Gossip Queen: Jessica Marais steps away from reunion with Rebecca Gibney
Packed to the Rafters fans are set for disappointment after a reunion between mum and daughter duo Jessica Marais and Rebecca Gibney in a new six-part series has been called off.
Fiona Byrne
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Gold Logie nominee Jessica Marais has stepped away from the big-budget TV miniseries that would have seen her teaming up again with on-screen mum Rebecca Gibney.
Marais, 34, was announced in July as being part of the cast for the six-episode Halifax: Retribution series.
While her role was relatively small, it would have seen her playing alongside Gibney who portrays the show’s hero, Jane Halifax, in at least one of the episodes.
The casting would have brought Gibney and Marais together on screen for the first time since they played mother and daughter Julie and Rachel Rafter on the much loved show Packed to the Rafters.
It also would have marked Marais’ return to acting following an extended hiatus, announced in June last year to focus on her mental health.
Her break from acting also saw her step out of the Bad Mothers series she had been cast in.
Marais, who has a seven-year-old daughter, Scout, with Home and Away star James Stewart, has spoken openly about her mental health challenges and revealed in 2014 that she had bipolar disorder.
It is believed she recently ended a long-term relationship with photographer Jake Holly.
Channel 9 on Saturday confirmed Marais was no longer involved in the series, which is filming in Melbourne.
“Unfortunately the shooting time-frame just did not work with Jessica’s schedule and personal commitments,” a spokesman said.
The news comes as rumours abound that streaming platform Amazon Prime Video is looking at rebooting Packed to the Rafters in 2020 as a Back to the Rafters project that could include some original cast.