Where are the stars of Home And Away now? A look at what soap legends Ray Meagher, Judy Nunn and Kate Ritchie are doing now

When Home And Away first arrived on Channel Seven in 1988 it followed the Fletcher family who arrived in Summer Bay from the city. 

Tom, his wife Pippa and their five foster children, Frank Morgan, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Lynn Davenport and Sally Fletcher. 

After buying the Caravan Park, they soon made friends with local shopkeepers Alf Stewart and Ailsa, as well a retired carnival workers Neville and Floss McPhee. 

The Australian soap is the second longest-running series in Australia, behind Neighbours which began in 1985.

Home And Away is the most awarded program at the Logie Awards, with the soap being inducted into the Logie Hall Of Fame in 2015.

While some of the original characters and their co-stars have remained on the show for decades it catapulted many of the show’s alumni to fame and successful media careers.

As some left to pursue fame in Hollywood, others have turned their back on acting forever. Here, MailOnline takes a look at what everyone is doing now.

Roger Oakley as Tom Fletcher

Roger played the foster father Tom Fletcher from the soap’s pilot episode in 1988.

He previously told New Idea that one of his fondest memories on the show was spent with the young Kate Ritchie: ‘There was always a fruit bowl brimming with apples and bananas and adorable Katie and I would pass the time pretending the bananas were telephones and have amazing conversations.’ 

Tom was killed off the series in 1990 after losing control of his car suffering a heart attack at the wheel. 

He was revived in 2008 as a ghost, appearing in a scene where foster daughter Sally (Kate Ritchie) experienced a near-death experience.

The New Zealand-born actor has now notched up almost 50 years in showbiz, with his last on-screen appearance being for the show Winners And Losers in 2013.

Vanessa Downing as Pippa Fletcher 

Vanessa played the kind-hearted foster mother Pippa, who took many children under her wing in her short two-year stint on the show.

When her on-screen husband was killed off, Vanessa left soon after to pursue her love of the theater and a career in law.

She graduated as a solicitor in 2006 and now happily balances a law career with her acting roles.

Pippa has returned to Summer Bay for milestone moments over the years, including in 2002 for Home And Away’s anniversary and foster daughter Sally’s (Kate Ritchie) wedding to Flynn Saunders in 2003.

Kate Ritchie as Sally Fletcher  

Her 20-year stint as Home and Away’s Sally Fletcher carried Kate Ritchie from 1988 to 2008, before a brief return after five years in 2013.

Since her iconic role, Kate has gone to appear on Underbelly – which she starred in alongside Dieter – and forge a successful career in radio on Nova 96.9.

She has one daughter, Mae, who she shares with her estranged husband, retired NRL player Stuart Webb.

Last month, the Nova radio star, 46, hinted that her character Sally, could be making a surprise return.

She revealed producers have already been in touch with her multiple times trying to line her up for a return, but teased that she has not closed the door on the soap. 

‘[Producers] have stopped calling, but they have told me the door is always open,’ she told the Herald Sun.

‘The idea of being back there and seeing everyone and working with all those actors again is not something I would not want to do, it is just whether it makes sense anymore.’

Kate added that she was unsure whether her character would fit in with the newer residents of Summer Bay or if she would still connect with viewers.

‘All of the new viewers they have, half of them would not know who Sally is. I have my work cut out for me and parenthood and life generally, let alone throwing another job,’ she added.

Alex Papps as Frank Morgan 

Alex Papps played Frank Morgan on Home and Away between 1988 and 2002.

The actor went on to appear in Blue Heelers, The Saddle Club and Stingers.

In 2015 he made headlines for his role on the kids show Play School after he made a contraption during an arts and craft session that social media users said looked like a ‘bong’.

The creative project saw him inset a straw into the side of a plastic bottle.  

Ray Meagher as Alf Stewart 

Ray joined the soap as one of the very first characters Alf Stewart in 1988. 

The actor renewed his contract to star on Home and Away for another five years at the beginning of 2022. 

He told the Scottish Sun he was finally persuaded by the producers to sign on to the show for six months – after first refusing their offer of a two-year contract.

‘I didn’t ever really have a target of years or anything like that,’ he said, ‘People often say, why would you stay that long?

‘I think the basic answer is the people. We’ve got a wonderful crew and some of them have nearly been there as long as me.’

In a recent interview, Ray criticised the soap for becoming less wholesome.

He suggested the crime-based storylines that have dominated the story action in Summer Bay for more than a decade have caused the show to stray too far from its 80s roots.

‘There is still a penchant for a River Boy,’ Ray said of the show’s recent cast of ‘bad boys’ in a chat with industry blog TV Tonight.

‘I mean, that was just a great period. But was it Summer Bay? Hmmm…. in my humble opinion, not to that extent.’

Ray’s comment referred to the popular ‘River Boys’ storyline which was launched in 2011.

It featured a trio of tough male characters, played by Lincoln Younes, Steve Peacocke and Dan Ewing, who bring trouble to Summer Bay. 

Meagher, who has been playing Alf on the show since its debut in 1988, praised the talent behind the ‘River Boys’ storylines.

But he believes it jarred against the show’s original premise which centered on a family bringing in foster kids to a little coastal village.

Ray said that there was ‘nothing wrong’ with the ‘sex, drugs and rock and roll’ storyline of The River Boys but he adds: ‘Except it came in too big a dose.’

