The national treasure’s’ big birthday party turned into a beautiful Wandin Valley reunion!
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It’s been 25 years since Lorrae Desmond and her much-loved co-stars from A Country Practice said farewell to their lives in Wandin Valley, yet their love and affection for each other continues to shine.
And it was a very special occasion that brought Grant Dodwell, Anne Tenney and husband Shane Withington, Georgie Parker, Shane Porteous, Josephine Mitchell,
Kate Raison and Wendy Strehlow back together.
NATIONAL ICON
There were plenty of laughs and love in the room when the A Country Practice gang gathered in Sydney recently to mark Lorrae’s 90th birthday and celebrate her incredible career spanning TV, theatre and music.
Even the famous women she toured Vietnam with from 1967 to 1971 were on hand at the Sydney Rowing Club to honour Lorrae, who played the show’s matriarch, nurse Shirley Gilroy.
“What a fabulous 90th birthday celebration for our national icon,” shared entertainer Sylvia Raye, who together with Little Patti, Dinah Lee, Lynne Fletcher and Jacqui De Paul, helped Lorrae celebrate her big milestone.
Lorrae made history in 1962 becoming the first woman to win a TV WEEK Gold Logie for her work on The Lorrae Desmond Show before receiving an OBE after becoming the “Australian Forces Sweetheart” in Vietnam.
But it was as kind-hearted Shirley that she became one of the country’s most loved actresses. ACP fans were devastated when Shirley was killed in an off-screen plane crash two years before the series ended in 1994.
GRANT DODWELL
JOSEPHINE MITCHELL
KATE RAISON
GEORGIE PARKER
LORRAE DESMOND
A COUNTRY CO PR PRACTICE REUNION
SHANE PORTEOUS
WENDY STREHLOW
SHANE WITHINGTON
ANNE TENNEY
SHANE PORTEOUS AS DR TERENCE ELLIOT
Shane, 77, broke plenty of hearts on ACP, but offscreen shares his life with wife Jenny and their three adult children. The performer also branched out into animation and wrote for Neighbours and Home And Away.
SHANE WITHINGTON AS BRENDAN JONES
Shane, 61, secretly married co-star Anne Tenney during the height of their fame on ACP and they remain happily married today. Shane’s still a hit with TV fans – he’s played John Palmer on Home And Away for the past 10 years.
GEORGIE PARKER AS LUCY GARDINER
Perhaps the most successful of the ACP cast, Georgie, 54, continued to win hearts as Terri Sullivan in All Saints. Since 2010, the two-time Gold Logie winner has played Roo Stewart in Home And Away.
KATE RAISON AS CATHY HAYDEN
Kate, 57, became the queen of the TV soaps, appearing in E Street and Pacific Drive as well as guest roles in Home And Away and All Saints. This year, she and husband Brian Meegan appeared in the stage play Two.
JOSEPHINE MITCHELL AS JO LOVEDAY
Who didn’t love Josephine, now 54, playing a lovable schoolgirl in Wandin Valley? The actress started her own theatre company with other actors to promote women’s roles. She is married and has two daughters.
GRANT DODWELL AS DR SIMON BOWEN
Grant, 67, went on to guest star in a host of TV shows before he appeared on Home And Away as two different characters. In 2008 he won the Australian IF best actor award for Men’s Group, and is largely retired now.
WENDY STREHLOW AS JUDY LOVEDAY
Wendy, 61, went on to play Lorraine Tanner in All Saints and guest starred in Blue Heelers, Mcleod’s Daughters and Home And Away. Her daughter Sophie Hensser Bloom is now making a name for herself as a TV star.
ANNE TENNEY AS MOLLY JONES
Anne, 64, is still famed for her adored character’s gutwrenching death on ACP in 1985, which remains one of Aussie TV’S most iconic moments. And the actress won more fans with her role as Sal Kerrigan in The Castle.