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Her role on HomeandAway is almost a case of life imitating art for mum-of-two Penny McNamee, writes Lisa Woolford
SITTING on idyllic Palm Beach, waiting to be called for her final scene of the day, Penny McNamee’s chatty, completely candid and chilled. There’s absolutely no trace of stress as she chats away – you wouldn’t guess she’s been fielding non- stop calls. First from her nanny delivering the dreaded news her two-year- old daughter hadn’t quite recovered from her five- day gastro bug and had just been sick again. Then negotiating with her husband Matt Tooker to get Neve to the doctor.
She apologises as she asks if she can resume the chat on her 90-minute drive home because her phone battery is about to die.
It’s been quite a week for the Home and Away star. Mixed in with the gastro, her five-yearold son Jack broke his arm after falling from a tree. “I haven’t let my husband forget it – I keep saying, ‘I leave him with you for the afternoon and look what happens’,” McNamee laughs.
It’s almost a case of life imitating art as she balances the demands of a high-pressure career with motherhood. Just like her character Dr Tori Morgan manages the busy Northern Districts Hospital Emergency Department while raising one-year- old daughter Grace.
“Oh, I just love that she’s real and very much reflects my friends,” McNamee enthuses.
“She desperately wanted children and has a high-flying career. She loves being a mother and is a hopeless romantic, but is also fierce at her job and she wants to climb the ranks.
“So often we see one or the other, I love that Tori is both and leans into both. In the one episode she can be goo-ing and gaa-ing over Grace and loving every minute and by the end of the episode, she’s dealing with a crisis in ED. I love that we show that complexity of women in their thirties.”
And yes, there are similarities between the 38-year- old and her on-screen persona. McNamee laughs as she recalls her audition for the character five years ago. She arrived flustered because it was one of the first times she’d left then-10-month- old Jack with a babysitter. Far from her usual elegance, her hair was a mess. “But I knew my lines and I delivered.”
She won the role and it’s been a rollercoaster ride for the good doctor, burying her brother Mason, becoming a single mother, and falling in love with Dr Christian Green (Ditch Davey), saying yes to his proposal after a whirlwind romance.
Of course the path of love never runs smoothly in a soap, and just recently she had to resuscitate her fiancé after the vengeful nurse Lewis (Luke Arnold) tried to kill him.
While filming that storyline was intense, as was Christian’s journey struggling to come to terms with it all, she’s enjoyed travelling it with Davey.
“It’s a laugh a minute,” she says.
“He’s very gregarious and funny. Ditch also spends a lot of time imitating me – I didn’t realise that I use my hands quite a lot when I speak, or that I was quite as bossy as I am. He’s been very kind to point that out to me.”
We’re chatting in the lead-up to Mother’s Day and McNamee jokes when we ask her what her ideal day would entail.
“Why don’t I tell you and I’ll get hubby to read the article so he can know?,” she laughs, before adding traditionally she’ll get a much-longed-for sleep-in and pancakes, coffee in their favourite local cafe.
“If I have it my way, I’ll have a massage or a facial and maybe go and do a yoga class,” McNamee says. “Or a little jog. Just a bit of me time.”
She also hopes to catch up with her own mum. The McNamees are a close – and expansive – clan. There’s five children, all married with 10 grandchildren. Despite looking like there’s quite the acting dynasty developing, with sister, fellow Home and Away alum and Packed to the Rafters favourite Jessica, and niece Teagan Croft ( Titans) in the business, they aren’t a theatrical family.
“Honestly if you come to one of our family functions we’re talking about politics and finance and real estate and business and renovating,” she laughs. “Acting is just not discussed, so it’s interesting that it is so prominent.”
In fact, growing up McNamee didn’t even know acting could be a career choice. She studied primary school teaching and despite a two- decade career in both TV and musical theatre, she still teaches to this day.
Working alongside the greats of stage such as Marina Prior, Maggie Kirkpatrick and Bert Newton meant she wasn’t intimidated in the early days of being in Summer Bay and rubbing shoulders with icons such as Ray Meagher.
“I’d been acting for more than 15 years before I started on Home and Away,” McNamee says.
“For most people it’s their first job and training ground. I did things a bit backwards.
“I’d already worked with lot of big names and had pretty quickly realised they are just people doing a job. I don’t get starstruck. I just love getting to know people.
“So when I’m working with
Ray or Georgie (Parker), I just see them as people who love what they do and are really good at it.”
“I love I’m part of this juggernaut of a show which is so ingrained in our culture – that I’ve played a small role in this amazing institution.”
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