Brook Hall, Channel Seven’s Director of Content Scheduling, has chastised Australian stars in Hollywood who “do not like to talk about” how they got their start on the enormously famous serial after they’ve made it big.
Brook told TV Tonight that he was “proud” of the long-running beachfront soap, adding that it was also Seven’s most expensive production, while its competitor Neighbours faces the chop after 37 years on the air.
“I’m very proud of Home and Away, and it’s arguably our most important show, and our biggest cash outlay. We do not have to do it. We believe in it,” he said.
“Our most successful acting exports over the last 20 years have come from the show that people do not want to count as premium drama,” he said.
“It’s a great thing on actors’ résumés for LA because it has such good training,” he explained, before adding: “Even though some of the actors do not like talking about it when they get over there.”
Brook’s remark could be a thinly veiled dig at Melissa George, the former actress of Home and Away, who upset fans when she notoriously forbade journalists from inquiring about her debut on the show.
“I do not need credibility from my country anymore, I just need them all to be quiet. If they have nothing intelligent to say, please do not speak to me anymore,” Melissa told The Morning Show hosts Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies at the time.
“I’d rather be having a croissant in Paris or walking my French bulldog in New York City,” she added.
Melissa played Angel Brooks on Home and Away from 1993 to 2005, following which she relocated to Los Angeles at the age of 21 to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.