Fans of Home and Away have chosen the most well-liked character on the program. We present the viewers’ favorite characters from the drama that spanned three and a half decades in Summer Bay only a few weeks before the show’s 35th anniversary.
This is the eleventh time we’ve asked fans to choose their favorite characters in the Home and Away Most Popular Character poll, which has been conducted every two years since 2004.
People had to list a total of five personalities during the voting period, which lasted slightly more than a month. Then, we gave their first choice five points, their second choice four points, and so on.
On January 17, 1987, Home and Away premiered on Australian television. On February 11, 1989, it debuted in the UK. Fans selected 196 characters from the 35 years of available characters, which is exactly 60 more than the last poll. One character, though, stood out as a clear favorite.
The results are dispersed across several pages. Continue reading if you want to see the top 20, otherwise visit the links below to see the remaining results:
In this special discussion on our site, you can talk about the outcomes with other forum users.
The most popular Home and Away characters, as determined by your votes, are now revealed as we count down from 20 to 1:
Here are the top 20 Home and Away characters, according to fans:
Jasmine Delaney (242 points)
Another of this year’s departures, Jasmine got a really abrupt off-screen exit that seemed designed to make people dislike her, but at least it was better than dying.
It obviously didn’t do her too much harm given her high finish here, with people preferring to remember her as the kindly nurse with a dry sense of humour.
Theo Poulos (261 points)
Theo would not have likely made the Top 20 if we had taken this poll last year. But after that weak beginning, his true friendship with Ryder, his history of abuse, and his genuine kinship with Leah and Justin have won him some admirers.
Not much of a musical career for him.
Bella Nixon (270 points)
A character who enters different and remains different must be admired. Even though Bella appeared to be the mature one in her relationship with Nikau and made some progress with the “being around others” factor, her lack of social graces persisted pretty much to the very end. Ask Chloe, please.
Heath Braxton (327 points)
The Braxton brother who started off as the thuggish one and somehow turned into the funny one.
Shortly after the last poll, he made a fleeting return to the show, swooping in like a superhero to, well, not really achieve much at all, at least in the long-term.
Roo Stewart (391 points)
Once a fairly short-lived characters from the early years, a recast nearly two decades later has seen Roo rise to one of the stalwarts of the Bay, even if the show does seem to be struggling to come up with a definite role for her. We’ll see how long the tutoring gig lasts.
Nikau Parata (395 points)
The young member of the Parata family has overcome his disappointment over Bella’s breakup, developed a strong work ethic that would enable him to work pretty hard as a lifeguard, and formed a fun mentor connection with John.
Mackenzie Booth (568 points)
Mackenzie finally seems to have realized that she works best when she’s just being Dean’s sister, with their sibling bond being one of the highlights of the year, after a string of almost comically bad relationships.
The straight one is another who is frequently abandoned to the chaos.
Justin Morgan (654 points)
With six years on the show, Justin is undoubtedly beginning to feel like a long-term character. Say it gently so as not to curse it.
He has formed a strong alliance with Leah and has been able to withstand the departure of the rest of his family. He frequently acts as the straight man to Leah’s antics.
Sally Fletcher (679 points)
Yes, you read that correctly: Sally’s reign as poll leader or joint-leader for eight straight weeks has come to an end, and she isn’t even in the Top 10.
Her last trip to Summer Bay was over ten years ago, and it’s been a whopping 35 years since she first landed there as the tiny Fletcher family member who got to experience growing up on-screen.
John Palmer (689 points)
John has already cemented himself as one of the show’s mainstays, surpassing Pippa and Ailsa in terms of appearances, and if he survives until the next poll, he’ll have passed Donald as well.
He hasn’t really done anything since splitting up with Marilyn, but it seems like his life’s work is to hang around at the surf club and be sarcastic.
