BAYWATCH Home and Away legend looks unrecognisable 35 years on from soap debut – would you have recognised her?
A HOME and Away legend looks completely unrecognisable 35 years after first stepping into Summer Bay – but would you have recognised her?
Soap icon, who played much-loved foster mum Pippa Ross, looks worlds away from her Summer Bay days.
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Debra Lawrance took over the role as Pippa Ross from 1990 to 1998.
The Australian actress made a number of subsequent return appearances, the most recent being in 2009.
The original Pippa was played by Vanessa Downing, who left the soap in 1990.
Debra met her husband, Dennis Coard, when he was cast as Pippa’s second husband on Home and Away as Michael Ross.
They married in 1992 and have two children together.
The Melbourne-born actress has a Bachelor of Dramatic Art at NIDA, alongside the likes of Mel Gibson.
She has appeared in a number of TV roles, but her big break was a lead role in The Fast Lane, a widely successful ABC comedy.
Her success led to her appearance in the film Evil Angels, starring Meryl Streep.
Debra is also known for her role as Rose in Please Like Me, for which she won an AACTA Award for Best Performance in a Television Comedy and a Logie Award for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress.
She briefly joined rival soap Neighbours in 2018 as Liz Conway, the sister of Susan Kennedy.
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The star has also dabbled in reality TV, appearing as a celebrity contestant on Hell’s Kitchen Australia in 2017.
She won the series, winning $50,000 for her nominated charity Ovarian Cancer Australia.
She also appeared as a contestant in the ninth season of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2023.
Debra has also taken to the stage playing Minerva McGonagall in the stage production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, both in Melbourne and in the UK from 2019 to 2024.
Away from acting, she has her own business teaching vocal communication skills.
Real-life soap couples
Soaps are renowned for their sweet and scandalous romances – but it’s not just in scripted storylines where love is blossoming. A number of our favourite small-screen actors have fallen for co-stars and soapland rivals when the cameras have stopped rolling.
Max Parker and Kris Mochrie
- Despite playing brothers Luke and Lee Posner on Emmerdale, the pair never actually shared any scenes together. But the pair still fell in love after meeting on set. Max and Kris got together in 2020, moving in together later than same year and got engaged in 2022. In a sweet Instagram post, the couple confirmed they’re planning a 2025 wedding.
Beth Cordingly and Ian Kelsey
- Beth, who plays Ruby Fox-Miligan, announced her love for her co-star Ian Kelsey, who played Dean Glover, shortly after she joined Emmerdale at the beginning of 2024. “I am very in love with Ian and very happy. I think it really does work him being an actor too. He has been so fantastic,” she gushed.
Laura Norton and Mark Jordan
- Kerry Wyatt and Daz Eden actors Laura and Mark met on the set of Emmerdale in 2014. The couple, who got engaged in 2018, told Loose Women they spent a long time deciding whether they should “just stay as friends.” Although it seems they were meant to be and the pair now share two children together.
Zoe Henry and Jeff Hordley
- Emmerdale favourites Zoe and Jeff, who play Rhonda Goskirk and Cain Dingle met at drama college in 1994 and have been together ever since. While working together might be too much for some couples, that’s definitely not the case for Zoe and Jeff. Zoe previously told The Sun: “Working on the same show as Jeff also helps because if one of us is having a bad day then the other will completely understand.”
Lesley Dunlop and Chris Chittell
- Lesley and Chris are another Dales romantic success story. Unlike some of the other soap stars, the pair who play Brenda Walker and Eric Pollard, are together on and off screen, officially tying the knot in 2016. They also adore working together, but have clear home-work boundaries. “We make a point of not talking about Emmerdale when we’re at home, though – that would be just too sad, wouldn’t it?” Chris revealed.
Sally Carman and Joe Duttine
- Abi Franklin and Tim Metcalfe actors Sally and Joe got together after meeting on the set of Coronation Street in 2017 and they tied the knot in July 2022. But unlike some of the Emmerdale stars, Sally and Joe prefer that their characters don’t interact much. Sally previously admitted it “would be horrendous” to work on a storyline with Joe because “he’s too funny.”
Anthony Cotton and Peter Eccleston
- Sean Tully may have been unlucky in love on the cobbles, but in real life Antony’s met his Prince Charming. The soap star started dating long-term partner Peter in 2005, after they met when he was working as an assistant props buyer on Corrie.
Jane Danson and Robert Beck
- Corrie favourite Jane Danson tied the knot with soap star Robert Beck in 2005. The actress, who plays Leanne Battersby, shares two children, Harry and Sam, with the former Brookside star. During their marriage, Robert has also done a stint in Weatherfield playing criminal Jimmy Dockerson.
Caroline Harding and Chris Gascoyne
- Chris, who played pub landlord Peter Barlow, married soap star Caroline in 2002. Although she is best known as an Emmerdale star, Caroline did visit her husband at work when she did a two-episode stint as doctor on the Manchester soap in 2020. The couple share a daughter called Belle, plus two children, Pip and Freddie from Caroline’s previous marriage.
Nadine Mulkerrin and Rory Douglas Speed
- Nadine Mulkerrin, and Rory Doulas Speed are known for their Hollyoaks alter egos Cleo McQueen and Joel Dexter. The loved-up pair got engaged on a December 2018 trip to Amsterdam – just over a year after they announced they were dating. They now share two kids, Reggie and Dougie.
Sophie Austin and Shayne Ward
- Former Hollyoaks star Sophie, whose best known for playing villain Lindsay Butterfield, was introduced to singer and ex-Corrie star Shayne through mutual friends. She gave birth to their daughter Willow in December 2016 and they welcomed a son in 2022.
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