‘WE FOUGHT LIKE REAL SISTERS’
BRIDIE CARTER AND LISA CHAPPELL REVEAL ALL
On screen, Mcleod’s Daughters’ Bridie Carter and Lisa Chappell played two of Australian television’s most beloved characters, sisters Tess and Claire Mcleod. But behind the scenes, the actresses fought like … well, sisters.
It’s been 16 years since Bridie and Lisa appeared together in the iconic drama, and both have strong memories of their time at Drover’s Run. Not all of them good. Both admit there were definitely moments when they butted heads.
“We had great chemistry, but we clashed as well,” Bridie, 48, tells New Idea of her and Lisa’s time on set.
“Sometimes we were all over each other and cuddling and laughing, and other times it was a case of, Bridie’s not talking to me and I’m off up the hill,” adds Lisa, 50.
The bad days are water under the bridge, with Bridie and Lisa now closer than ever.
“We’re good now,” Bridie says. “We had a chat three or four years ago and we made amends for our behaviour, and we also acknowledged it was our youth and the pressure we were under and have totally moved on.”
They even call each other “sis”. “I don’t have a sister, but I have one here,” Bridie says of Lisa. “[Mcleod’s] was like surviving a war zone and we would have fought and killed for each other. We still would today.”
BACK TOGETHER
Bridie and Lisa will soon be spending even more time together at the Mcleod’s Daughters Bush Christmas Reunion. They’ll be joined by former castmates Aaron Jeffery, Myles Pollard, Simmone Jade Mackinnon and Zoe Naylor for the fan event on December 5, in Lismore, in northern NSW. Diehard fans will get to participate in a Q&A and buy official Mcleod’s merchandise at the event. It follows a successful ‘meet and greet’ with fans in Leeton last year.
Ten years after the show wound up, fans still can’t get enough of Mcleod’s. It’s both surprising and comforting for the actresses to know the show they poured their hearts and souls into continues to strike a chord with audiences.
As Bridie says, “this show has a life of its own.” The event is a nod to the way fans have cherished the show over the years. Lisa says: “They’ve been passing the DVD boxed set down through generations, and it’s become like a balm, particularly for families when they hit adversity.”
A TV REUNION
Of course, any talk of a Mcleod’s reunion brings up the inevitable question: will the TV series ever come back?
Two years ago, this looked to be the case, but the plans turned to dust when creator Posie Graeme-evans revealed “creative differences” put the brakes on a revival.
But there is still hope for a return, agree Bridie and Lisa.
“It would have to come back in all its glory and integrity,” Bridie says, adding, “it would be a privilege to come back to the show.”
For the first time in her life, Lisa says she would jump at the chance to reprise her character, despite the fact Claire died when the ute she was in plunged off a cliff.
“I now understand what a positive impact the show has had on people,” she says. “I don’t know how Claire could come back.”
Bridie has suggested Claire could appear in Tess’ dreams. The reality of the show coming back would be tricky as Mcleod’s, given its rural setting, would be expensive to make.
Nothing, however, is impossible. Just look at the fan-driven reboot of A Place To Call Home.
DEATH REGRETS
Claire’s death scene is one of the most defining Australian TV moments of all time. It’s something New Zealand-based Lisa is reminded of daily.
“First thing people do – grown men and women – when they see me is tell me they cried when I died, then they cry again and I hug them,” she says.
Originally, producers wanted Claire to leave the show, paving the way for a possible return. But Lisa insisted she be killed off. “I thought, she was born on the land and she will die on the land,” Lisa recalls. “But now nearly two decades later, with the show this big phenomenon, I’m feeling a bit guilty for leaving the show.”