Strike Me Roan! She’s Back!

As rumour had it, there was soon going to be a startling revelation which should excite long terms fans of the show – and that revelation takes the form of a returning character, who will settle back into life in the Bay as a regular.

We are now able to finally confirm that the character of Ruth (Roo) Stewart, daughter of Alf Stewart and biological mother to Martha MacKenzie, will be returning to Summer Bay after 21 years.

However, actress Justine Clarke, who originated the role in 1988 as part of the original cast and left in July 1989, will not be returning to the show. Over the years Justine has made it no secret that she has no interest in returning to ‘sHome and Away‘s, and so producers have found another solution.

Enter Australian TV icon Georgie Parker, whose roles as Nurse Lucy Gardiner in ‘sA Country Practice‘s and Sister Terri Sullivan on ‘sAll Saints‘s have seen her win no less than seven Logies (including two Gold) and a legion of fans.

“I’m thrilled to be back at Channel Seven and to be part of Home and Away,” Georgie said today in an official announcement. “Working with Ray is a joy. We are having a fantastic time together. The whole cast and crew have been wonderful.”

Georgie’ss first scenes as Roo, which have been filmed over the past few weeks, will debut around four weeks before the 2010 cliffhanger.

With such an intriguing imminent return, and the fresh vision of new script producer Jason Daniel, 2011 certainly looks set to be an interesting year in Summer Bay!

BTTB EXCLUSIVE:

We can now bring you the very first on-set photo of Georgie as Roo! Taken on Tuesday 27th July, it shows Georgie filming a scene with Ray Meagher at McCarrs Creek Reserve.