Detours in Back Roads scheduling

ABC-TV show Back Roads has been thrown into temporary disarray due to the bushfire crisis.

Producers of the popular ABC series, which focuses on remote towns and regions, were forced to have a complete rethink for the upcoming sixth season.

A plan to make a two-part feature on South Gippsland is up in smoke. A section filmed in Omeo in November before fires hit is sitting in limbo in the editing room.

Filming in Buchan and Orbost that was scheduled to begin in February has had to be put on hold.

Discussions between presenter Heather Ewart and executive producer Brigid Donovan are now covering a range of options.

New stories on some of the show’s most popular characters from past seasons affected by the bushfires is a definite.

One of those is likely to be Joan Sinclair, the 84-year-old who went viral in 2017 after telling Ewart that horses were less trouble than men.

Sinclair reportedly had to be evacuated from her property as blazes raged around Corryong, located at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains.

Mallacoota, scene of some of the worst of the recent fires, is also being considered. A season two episode centring on the Victorian seaside town was one of the show’s most watched.

“We would want to be returning to areas where our viewers are familiar with people like Joan,” Donovan said.

“There have been a lot of people contacting Heather wanting to know whether we will be going back.

“We would be looking for ‘how do you move on from that?’ These are tough country people and I’m sure communities will band together but this is like nothing we’ve ever seen before.”

>>The fifth season of Back Roads is screening on the ABC on Mondays

at 8pm.