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Emily Martin

From drug overdoses to Hollywood fame: Where are Home and Away's biggest stars of the '90s and early noughties now?

'You know we belong together? You and I forever and ever...'

As soon as you hear the opening lines of that familiar theme tune you will be no doubt be transported back to the time when you raced home from school, switched on your telly and joined your pals in Summer Bay.

From Angel and Shane to Marilyn and Fisher, the characters of Home And Away were staples of our childhood - and the Australian soap is still going strong today.

Read more: Edgy 90s' TV shows we used to watch instead of doing our homework

But what we want to know is where are some of our favourite stars from the past right now. Are they still in the Surf Club ordering milkshakes that they'll never finish? Are they talking on the hamburger phone in The Diner?

Have they gone away to the mysterious Yabbie Creek for a bit? Or worse, did they end up in... "juvie"?

Here's all you need to know about where the stars of the soap in the '90s and early noughties are now...

Angel Parrish (Melissa George) and Shane Parrish (Dieter Brummer)

Angel and Shane (Seven)

Shane and Angel were one of Home and Away's all-time most-loved couples.

But in November 2019, Dieter Brummer gave the impression to Women's Day magazine that in real-life, he didn't really get along with Melissa George.

He reportedly said: "We may have been love interests on the show but the chemistry was far from real! Mel was incredibly ambitious right from the outset. I think she wanted to be the next Kylie Minogue."

Melissa George can be found today still acting.

Most recently she played Margot opposite Justin Theroux in Apple TV's The Mosquito Coast.

In 2021, The Mirror reported that she actually became a multi-millionaire after inventing a product called Hemming My Way, which enables customers to alter hems without sewing.

But she claimed her divorce to Jean David Blanc in 2016 left her penniless, telling Stella magazine at the time: "I was left with nothing."

Melissa currently lives in Paris with her two sons, Raphaël, six, and Solal, four.

Sadly, Dieter Brummer passed away in July 2021 aged 45.

He was found dead at a house in Sydney by police responding to a welfare call and the officers said his death would not be treated as suspicious.

In a statement his family said: "We lost our handsome, talented, funny, complicated and beloved Dieter.

"He has left a massive hole in our lives and our world will never be the same.

"Our thoughts go out to all of you who knew him, loved him, or worked with him over the years."

Kim Hyde (Chris Hemsworth) and Leah Patterson (Ada Nicodemou)

Kim and Katerina (© Channel seven)

Played by Chris Hemsworth, Kim burst onto our screens as the son of Summer Bay's most hated Principal (Barry) thanks to his willingness to give out dress codes and detentions (all fairly standard Principal behaviour but we hated him with a passion).

Chris is, of course, the older brother of actor Liam Hemsworth.

Now aged 38, he's best known for playing Thor in the Marvel movies.

He lives in Byron Bay, Australia with his wife Elsa Pataky, daughter and twin sons.

And Leah Patterson had a number of gripping storylines including the deaths of her husbands, many different love interests, surrogacy, suffering anxiety and being the victim of racism.

In real life Ada Nicodemou has starred in a number of TV shows and films, most notably playing Dojour in The Matrix and has also taken part in Dancing on Ice Australia.

She shares a child with ex husband Chrys Xipolitas. Their second child was tragically stillborn.

She is currently in a relationship with businessman Adam Rigby.

Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie) and Scott Irwin (Heath Ledger)

Sally and Scott (Channel 5)

Sally was one of the most iconic characters in Home and Away.

We always found her mildly annoying.

Sally was the youngest of Pippa and Tom Fletcher's foster children, and had pretty low-key storylines at first.

But Sally's propensity to attract disaster was well on its way by the time she hit her mid teens.

She was washed away, kidnapped, seduced by Heath Ledger, married to Flynn, experienced surrogacy, and then there was the Flynn/Sally/Jesse/Leah storyline, so she really made up for lost time.

Today, Kate Ritchie is still an actress as well as a radio presenter and children's author.

She's married and has one child.

And what about Scott Irwin? It's really hard to believe that Hollywood mega-star Heath Legder started out in Home and Away, but it's true.

The character he played was a real bad boy who took advantage of dear sweet Sally.

He tried to use Sally to help him get keys to Fisher's office (tut tut) but she "dobbed him in".

And after that, Scott began torment her, tripping her in the school corridor calling her “Fisher’s Pet”.

In the end, Scott was expelled from the school.

In real life, Heath Ledger had a hugely successful acting career, going on to star in many award winning films, including Brokeback Mountain and The Dark Knight.

Tragically, Ledger died of an accidental drugs overdose during the period in which he was filming The Dark Knight.

He posthumously won an Academy Award for his role in the film and left behind a young daughter, Matilda.