Ray has been an ambassador for the Australian mental health charity Dancing With The Black Dog since 2018, which aims to end the ‘stigma of anxiety and depression.’

Judy Nunn as Ailsa Stewart 

Despite being killed off in 2000, Judy Nunn’s portrayal of Ailsa Stewart still looms large in the soap pantheon.

Ailsa, the no-nonsense wife of fellow Home and Away legend Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), was a mainstay on the iconic soap, from its 1988 pilot until her exit in 2000.

The former actress, who now enjoys a thriving career as a novelist, was on The Morning Show on Friday to promote her latest book, Stories From The Otto Bin Empire.

Ailsa’s trademark blonde curls were unmistakable as Judy chatted to hosts Kylie Gillies and Sam Mac.

Speaking to the hosts about her memories of her time on the long-running soap, Judy revealed that she used to write books while on set. 

‘It sounds gorgeous, doesn’t it?’ Judy replied when asked to clarify the rumour.

‘When, for instance, we’re burying somebody or when were marrying somebody…if you’re one of the general collectives, you’ve got to smile and nod a lot and at the funeral you’ve got to cry a lot but basically you’re an extra.’

‘Sitting around I found that very boring so that’s when I’d write a book,’ she admitted.

Aside from being a stage and screen actress, Judy has also enjoyed a long and storied career as an author.

She published her first children’s book The Riddle of the Trumpalar in 1981 before moving into adult fiction in 1991 with The Glitter Game.

Since then, Judy has published 19 books with The Glitter Game, as well as Centre Stage and Araluen all becoming best sellers.

Her acting career is no less impressive, with TV credits including sons and Daughters, Prisoner, and A Country Practice.   

In fact, Judy was a pioneer on the small screen, playing a bisexual journalist Vicky Stafford on The Box, a risque soap on Network Ten. 

It was there she shared Australian TV’s first lesbian kiss. 

However she is best known for her legendarily  Home and Away role, playing Ailsa in an astonishing 1313 episodes.

After Ailsa tragically died of a heart attack in front of Alf in 2000, Judy briefly reprised her role on the soap, this time as an hallucination in Alf’s mind, who was suffering a brain tumour. 

Speaking to the Daily Telegraph back in 2018, Judy revealed her disdain for the proliferation of reality television in Australia.

She told the publication that she was ‘disgusted’ by shows such as Love Island and Married at First Sight.

‘There’s too much b***** reality TV on. It disgusts me,’ she said. ‘Let the world wallow in it like a pig in a trough,’ Judy said.

Cornelia Frances as Morag Bellingham 

From playing Alf Stewart’s evil sister Morag Bellingham in Home And Away to becoming the fearful host of The Weakest Link, Cornelia Frances was undoubtedly Australia’s favourite TV villain.

The veteran actor left fans devastated when she tragically passed away aged 77 in May 2018, after losing her battle with bladder cancer.

Working in the industry for more than 40 years, Cornelia appeared in numerous television shows, stage performances and films throughout her illustrious career.

She played Alf Stewart’s villainous sister Morag Bellingham on Home and Away intermittently between 1988 and 2017. 

Cornelia expertly portrayed the stern barrister and judge, who had a clear dislike for Summer Bay and the people in it – including her own family.

Debuting on the soap in 1988, she became a recurring guest star for 30 years.

Her inclusion in episode 6,645 – which aired on April 25, 2017 – would ultimately became her last TV appearance as an actor. 

In her final TV interview in February 2018, she joked about being a ‘b***h on television’ and thanked producers for offering her the antagonistic roles that made her career.

Cornelia’s first-ever screen role was in the 1960 movie Peeping Tom, which was directed by her uncle Michael Powell. 

A decade later, she made her move to TV, playing Georgina Clausen on Dynasty.

Then, in 1976, she appeared as Sister Scott on The Young Doctors, which became one of her most famous television roles.

In an interview from her hospital bed in February, she revealed poignantly that she was a patient in the same hospital where she filmed the TV series in the 1970s. 

As well as her famous TV roles, Cornelia also appeared as the fearful host of Channel Seven’s The Weakest Link from 2001 to 2002. 

Norman Coburn as Donald Fisher

The main antagonist in the show’s pilot episode, the school’s headmaster Donald Fisher was played by Norman Coburn. 

Donald later became the guardian of teenage runaway Angel, prior to her blossoming romance with Shane Parish. 

While his character made brief appearances on the soap between 2005 and 2008, he later retired and lived a quiet life on Bruny Island in Tasmania, Australia.

Emily Symons as Marilyn Chambers-Fisher

Emily is most well-known for playing Marilyn Chambers-Fisher on the soap from 1989.

After almost a decade, she left the show and moved to the UK and appeared in the British soap Emmerdale before signing on to reality TV series Dancing on Ice in 2007.

In 2010, Emily made her grand return to Home and Away and moved to Australia permanently, and has remained on the show ever since.

Emily shares a son, Henry, with her ex-husband Paul Jackson who she split with in 2016.

In an interview with The Morning Show in June last year, Emily claimed she looks different in real-life to how she appears on the show. 

‘I do not look like this, that’s for sure,’ she said of her flawless onscreen appearance.

She continued, claiming she looks so different in real-life, she can go about her day-to-day business without getting noticed.

‘I can go shopping and not be approached. Not that I mind it at all, but nobody recognises me, because I look like a feral, exhausted mother at the shops!’ she revealed.