Why do you think PTB decided to bring back Colleen in 1999?.

[j.laur5]

I just think its interesting how for so many years the PTB didn't seem interested in having over an 60 year old in the cast then all of a sudden Colleen returns after only being a recurring character between 1988-1989  with only a  brief appearance in 1997. She had no family at least not known at the time.

So I wonder why PTB decided to bring back a past guest character who had no family in the Bay.

I am glad they did bring Colleen in as it was nice having another older character in the show It was nice having a busy-body. on show That was something that was lacking since Celia left in 1990.

I wonder if maybe they thought that if they included more older characters it might bring in more people to watch such as older viewers or maybe they knew Judy Nunn was leaving the show by then and thought a familiar face that older fans knew would make fans happier instead of getting used  to a new older female character.

 

[Blaxland 89]

I think it was so great she return but I must admit seeing her turn up in 99 was very unexpected and unusual. And that 97 thing was even more random. I'd love to know the story behind it. 

[Shannon Found Skeletons]

I agree it seems weird. I'd never thought about that before. It's not something you often see in soaps... a pretty minor guest character who hasn't been seen for 10 years (apart from one very random episode) suddenly returning as a regular. I don't think it's age related though and i doubt it's got anything to do with Ailsa. It could be related to Emily Symons leaving so they wanted another comedy character to replace Marilyn.

It's also possible her 97 appearance was supposed to lead to something more regular at the time but for whatever reason didn't happen. Then in 99 it worked out. The script producers of 2000 seem very knowledgeable and fans of the show's history (especially the first few years) so it's possible they just wanted an older female gossip to make the show feel more like the old days.

[Matt]

On 27/05/2017 at 0:40 AM, j.laur5 said:

I just think its interesting how for so many years the PTB didn't seem interested in having over an 60 year old in the cast then all of a sudden Colleen returns after only being a recurring character between 1988-1989  with only a  brief appearance in 1997. She had no family at least not known at the time.

So I wonder why PTB decided to bring back a past guest character who had no family in the Bay.

I am glad they did bring Colleen in as it was nice having another older character in the show It was nice having a busy-body. on show That was something that was lacking since Celia left in 1990.

I wonder if maybe they thought that if they included more older characters it might bring in more people to watch such as older viewers or maybe they knew Judy Nunn was leaving the show by then and thought a familiar face that older fans knew would make fans happier instead of getting used  to a new older female character.

 

"In 1998 Bevan Lee was busy setting up and overseeing All Saints. Then in '99 with All Saints up and running, Bevan came back to oversee H&A and he made the decision to bring back a couple of his favourite characters - Colleen being number one."

[j.laur5]

3 hours ago, Matt said:

"In 1998 Bevan Lee was busy setting up and overseeing All Saints. Then in '99 with All Saints up and running, Bevan came back to oversee H&A and he made the decision to bring back a couple of his favourite characters - Colleen being number one."

Interesting, I think if Bevan was still there in 1990 Colleen would have been made a regular after Celia left. As Fiona Specie decided to leave.

Who knows maybe Morag may never have been axed and even Neville might have been saved  from axing if Bevan Lee had stayed.

[dee123]

To annoy us all. No offense to Lyn Collingwood who played an annoying busybody well but i couldn't stand the screeching Banshee. Plus making her a Stewart was so totally a wish fulfillment by some writer. It was so wanky.

[Shannon Found Skeletons]

3 hours ago, dee123 said:

Plus making her a Stewart was so totally a wish fulfillment by some writer. It was so wanky.

Oh it was absolutely fanwank on behalf of the writer but I think he made it work initially. In the following years the writers that followed failed to make proper use of it, especially the Colleen/Morag rivalry.

[j.laur5]

I wish we had Ailsa/Pippa/Irene/Colleen as regulars on show at the same time.

So it's a shame Colleen was not made a regular sooner as her character would be better fitted to the 90s.

[CaptainHulk]

I'm guessing the one-off return in 1997 (filmed 1996) proved popular enough.

[adam436]

On 5/29/2017 at 0:21 AM, dee123 said:

To annoy us all. No offense to Lyn Collingwood who played an annoying busybody well but i couldn't stand the screeching Banshee. Plus making her a Stewart was so totally a wish fulfillment by some writer. It was so wanky.

 

I couldn't agree more. She was okay in small doses, but her voice and constant meddling was just too much. I didn't watch H&A much between 2005-2013, so I can't really comment on the Stewart connection. 

 

Does anyone else think Celia or perhaps Floss would have been better as a regular from 1999-2012? Both Sheila and Fiona were much more subtle actors and both characters had stronger connections to the cast of time.