We rank the 20 best Australian TV characters of all time
Who are Australian TV’s most iconic characters over the decades across drama, comdedy and long-running staples? We’ve ranked ours and readers have flipped our list on its head. Read the lists and make your judgement.
Entertainment
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Australian TV has created great characters over many decades.
Some made their mark after just a few episodes, others became ingrained in the hearts of the public, like close friends whose professional and private ups and downs we care about, while others provided catch phrases that took on a life outside of the confines of the fictional world of a TV show.
During this time of the COVID-19 lockdown people have turned to TV for comfort and entertainment and with time on their hands many have been embracing nostalgia and tapped into shows from the past.
So what better time to ask: who are the 20 greatest Australian TV characters?
We’ve ranked our list, but readers have taken a different view, lifting Norman Gunston and Russell Coight to the top of the list, and shooting Skippy from 17 to 3.
There was also love for The Sullivans’ Mrs Jessup, who rose from 15 on our list to six in the readers’ poll.
There is really no right or wrong answer, every viewer has different tastes and different favourites, but for mine, Maggie Doyle, the essential character of Blue Heelers gets my number one vote ahead of Charlene Mitchell, the character that launched both Neighbours and Kylie Minogue internationally.
The death of Molly Jones on A Country Practice is still talked about as one of the saddest moments ever in an Australia drama, while Offspring’s Nina Proudman was a character who felt like a best friend.
Dave Sullivan, Julie Rafter, Norman Gunston, Mike Moore, Joan “The Freak” Ferguson and Sharon Strzelecki round out the top 10.
The most over-rated characters on our list, according to readers, were Neighbours’ Charlene Mitchell (down from 2 to 19), Blue Heelers’ Maggie Doyle (down from 1 to 18) and Offspring’s Nina Proudman (5 to 20).
Do you agree or disagree?
Who should be on the list and who shouldn’t.
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