Heath Ledger as The Joker (Archive)

Selena Roberts (Tempany Deckhert)

Selena had a number of gritty storylines in Home and Away.

The character suffered a miscarriage at school as well as being sexually harassed.

She was stalked and at one point even had a relationship with her school teacher.

These days, actress Tempany Deckhert lives in L.A and has continued to act in TV and theatre as well as being a writing teacher associated with UCLA.

Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson)

Bobby in Home and Away was the classic trouble-making teen.

Rebellious and a bit of a loner, her storylines included a feud with Roo Stewart, adoption and her marriage to foster brother Frank Morgan.

Bobby (Getty Images)

These days, former actress Nicolle Dickson can be found working as an accountant and book-keeper having left acting and Summer Bay far behind.

Vinnie Patterson (Ryan Kwanten)

Vinnie (Getty Images)

We first saw Vinnie as he whizzed past on Travis Nash's boat.

He was one of Leah's husbands and Vijay's dad.

He had a fake death followed by an apparent real one, in an off-screen farming accident.

In real life, he has continued acting, playing Jay in Summerland, then Jason in True Blood and finally Steve in The Oath.

Pippa Ross (Vanessa Downing)

Pippa (Getty Images for AFI)

Pippa welcomed a lot of foster children to her lovely home affectionately called "the caravan park".

She was the understanding mum who made nice dinners and who we all dreamed was our real mum in the '90s and '00s.

When Vanessa Downing, who played the oirginal Pippa, left the series in 1990, the part was recast, and taken over at short notice by Debra Lawrance who went on to play the character from 1990 to 1998.

For us though, Downing will always be the real Pippa.

Jessie (Ben Unwin)

Ben Unwin 'felt there was no other way for him' say pals in the days before his death (Archive)

Jessie appeared in Home and Away in two separate stints. He had relationships with Leah as well as Selena.

His character was sent to prison in the end after he caused the death of Chloe in a car crash.

After leaving Home and Away, Ben completed a law degree before working as a senior solicitor in Australia.

He also worked in the music industry, directing videos for Culture Club and also Chumbawamba's song Tubthumping.

Ben Unwin was tragically found dead in 2019 at the bottom of a 300ft waterfall near Byron Bay.

The waterfall has "claimed many lives" and is believed by local people to be cursed.

At the time, a police statement said: "Police attended Minyon Falls, Whian Whian, responding to a concern for welfare.

"The body of a 41-year-old man was located. The death has not been treated as suspicious."

Shannon (Isla Fisher)

Shannon (Channel 5)

How this for a complicated backstory?

Shannon was the daughter of Katherine Walker and the adoptive daughter of Elizabeth Reed. Also she was the foster daughter of Michael and Pippa (but wasn't everyone?)

She was the ex-girlfriend of her adoptive brother, Curtis as well as Eric Phillips, Alex Bennett, Geoff Thomas and Lachlan Fraser.

In the end Shannon left the Bay for Paris and we can see why. All too confusing.

And in real life, Isla Fisher went on to be a much-loved movie actress starring in films like Wedding Crashers, Confessions of a Shopaholic and The Great Gatsby.

She is married to comedian Sasha Baron-Cohen and they have three children.

Marilyn (Emily Symons)

Marilyn (Channel 5)

Marilyn is a true icon of Home and Away and added a bit of glamour and sunshine to the Bay.

It was already really sunny, but you know what we mean.

She was Summer Bay's version of Marilyn Monroe but for some reason ended up marrying Donald Fisher.

After Home and Away she came to the UK and spent 8 years playing Louise Appleton in our very own Emmerdale.

In real life, Emily Symons was married for two years to Lorenzo Smith, a son of Viscount Hambleden a descendant of stationery tycoon W.H Smith.

She was also engaged to footballer Matt Le Tissier and dated Emmerdale co-star Matt Healy.

She has one child.

Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), Aisla Stewart (Judy Nunn) and Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn)

Alf, Ailsa and Donald (CHP)

We've missed Flathead (sorry, Donald Fisher) a lot. And we still can't get over the way he managed to punch well above his weight and marry the lovely Marilyn.

And Alf and Aisla, tirelessly running the Diner? Absolutele legends - and they were proper grown-ups even back THEN, so where are they now?

Well, Norman Coburn is 84 years old and carried on acting throughout his career in numerous roles in theatre.

Ray Meagher who plays Alf is 77 years-old and still playing Alf in Home and Away. He's the longest serving cast member having done a 30-year stint.

Judy Nunn, who played Ailsa, is also 77 years old. She's a fiction author and also worked in theatre, radio and television screenwriting.

Intriguingly Wikipedia tells us that "she became obsessed with Ariana Grande in 2020 and was desperate to meet her". Unfortunately the request was declined in early 2021, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

We'll leave you with that thought.

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