They’ve both been wonderfully prolific performers for many decades, having starred in a diverse range of our most iconic TV dramas.
But one cherished homegrown series to which Amanda Muggleton and Frankie J Holden had never lent their considerable charms was Home and Away.
Until now, that is!
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In this week’s episodes, Amanda and Frankie make their long-awaited debut on the hit weeknight show – appearing as Robbo’s (Jake Ryan) parents Wendy and Ian.
“I was thrilled to join the show,” says Amanda.
“Thirty years was a long time to wait, but it was worth it! The crew, cast and creatives are so established and professional – it was made so easy.”
As for Frankie, he reveals:
“The role came about like everything seems to come about for me – someone, somewhere thought it would be a good idea to get me involved in the show.
“But it may well have been because I’d just come off six years in A Place to Call Home on Foxtel. In that, I played a farmer – and my role in Home and Away is also a farmer.”
But as Frankie exclaims with a smile: “That’s about where the similarities end! Home and Away is contemporary and my role is nowhere near as curmudgeonly as the one I played in A Place to Call Home. But perhaps the casting people thought, ‘He looks like a bloke off the land, so we’ll give him a crack!’”
These days, Frankie lives with his actress wife Michelle Pettigrove on the far south coast of New South Wales and is a doting dad of four and grandfather of six.
Life, it seems, couldn’t be better for the much-loved star, who reveals that, like Amanda, he “didn’t hesitate” to accept this latest gig.
After all, he says: “It’s Home and Away! It’s such an iconic show and I’d never been on it, but I’ve done a lot of other shows and I thought, ‘what a great opportunity’.
“I feel like I’ve made it now,” he says, laughing, “and I’m pretty sure the road to Hollywood, which so many of the Home and Away alumni take, will open up to me now! Perhaps I could play Chris Hemsworth’s father in something …”
For more, pick up the latest copy of New Idea on sale now!
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