as someone less haughty culminated in her leaving to become a missionary. Made a few short returns during the 00s and came back for a bit at Roo and Harvey’s wedding.

  • 20= Michael Ross (18 points)

    Played by Dennis Coard

    The renaissance of Michael continues: Top 30 last time, Top 20 this time, not bad for a character who seemed stuck in Tom’s shadow despite being on the show twice as long as him. He’s probably lucky that this poll wasn’t conducted when 7TWO were showing Michael and Pippa’s separation though, since a lot of people seemed to go off him then.

  • 20= Peter Baker (18 points)

    Played by Nicholas Bishop

    Even more surprising, Peter continues to match Michael with gaining ten places and five points, despite not having been seen for the best part of a decade. Peter was one of the show’s most effective police officers, if you overlook him whacking Jack over the head with a 4×4, so much so that even when he got himself killed by carrying out an unauthorised investigation, he got better.