Homeandawayfan.

I thought Alf got a letter from her in the middle of 1988, when Roo was heavily pregnant with Martha. Alf found out just after he married Ailsa I think. This happened offscreen. This was probably before Alf had a row with Ailsa where he said she may stab him if he crossed her, and she fled to Sydney then Singapore.

Ben McPhee looked like Bradley Townsend from Neighbours (a 1986 character, who was once assumed to be Des Clarke's son but this was denied). Also the kid bullying Sally had a rounder face than Justin, so deffo 2 different actors. I hope Amazon prime publish more early years H&A.

Old school H&A fan here who likes Kelly Watson.

I would also say they are 2 totally different people. The young actor playing the bully has a small mark on his right cheek which Justin does not have. Also different looking noses and different facial features. It is the haircut that makes them look similar. A haircut alone can make 2 people look much more alike than with different styles.

Same haircut, although lots of boys had that basin style haircut back then, but same colour and he sounded the same.

It has been said that since Martha returned from the dead and back into Alf's life, it has been spoken as if Ailsa never existed. Do you think this is true?

I think it was an "us vs them" attitude. I know families who keep together and have this "one for all and all for one" attitude like the Braxtons had. And I doubt any decent member of Summer Bay would want to know them as they were a criminal gang of siblings, similar to the Kray Twins. Alf called them a bunch of "knuckle heads" once.

The boy bullying Sally and calling her a cry baby in January 1988 does look like Justin Rosniak, but unless he confirms it himself, it is hard to be sure, as said we only saw him from the side.

Sorry I was getting confused, it was his 60th in 2005 when slightly went against his age in 1988 which he said.

Which involved in him being de-aged by 2 years or so. I hope we can see Sally again one day, you never know. Never say never as Ross Kemp always says to an EE return.

Yes that ship sailed in 2013 I think. Irene was born 1953, AFAIK.

1988 was probably my fave ever year. Shame though how Tom seemed to become a secondary character in the second half of the year. Alf was keeping order around his manor in 1988 and still doing it now. It does feel like he is The Don of Summer Bay, seeing as his family founded the area.

In 1994, (and a few times in 1992 and 1993) H&A did actually get 14 million viewers, so an increase on 12 in 1990. Not sure what was the highest ever figures for H&A. You could say 1990 was not as popular as 1994-1995 for H&A which is when the show was at its peak in the UK, and was probably a threat to Corrie. When you say 2 big soaps on ITV outside H&A, do you mean Corrie and Emmerdale? In fairness I do know Alf Stewart is a UK icon, even people who never watch H&A know of Alf, and hia flamin galah phrase. Also timing may be a factor. I suppose ITV had more soaps and drama than BBC and that weighed down H&A's success. In 1994-1995 you could even argue that H&A was more talked about than Neighbours.

According to a BARB ratings list from week ending 2 December 1990, H&A got at most that week, 12 million viewers, and Neighbours got at least that week, 17 million viewers. So on average Neighbours got about 5 to 6 million more viewers than H&A.

Usually when I was at school, people spoke about Neighbours as well, instead of H&A. H&A did get relatively high figures, 12 million was quite good but not phenominal like Neighbours was at 18 million. Emmerdale got over 18 million for the plane crash and Neighbours 20 million for Scott and Charlene's wedding. H&A never got such figures for a memorable episode. As said I suppose it was the setup for H&A, it was more about waifs and strays who lived in an isolated seaside town in the Australian bush, whereas Neighbours was about families in a Australian suburb, so got more viewers. I think Scott and Charlene added a huge factor to the shows success.