Home and Away fans reveal their best and worst cast encounters after star Nicholas Cartwright’s NSFW swipe at former producer
Home and Away star Nicholas Cartwright recently took to social media to lash out at a former producer of the show.
But not all experiences with the show’s stars have been negative. Viewers recently flocked to Home and Away’s Facebook fan page to discuss their best – and worst – encounters with cast members over the years.
Ray Meagher, an 80-year-old Summer Bay regular who plays Alf Stewart in the long-running soap, was one of the cast members fans were particularly fond of.
A poster described a chance breakfast meeting in Canberra with the Home and Away icon, revealing the actor was a delight.
“Meeting Alf was amazing,” the fan said.
‘He was sitting right behind me at breakfast at the Park Hyatt Canberra. I remember my wife saying to me, “Now I want you to be very calm, but please turn around.”
“We had a really nice conversation.”
Lynne McGranger, 71, Emily Symons, 54, and the late Johnny Ruffo were other stars fans were eager to sing their praises for.
Fans have taken to a Home and Away Facebook fan page in droves to discuss their best and worst encounters with cast members and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Pictured: Ray Meagher in 2023
“Johnny Ruffo and Lynne McGranger were at a DMD fundraiser years ago and loved them both,” one fan mused.
Ruffo, who played Chris Harrington on the series from 2013 to 2016, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017. After treatment, he went into remission.
He announced in 2020 that the cancer had returned, before revealing in 2022 that it was terminal. He died on November 10, 2023 at the age of 35.
While they didn’t want to name names, one fan said they had been out for the night with the cast members.
‘I’ve met 20 actors from Home and Away and I have to say they are really funny when you have a night out with them,’ they said.
It wasn’t all positive, though one fan admitted that meeting Darryl and Casey Braxton left them a little cold.
Lynne McGranger, 71, (pictured), Emily Symons, 54, and the late Johnny Ruffo were other stars fans were only too happy to sing their praises for
“Johnny Ruffo (pictured with Tahnee Sims) and Lynne McGranger were at a DMD fundraiser years ago and loved them both,” one fan mused
“I enjoyed meeting Lynne, Emily and Dan Ewing,” the fan said. “I wasn’t a big fan of Stephen Peacocke (Darryl Braxton on the show) or Lincoln Younes (Casey).”
The praise comes after Home and Away heartthrob Nicholas Cartwright hit out at the show’s former boss after he sent “rude” messages about a gritty new storyline involving his character.
Dan Bennett, who was Network Script Executive on soap opera Seven between 2016 and 2017, says he unexpectedly incurred the wrath of the Summer Bay star on Friday after he responded to one of his social media posts.
It wasn’t all positive, though one fan admitted that an encounter with Darryl and Casey Braxton left them a little cold
“I saw him promoting an upcoming (Home and Away) storyline about the return of the River Boys,” Bennett told Daily Mail Australia.
‘The show tries to revive the crime atmosphere – the drugs and the devilry – and all I did was send him a message saying, ‘zzz’ – as in, ‘that’s a bit boring, we’ve all seen that before’.
‘Of course, that’s just my opinion; I’m just a fan these days. But before you know it, I’ve got Nicholas Cartwright – one of the so-called stars of the show – DMing me and calling me ‘ac**t’.
“I don’t know Nicholas, I’ve never met him. So it’s very disturbing that he talks to fans like that.”
The praise comes after Home and Away heartthrob Nicholas Cartwright hit out at the show’s former boss after he sent “rude” messages about a raucous new storyline involving his character.
In clips from the heated exchange seen by Daily Mail Australia, Bennett fuels the row with a series of ‘zzz’ messages.
Cartwright, who plays Summer Bay’s resident agent Cash Newman, responded by saying: “A rude comment from someone in the industry.”
Bennett then responds: ‘Or maybe an informed response from someone who knows the show better than anyone on the planet and hates to see the show revert to River Boy nonsense.
“The idea that we should support productions just because we are in the ‘industry’, rather than supporting them because the quality is A+, is nonsense.
“How can anyone survive by praising mediocrity instead of excellence?”
Cartwright replies, “Okay, buddy, try not to be so harsh about it next time.”
Bennett said he had now discussed the matter with Cartwright’s bosses at Home and Away and considered the matter closed.
“I don’t want to ruin anyone’s career or get them in trouble, but I’ve messaged his supervisors and they’ve said it’s been resolved and I’m happy with that,” he said.
“He was probably just having a bad day and was upset about something else. But it wasn’t a nice experience and I would hate for him to send something like that to someone else.”
Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Seven for comment.