‘I’M READY TO MEET A MILLIONAIRE!’
She was TV’S tough top dog Bea Smith, the reigning queen of Wentworth’s infamous steam press, but away from her villainous alter ego, actress Val Lehman is relishing her rural lifestyle.
“I’ve found my happy place, and am loving life in Toowoomba. It’s vibrant and wonderful,” smiles the threetime Logie winning star. In September 2019, Val upped stumps, moving from Queensland’s Macleay Island where she’d lived for 11 years and settling in Toowoomba with her two beloved dogs Bogart and Blaze.
“I began to feel isolated on the island... plus I was pining for an oldfashioned garden with fragrant roses, peonies and irises,” says the proud grandmother-of-seven.
“I’m not living like some grand duchess... I’ve bought a modest cottage and love the simple life. I have a beautiful garden with an enormous fish pond, my neighbours are lovely and
I’ve my two dogs for company.
“I read somewhere Toowoomba has more millionaires, per capita, than
any other Australian city, and I wouldn’t mind meeting a charming country gentleman... but so far no luck!”
Despite having gone through two tumultuous divorces, Val says, “If an eligible millionaire swept me off my feet, I’d marry him in a flash!”
UNLUCKY IN LOVE
The 78-year-old split from first husband Frank Lehman – father to her three kids, Cassie, Joanne and Jason – in 1978.
“He didn’t like me becoming an actress. [I felt as though] he’d rather I slaved over a hot stove,” confides feisty Val.
“My second husband Charles Collins was a playwright and broadcaster. We wed in 1989, but split in 2002.
‘I wouldn’t mind meeting a charming gentleman’
“I’d been away working interstate, and when I’d returned home Charles had moved to the UK.”
But, ever the trouper, Val forged on.
“You’ve got to pick yourself up and dust yourself off and that’s what I did,” says the Perth-born star.
“Toowoomba is two hours from Brisbane, where my daughter Cassie lives. We go on drives and enjoy lunch in cosy country pubs. It’s bliss.”
Val also reveals that she’s finally bitten the bullet and, after years of cajoling from clamouring fans, she’s now writing her memoir.
“It’ll be a balltearer... as I’ve always been very upfront and honest. Looking back, I’ve enjoyed a wonderfully varied showbiz career. There are a million stories to tell,” she promises.
“As a kid I recall taking part in a school play. I was bitten by the acting bug hard when my mum Kathleen took me to see a series of Italian operas as a five-year-old. I loved it.”
“Spool forward to 1972 and my first TV acting role was as a nurse on the classic series Homicide. I had no dialogue. Then, in 1978, along came Prisoner.”
Looking back on her most famous character, Val says, “I loved playing Bea. She was indomitable, always up to her neck in drama and never wrong. I’m immeasurably proud of the 400 episodes I did.”
Val said she left the series in 1983 after enduring some nasty run-ins with a producer.
“Plus, the hours were gruelling. I remember shooting an astounding 21 scenes in one day. We were making 96 hours of television a year. I’d mention that to actors in the UK or the US, and they couldn’t believe it.”
Val reckons there’s “plenty of life in the old girl yet” and would love another juicy TV role or movie gig.
“I’ll tell you this, life is never dull. Now bring on that millionaire,” she laughs.
Val will reunite with an array of other Prisoner favourites for a fan event in Melbourne on February 27. For details on the Val & Friends event, go to facebook.com/ Prisonerfanclub