Australian TV golden queen Lisa McCune celebrates our most loved shows, and vote for your top pick

Golden girl Lisa McCune will always hold a special place in the hearts of Aussie viewers. Now she’s hoping for the return of a much-loved show. Have your say.

It’s been more than two decades since Lisa McCune starred as Maggie Doyle, one of the most loved characters on Australian television.

Yet not a week goes by when a fan doesn’t approach her to profess their love of Blue Heelers.

The “cops with heart” drama which ran for 13 seasons from 1994 to 2006, and is still winning hearts via 7Plus, was a no-brainer to make our 50 Best Australian TV Shows Of All Time poll.

McCune was overjoyed the show remains much loved more than 20 years after its appointment TV weekly episodes would regularly draw more than 2.5 million viewers.

McCune was 22 years old and had appeared in commercials and musical theatre productions when she won the role of a young constable stationed in a regional Victorian town.

Vote in our poll below for your top Aussie TV show.

Gold Logie queen Lisa McCune reminisces about why Australia fell in love with Blue Heelers. Picture: Jason Edwards

“As a young actor it was a bit of a coup to get a gig like that,” she said.

“And you never know if it’s going to last – we didn’t rate very well for the first year and I doubt that in today’s climate whether you’ve got the opportunity for a show to grow like that.

“Every week wonderful actors would be coming onto the set and the core cast of John Wood, Martin Sachs, William McInnes and Julie Nihill was my family.”

McCune won the Logie for Most Popular New Talent in 1995 and then claimed the Gold Logie four years running from 1997. The 2024 TV Week Logies winners will be revealed in Sydney on August 18.

There was never enough time during those halcyon days of ratings and awards glory, when she was literally the golden actress of Australian television, for McCune to process her popularity with millions of households.

John Wood, William McInnes and Lisa McCune in Blue Heelers which airs on 7Plus. Picture: Supplied.

“You’d go to the Logies and the next morning you were on the set at 6am so I wasn’t aware of what was going on outside,” she said.

“It was really intense and I’m so glad it was because doing a show like that now, with social media … I was really protected.”

Just missed the cut:

All Saints (1998-2009) – Drama

Big Girls’ Blouse (1994-1995) – Comedy

Halifax fp (1994-2002) – Drama

No. 96 (1972-1977) – Soap

Sydney Olympics (2000) – Sport

The love story between her and Martin Sacks’ character PJ regularly drew more than four million viewers and the death of her character in a hail of gunfire ahead of entering a witness protection program in early 2000 remains one of the most iconic moments in Australian television history.

McCune won 10 Logies including four Gold for her Blue Heelers role. Picture: NCA.

“I loved that show and I didn’t want to leave; I would have stayed for 20 years,” she said.

“I only left because I knew I kind of had to if I wanted to keep working.”

She still wishes Doyle didn’t have to die but understood the writers and producers had to kill off her character.

In the streaming era where beloved Australian shows are enjoying renewed success with post-millennial reinventions, including the Prisoner/Wentworth and Heartbreak High reboots, McCune would love to see Blue Heelers reimagined for a new audience.

But how would they bring Maggie Doyle back from the dead?

“Give me a few drinks one night and I’ll tell you funny stories about that,” she said, hinting that possibility has been discussed in Australian television circles over the years.

“To be part of a show in Australian television history, which was a landmark series, was wonderful and you forget how many shows in the ’90s just exploded, it was such a growth time for drama.”

Nicole Kidman’s star power was blinding on Bangkok Hilton in 1989. Picture: Supplied

That explosion is well represented on the Best 50 Shows poll, showcasing the emerging ratings dominance of the mini-series through the 90s, including career-defining performances by Nicole Kidman in Bangkok Hilton and Naomi Watts in Brides of Christ.

While streaming on personal screens may have eroded the family “appointment” viewing of the Blue Heelers era, McCune said she and her three children Remy, Oliver and Archer get together each week to watch new House of the Dragon episodes and her Dancing With The Stars quest ahead of its grand final episodes on Sunday and Monday.

70s period drama The Sullivans remains one of Australia’s most loved shows. Picture: Supplied.

“With my kids, and they’re all in their late teens and early twenties now, they have appointment television for certain shows and get together in my cosy room at home to watch House of the Dragon and Dancing With The Stars – with a star,” she laughed.

“It’s been hysterical because they all come around to watch me dance, and get really involved in it, and I fill them in on all the gossip, the background stories about what happened in rehearsal or what’s been cut. They’re getting a little more bang for their buck.”

McCune, who cites ’70s period drama The Sullivans as her pick for the best Australian show, is working on bringing more homegrown stories to television.

Like award-winning storyteller Nicole Kidman, she has set up her own production company, Broadstory, with director Fiona Banks and veteran screenwriter Greg Haddrick.

The voting panel

James Wigney – National TV Reviewer

Fiona Byrne – Gossip Queen, Herald Sun

Nick Bond – Entertainment Editor, news.com.au

Andrew Bucklow – Podcast culture king, news.com.au

Siobhan Duck – Binge Guide and Stellar TV writer

Lisa Mayoh – Insider and Sydney Weekend editor

Karlie Rutherford – Stellar and Confidential writer

Kathy McCabe – National Music Writer

* The Best 50 Australian TV Shows poll was decided by tabulating the scores from each voter’s ranking of shows from the 60s to now from a master long list and their personal passions. It is not a critics’ list; it’s what people who love watching Australian television have loved to watch.