Ray Meagher has just notched up 38 flamin’ years as Alf Stewart on Summer Bay. The 81-year-old’s gruff but loveable character Alf first popped onto Aussie screens in the premiere episode of Home and Away on January 17, 1988. He’s now the only original cast member left and the longest-serving actor in an Australian TV series. However, Meagher readily admits that he did not expect the soap to last long when it began.
“At that time, the older and more cynical actors in that pilot, Norman Coburn and Judy Nunn and a few of us thought, ‘oh well, we might get three or six months’ work out of this maybe’. Most pilots crash and burn, they very rarely go to series for any length of time. And here we are, 38 years later!”
This week the soap returns with a new season, kicking off with high drama as the outcome of a train crash cliffhanger unfolds. While Alf was safely back in Summer Bay, many fellow residents were onboard heading to a music festival, with their lives hanging in the balance after the derailment.
“This show never ceases to amaze me in so far as the challenges that it takes on,” says Meagher. “If you were doing a train smash in a big piece of film, it’d probably take a month minimum to shoot, and we shot this in a week on location maximum. OK, it’s not as big and glitzy as some multimillion-dollar feature film, but I reckon we had a fair stab at it.”
Another plot line exciting viewers for 2026 is the upcoming return of fan favourites Brax and Ricky, played by Stephen Peacocke and Bonnie Sveen, who left in 2016. Meagher is equally excited to see them back again.
“When people like Steve Peacocke come back, I find it absolutely fantastic,” says Meagher. “He’s one of the nicest blokes that God ever put breath into and one of the best actors in the world. He’s just so natural. And we shouldn’t leave out Bonnie Sveen, Brax’s other half. It was great to have her back, too.”
Last year saw the much-feted departure of stalwart Lynne McGranger after 32 years as Irene, her run capped off by a Gold Logie win. What has been the vibe on set since her departure?
“Irene was obviously a very long-serving character on the show, but there was a big lead-up for the exit and once the exit actually occurred, everybody was so busy getting on with what they have to do,” explains Meagher. “It’s fairly unrelenting, soap.
You’re up at five and home at seven or eight. However, having said that, Lynne was there for 30 years and did a wonderful job. But the show moves on.”
As for Meagher, also a Gold Logie winner, he currently has no firm plans to retire.
“I don’t have definite thoughts on that. While I’m enjoying it, and while the Home and Away producers are interested in keeping the character on, I’ll stay. I’m not a spring chicken any more, so we’ll see how that goes, but so far, so good, and I’m still really enjoying the show.
“Over the last couple of weeks, I have learnt and recorded 70 scenes – that’s more than a lead actor in a feature film would have. Now that’s no big deal, it’s just it was a wonderful challenge to have that many scenes to do in that time and to remind me that, fortunately, I can still do it.”
Last year also saw the end of fellow Aussie soap Neighbours, which aired its final episode in December after a brief revival. When asked about it, Meagher quickly quashes any notion of rivalry between the soaps with a clear tone of sadness in his voice.
“It’s come back to life a couple of times, so maybe it will again, but if this is the final farewell, [I’m] very sorry to see it go. I see Neighbours in Melbourne as very similar to Home and Away in Sydney; they’re both wonderful training grounds for actors and crew. It’s just a shame when something like that happens people talk about competition and all of that. That’s a load of rubbish. We’re all Australian actors, and we all want to see Australian drama flourish.”
Home and Away returns 7pm, January 19 on Seven and 7Plus.
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