A Place to Call Home (TV series)

Cast and characters

Main continuing characters

• Marta Dusseldorp as Sarah Adams, who despite a strict Catholic upbringing, had moved to Paris to be with the man she loved and had adopted his Jewish faith. She comes to work for the local hospital near the Bligh family, whom she met while serving as a nurse on the ship taking them back to Australia from Europe. Later, she is astonished to hear a report that her husband is still alive following World War II, and her life again spins into troubled times.
• Noni Hazlehurst as Elizabeth Bligh, the headstrong and stubborn matriarch of the Bligh family. She at first worries that Sarah will endanger the Bligh's family social position, but she mellows over time. She guesses James' homosexuality, since her own husband had also had affairs with men, and she presses James to stay in the marriage as she had done. Later in the series, she leaves for Sydney to live with her daughter Carolyn, and to become a better person.
• Brett Climo as Elizabeth's son, George Bligh, a good-hearted man who takes Sarah under his protection and gradually falls in love with her. He is Elaine's widower and father to James and Anna, although it eventually emerges that Anna is the secret child of his sister Carolyn and their friend Jack, taken in by George and Elaine to spare Carolyn any scandal. His harsh treatment of James puts James in danger, until eventually George remembers seeing his own father kissing another man. He later runs for public office and takes over as lord of the estate. He has a child by Sarah.
• Craig Hall as Jack Duncan, the secret past lover of Carolyn and secret father to Anna, who now faces many challenges in his work as a doctor in a hospital run by the Bligh family. He is compassionate and generous despite his personal problems, and would do anything to help others. Over the series, he and Carolyn connect with their daughter Anna and reconnect with each other.
• David Berry as James Bligh, the only son of George and Elaine, who grows up believing Anna is his sister. In spite of his homosexual relationships with local farmhand Harry and fellow student William, he marries William's sister Olivia but, tormented by his gay desires, he tries to commit suicide. During Olivia's pregnancy, he undergoes electroconvulsive therapy and aversion therapy to change his sexuality. He feels betrayed when Olivia has an affair, but returns to Ash Park to live for his son. He gets involved with Henry, his father's physician, and later moves to the Riviera with William, where he feels he can be fully himself.
• Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood as Olivia Bligh, James' wife, a newlywed from England at the start of the series. She does not know that James is secretly in love with her brother, William. She develops anger toward James for his indifference to her desperate need for affection, but tries to come to terms with his sexuality in the interests of their son, Georgie, and of the family estate. She hides for many months the fact that her baby with James died in the womb and that the baby she brings home is not really theirs.
• Abby Earl as Anna Bligh, the secret child of Carolyn and Jack, who was raised believing she was daughter of George and Elaine. Anna marries a local farmer, Gino, after rebelling against the Bligh family. The marriage faces difficulties, however, when Gino goes into debt, and his attempts to expand the farm fail. Anna becomes a novelist and later has a child by Henry.
• Frankie J. Holden as Roy Briggs, a kindly old farmer who lives alone at the series start. He is very generous toward Sarah from the time she arrives in town, eventually offering her a refuge in his small home. They develop an easy, informal, mutually-supportive friendship.
• Sara Wiseman as Carolyn Bligh. Much like her secret daughter Anna, Carolyn was the rebel child of her generation. For a long time, she gave up on her relationship with the Bligh family, and has had little contact for years. Once her secret is revealed, she is reunited with her long-separated daughter Anna and they develop an even closer relationship than before. Later on Carolyn works for Sir Richard Bennett, encountering new problems.
• Tim Draxl as Doctor Henry Fox, the doctor who helps to save George's life after he is shot. Henry befriends James, and they realize their mutual attraction is stronger than mere friendship. Henry helps James learn how to be gay without attracting attention, and the Blight family eventually accepts their relationship as good for James. Henry falls under the devious control of Regina, when she blackmails him into supplying her with morphine for her addiction. He moves to Inverness to be with James and is devastated when James abandons him to live in Europe with an old flame.
• Deborah Kennedy as Doris Collins, the most widely-known member of the Inverness village, who seems omnipresent on her bicycle. Although she means well, her gossiping ways can sometimes make her seem rude and intrusive. Sarah dislikes her at first, but as time goes on, finds her helpful as someone who always knows who has done what in the village.
• Dominic Allburn as Harry Polson, Amy Polson's gay brother, who had had a romantic involvement with James when they were teens. Harry kisses James, which is discovered by Bert, who then beats him up, kicks him out, and blackmails James' family. After another severe beating, Sarah helps him to settle back into a more stable life at Inverness. Eventually, Harry connects with Henry.
• Aaron Pederson as Frank Griggs, an Aboriginal Australian man, broken by the effects of war and racism. He paints watercolours and is discovered by Carolyn who encourages him to show his work. Frank and Jack bond over shared military experience. Early in their friendship, Jack remarks that “a bullet can’t tell the colour of your skin. We all took the same risks.” Both men learn to trust each other and begin to break free of their self-imposed prisons.

