NEED TO KNOW
- Brides of Christ premiered on September 4, 1991, giving the ABC it’s highest ever ratings for a drama.
- The Logie-winning series launched the careers of Naomi Watts, Kym Wilson and Russell Crowe.
- Cast members Sandy Gore and Melissa Thomas have fond memories of making Brides of Christ.
- As the show celebrates it’s milestone 35th anniversary, the pair reveal fans still stop them on the street to ask about Brides of Christ.
Thirty-five years ago, a little miniseries about an order of nuns and a group of teenage schoolgirls coexisting in a Sydney convent captivated the world, and had Australians wedded to their television screens over its six episodes.
Indeed, Brides of Christ gave the ABC it’s highest ever ratings for a drama when it debuted on September 4, 1991.
Airing until October 9, 1991, it also attracted almost eight million viewers across the US and the UK alone.
As well as collecting countless TV WEEK Logie Awards and many more industry accolades, Brides of Christ paved the way for its cast members Naomi Watts and Russell Crowe to become international movie stars.
The series also still holds a special place in the hearts of those who starred in it.
Back in 2023, actress Sandy Gore, who played Mother Ambrose, told New Idea that she’d watched the series “the other day” and proudly declared “it still stands up today”.
“The quality of [the] writing] is simply superb,” Sandy shared.
“At the time we didn’t know whether anyone was going to watch a show about a bunch of nuns and students going through a time of change called Vatican II.
“It’s not what you’d call a crowdpleaser, is it? But it just resonated with so many people, here and overseas. And it’s still resonating.”
What happened to Josephine Byrnes?
With storylines covering the Vietnam War, women’s liberation, rock’n’roll, divorce, abortion and the modernising of the Roman Catholic church, Brides of Christ boasted a stand-out cast that included Josephine Byrnes, Lisa Hensley, Anne Tenney, Kym Wilson, Simon Burke, Caroline Gilmer, Michelle Pettigrove, Philip Quast and late Oscar winner Brenda Fricker.
Most of them are still acting today, but Josephine shocked the industry by walking away from what many expected was going to be an illustrious career as one of our best actresses.
After winning two Logies for her lead role as Diane/Sister Catherine, Josephine had a few small TV roles before she stepped out of the spotlight completely.
She latter explained she struggled always being typecast as “the girl from Brides of Christ.”
“Watch out for Russell’s attitude”
Melissa Thomas, who starred as bright schoolgirl Brigid Maloney and sister to a then-unknown Russell Crowe, recalls turning 16 on set.
She also said working with Sandy was, rather fittingly, akin to a religious experience.
“It was my first big role and she had such a presence,” Melissa revealed during our 2023 catch-up. “All the other actors were in awe of her too. I was more intimidated doing scenes with Sandy than I was with Brenda, who had just won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for My Left Foot.”
Melissa recalls there was a bit of buzz on set about Russell, who played a young Vietnam War conscript.
“Everyone was talking about him,” she told us. “When he was having his first scene, I remember Kym and Naomi saying, ‘Get ready for the attitude, it’s coming!’ but he was so lovely. Years later, my kids ended up going to school with Russell’s kids and they became good friends.”
Over the years, there has been talk of a sequel to Brides of Christ.
Sandy, who has mainly concentrated on theatre the past 30 years, is happy to be left with precious memories of the original. But Melissa, who has worked as an executive TV producer and is also a highly acclaimed interior designer, would consider it.
Both women still get stopped in the streets by devotees of the miniseries, which found a new audience when it was available to watch on Stan for a time.
“It’s quite amazing,” Melissa, who keeps in touch with Kym and Naomi, said with a laugh. “I will be shopping, and my kids will go, ‘Mum, why are those people staring at you? They’re honestly staring!’ and I’ll just say, ‘Oh it’s probably from something I did years ago.’
“One day a lady who had been staring came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder in front of the kids and said, ‘I just have to tell you, I loved you in Brides of Christ.’
“The kids couldn’t believe it. “It’s been 30 years, I’m nearly 50 and they still recognise me as the schoolgirl Brigid. I think it has a lot to do with I never did a lot with my hair. It’s stayed pretty much the same!”
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