A Country Practice
All the secrets behind the hit show!
It was a different time when gruff old Sergeant Frank Gilroy and his loving wife Shirley held court in a fictitious little town called Wandin Valley, where a heck of a lot happened in a caring and close-knit community.
There were weddings watched by millions, deaths mourned by the whole country and a cast of characters that Australia not only related to, but also instantly fell in love with after
A Country Practice first aired on November 18, 1981.
But behind the romances and dramatic storylines that resonated during its extraordinary 13-year run, not all was as it seemed on the small screen. Now Brian Wenzel, who played Sgt Gilroy, lifts the lid on what happened when the cameras stopped rolling.
“A lot of it was fun and a lot of it was downright cruel,” explains Brian, who decided to open up to Woman’s Day about the antics of his castmates in his most revealing interview ever to mark his 90th birthday.
“Joyce Jacobs (who played the town gossip Esme Watson) was a big personality and my all-time favourite, and I miss her terribly,” he says of the popular actress, who also starred in
The Young Doctors, but sadly died in 2013.
“But Gordon Piper (plumber Bob Hatfield) and Syd Heylen (publican Cookie Locke) were terrible. They didn’t try hard enough, and never really learned their lines. Gordon was one of the worst actors I ever worked with.”
Brian is more forgiving about Syd, who like Gordon has sadly passed away, blaming his lack of preparation on the demon drink. “He used to get so drunk, he couldn’t go home, and he’d sleep at my place,” Brian says, chuckling. “There’s not too many of us left these days!”
CHERISHED MEMORIES
But the veteran TV and stage actor, who literally ran away and joined the circus when he was just 14, insists most of the large cast were friends on and off screen, and still stay in touch and cherish the memories of those halcyon days of TV.
“Lorrae Desmond (his onscreen wife) was always pleasant to work with and we still send each other birthday and Christmas cards, and call one another occasionally. The last time I saw Lorrae was when she came to see me perform in
Fame: The Musical in 2010.
“There were a lot of great women I got to work with on
A Country Practice. June Salter (who had regular guest appearances as Matron Hilda Arrowsmith) and Georgie Parker (nurse Lucy Gardiner) were fantastic to work with and utter professionals.”
Brian also got to work with and help mentor a generation of young Aussie actors, who got their big break on ACP, including Matt Day, who played delinquent Luke Ross.
“He drove me mad when he first came because he was so keen to learn,” he says.
A Country Practice was a learning ground for a generation of Australian stars, including Shane Porteous, Di Smith, Josephine Mitchell, Wendy Strehlow, Brett Climo, Anne Looby, Michelle Pettigrove, Judith Mcgrath, Kym Wilson, Kate Raison, John Tarrant, William Mcinnes, Joan Sydney, Grant Dodwell and Penny Cook, who sadly died at 61 last December from cancer.
DON’T FORGET FATSO!
And of course, there was Fatso the wombat, who reputedly wasn’t always as lovable as he seemed on the screen, and supposedly bit several crew members!
“He never bit me,” says Brian, who still has a soft spot for Fatso. “I remember there was a scene where I had to let him go in the bush. He kept running back to me and leaning against my leg like a pet dog.”
The most popular character in the show was arguably Molly Jones – the young mum with an alcoholic pet pig called Doris – who was so beautifully played by Anne Tenney. Off-screen she also held onto the biggest secret out of all the ACP stars.
Molly was married to Wandin Valley Hospital nurse Brendan Jones, played by Anne’s real-life husband Shane Withington, but fans had no idea the couple were even dating when they both starred on the show in the 1980s.
“We kept it under our hats, no one really knew,” Shane recently revealed.
‘Syd used to get so drunk he’d sleep at my place’