Home and Away fans reveal cast’s best and worst encounters after star Nicholas Cartwright slams former producer for NSFW criticism
Home and Away star Nicholas Cartwright recently blasted a former producer of the show with a foul-mouthed rant on social media.
But not all experiences with the show’s stars have been negative, with viewers recently flocking to a Home and Away Facebook fan page to discuss their best – and worst – encounters with cast members over the years.
Summer Bay stalwart Ray Meagher, 80, who plays Alf Stewart on the long-running soap, was one cast member who fans appeared particularly fond of.
One poster described a chance breakfast meeting in Canberra with the Home and Away icon, revealing that the actor was a delight.
‘Meeting Alf was awesome,’ the fan said.
‘He was sitting directly behind me at breakfast at the Park Hyatt Canberra. I still remember my wife saying to me: “Now I want you to stay very calm but please turn around.”
‘We had a great chat.’
Lynne McGranger, 71, Emily Symons, 54 and the late Johnny Ruffo were other stars that fans were more than willing to sing the praises of.
Fans have flocked to a Home and Away Facebook fan page to discuss their best and worst encounters with cast members and the responses were overwhelmingly positive. Pictured: Ray Meagher in 2023
‘Johnny Ruffo and Lynne McGranger at a DMD fundraiser many years ago, loved them both,’ one fan reminisced.
Ruffo, who played Chris Harrington on the show from 2013 to 2016 was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2017 and went into remission after treatment.
He announced in 2020 that the cancer had returned before revealing in 2022 that it was terminal. He passed away on November 10 2023 at the age of 35.
While they weren’t keen to drop any names, one fan revealed they spent a night out on the town with cast members.
‘I have met 20 of the cast from Home and Away and I have to say they’re pretty funny when you have a night out with them,” they said.
It wasn’t all positivity, though with one fan admitting that an encounter with Darryl and Casey Braxton left them feeling a little cold.
Lynne McGranger, 71, (pictured) Emily Symons, 54 and the late Johnny Ruffo were other stars that fans were more than willing to sing the praises of
‘Johnny Ruffo (pictured with Tahnee Sims) and Lynne McGranger at a DMD fundraiser many years ago, loved them both,’ one fan reminisced
‘I enjoyed meeting Lynne and Emily and Dan Ewing,’ the fan said. ‘I wasn’t keen on Stephen Peacocke (Darryl Braxton on the show) or Lincoln Younes (Casey).’
The praise comes after Home and Away heartthrob Nicholas Cartwright lashed out at the show’s former boss after he sent ‘rude’ messages about a gritty, new storyline involving his character.
Dan Bennett, who ran the Seven soap staple as Network Script Executive between 2016 and 2017, says he unexpectedly provoked the ire of the Summer Bay star on Friday after responding to one of his posts of social media.
It wasn’t all positivity, though with one fan admitting that an encounter with Darryl and Casey Braxton left them feeling a little cold
‘I’d seen him promoting an upcoming (Home and Away) storyline about the River Boys coming back,’ Bennett told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The show’s trying to re-energise that whole crime tone – the drugs and the devilishness – and all I’ve done is send him a message saying, ‘zzz’ – as in, ‘that’s a bit boring, we’ve seen all that before’.
‘Of course, that’s just my view; I’m just a fan these days. But next thing you know, I’ve got Nicholas Cartwright – one of the supposed stars of the show – sending me DMs and calling me ‘a c**t’.
‘I don’t know Nicholas, I’ve never met him… so to think that’s how he talks to fans is deeply concerning.’
The praise comes after Home and Away heart-throb Nicholas Cartwright lashed out at the show’s former boss after he sent ‘rude’ messages about a gritty, new storyline involving his character
Cartwright, who plays Summer Bay’s resident cop, Cash Newman, then replies by saying: ‘Rude response from someone in the industry’.
Bennett then hits back, saying: ‘Or perhaps an informed response from someone who knows that show better than anyone else on the planet and is bereft to see it reverting to River Boy nonsense.
‘The notion that we should support productions simply because we’re in the ‘industry’ as opposed to supporting them because the quality is A+ is nonsense.
‘How does anyone fair (sic) by applauding mediocrity as opposed to excellence?’
Cartwright responds: ‘Okay mate try not to be a c**t about it next time.’
Bennett said he had since raised the exchange with Cartwright’s bosses at Home and Away and considered the matter closed.
‘I don’t want to p*** on anyone’s career, or get anyone in trouble, but I’ve messaged his seniors and been told that it’s been dealt with and I’m happy with that,’ he said.
‘He was probably just having a bad day, and p***ed off about something else. But it wasn’t a nice experience and I would hate to think he’d message anyone else something like that.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Seven for comment.