Cash Newman (701 points)
Another new entry in the Top 10, a bit surprising since he always seemed a bit dull. Cash has kind of gone in the opposite direction as his sister: He came in as a responsible member of society in a steady relationship and has ended up as a screwed-up, directionless mess, unless Eden turns out to be the love of his life.
Leah Patterson (860 points)
Leah drops a few spots but remains in the Top 10, demonstrating the benefit of having a character that both returning and current viewers are familiar with.
She’s now caught up with her family, which solidifies her role in the show, in addition to keeping her romance with Justin as one of its constant aspects.
Felicity Newman (1162 points)
The highest-rated new entry, Felicity has been on the show for nearly a year and a half, during which time she’s managed to progress from a “fun drunk hurricane” to a partner in a local business on the verge of getting married. Bobby would be proud.
Darryl Braxton (1173 points)
A return to the Top 10 for Brax, who’s eleven places higher than last time.
The original sympathetic criminal, Brax is obviously fondly remembered since he’s the only person in the top 10 who’s not still on the show. Wonder what he’d have made of the Paratas. Or Lyrik.
Tane Parata (1475 points)
Tane just made it into the Top 100 last time with four points. He is this poll’s highest riser after moving up 90 spots to the Top 10.
The loss of Ari has forced him into the unaccustomed role of the Parata patriarch, a role he has proven to be quite adept at, and his romance with Felicity has made him one of the most popular characters.
Irene Roberts (1963 points)
Irene maintains her place in the Top 5, showing that the stalwarts among the current cast remain popular. It’ll be interesting to see whether the abrupt emptying of Irene’s house this year proves significant or whether she’ll just grab herself another bunch of 20-something lodgers!
Marilyn Chambers (2178 points)
And up three places from Number 7, we have Marilyn, whose popularity apparently hasn’t been damaged by the reveal that she had a daughter and pretended she didn’t exist for twenty-seven years. And many found her “nasty” chemical-poisoning-induced personality more entertaining than the real one!
Ziggy Astoni (2249 points)
Ziggy rises seven places to crack the Top 10.
The last Astoni standing, Ziggy’s had romances with Brody and Tane, but it’s her on-off relationship with Dean that seems to have caught people’s attention. Now she just needs to settle on a career!
Dean Thompson (2701 points)
It wasn’t really close because everyone from the initial update would have finished in the Top 10 with the extra points Dean required to claim the top spot. However, coming in second place is still a success. He and Ziggy have been reunited since the last vote, and he is now looking forward to being a father for a second time.
So there’s been a little change. In two years, we’ll check in to see if things have improved even further. Perhaps 2024 will be the year of Haydn Ross or Lucinda Croft.
Alf Stewart (3589 points)
After tying with Sally for top four years ago, Alf finally gets the number one spot all to himself.
Currently clocking up an impressive thirty-five years on the show, Alf has settled into his role of the elder statesman to both the show and the town and it’s hard to imagine the place without him.
Following the supposed death of his wife Martha three years prior, Alf was initially introduced as a widower selling the Caravan Park to the Fletcher family. However, he quickly married Ailsa Hogan (Judy Nunn), much to the chagrin of his teenage daughter Roo (Justine Clarke/Georgie Parker).
In 1989, Alf and Ailsa received a son, Duncan (Brendan McKensy/Benedict Wall). Later, Alf learned he also had two other children, Quinn Jackson (Danielle Spencer/Lara Cox) and the late Owen Dalby, who were both born illegitimately. Ailsa passed away after a heart attack in 2000, but two years later, when Alf had a brain tumor, she reappeared in his dreams. When it was revealed in 2018 that the couple’s first wife, Martha, had actually faked her own death, they got back together and got married again in 2020.
In his many years in Summer Bay, Alf has endured many hardships, including his store collapsing around him during an earthquake and a heart attack, losing his own home to a mudslide, being imprisoned twice after being falsely accused of murder and forgery, having a brief relationship with a woman who later turned out to be his half-niece, and even carrying the Olympic torch through Su.