  Main departed characters

• Aldo Mignone as Gino Poletti, the young, handsome Italian farmer who has set Anna's heart on fire. He has a real passion for farming and trying to please everybody, but his ambitious business decisions are not very successful.
• Jenni Baird as Regina Standish, the widowed, wealthy, but still money-hungry sister of George's late wife, Elaine. Regina is the opposite of who Elaine had been: cold, bitter, and scheming, she despises Jews and openly displays religious intolerance toward Sarah. Regina has now set her sights on the widower George's inheritance, and would take extreme actions to achieve her goals regardless of anyone she sees as an obstacle. After being committed in an asylum for the murder of Millie Davis and a policeman, Regina was released in 1958. She returned to the town and helped Sarah and George fight Sir Richard's cruel intentions. She committed suicide at the end of season 5, overdosing on morphine while making her death appear to be homicide.
• Matt Levett as Andrew Swanson, a somewhat entitled heir apparent who tries to win the hand of Anna Bligh.
• Ben Winspear as Doctor Rene Nordmann, the long-lost first love and husband of Sarah Adams. First seen only in flashback, Rene had been arrested by the Nazi occupiers of Paris, and had disappeared without a trace. Later, when Sarah is amazed to learn that he is still alive, she travels to Paris to rescue him from the deep psychological damage caused by his long ordeal of imprisonment and torture. Rene has great difficulty adjusting to normal life, and still seems to carry his imprisonment within him.
• Brenna Harding as Rose O'Connell
• Robert Coleby as Douglas Goddard, a retiree who ran a club for Australian war veterans. He married Elizabeth Bligh but died in season 5.

  Recurring characters

• Heather Mitchell as Prudence Swanson, the wealthy friend of Elizabeth. Prudence socializes with Elizabeth whenever she comes to visit Sydney. As a member of Sydney's upper class, she is very aristocratic and looks down her nose at Sarah when she arrives for a garden party.
• Judi Farr as Peg Maloney, the aunt of Sarah Adams, who writes to her frequently from her home in Sydney. She and Sarah have grown very close, and when Sarah later decides to take a difficult action, she asks Peg for help.
• Krew Boylan and then Amy Mathews as Amy Polson, the maid of the Bligh household, sister to Harry and sister-in-law to Bert. When Regina suspects that James is gay, she manipulates Amy into spying for her, which eventually forces Elizabeth to fire Amy with great sorrow. After James's aversion therapy, her face reminds him of Harry, causing him to develop intense nausea.
• Dina Panozzo as Carla Poletti, the mother of Gino. She is very critical of the relationship with Anna and her son, saying that it will never work because she is not Catholic. But when George accedes, she does so as well.
• Angelo D'Angelo as Amo Poletti, the father of Gino
• Jacinta Acevski as Alma Grey
• Scott Grimley as Norman Parker
• Rick Donald as Lloyd Ellis-Parker, a talented portrait artist on temporary assignment, who seems to offer Olivia the romantic affection she desperately craves.
• Michael Sheasby as Bert Ford, Amy and Harry's brother-in-law, a local yobbo who always seems to be looking for a fight. His suspicion of outsiders and religious intolerance make Sarah a natural target, as are the Italian Poletti family, and Harry and James, whose attraction Bert uses to blackmail the Blighs. Bert is found dead in the lake, and the unknown circumstances surrounding his death haunt his former victims.
• Mark Lee as Sir Richard Bennett, a rich and powerful, but unprincipled owner of a major city newspaper. He is used to taking whatever he wishes to possess, including the people around him.
• Conrad Coleby as Matthew Goddard, Douglas' son who returns to town after his father's death. He starts dating Olivia and later asks her to marry him.

  Production

Release

Broadcast

International

Home media

Box sets

Soundtrack

Reception

Awards and nominations