Australian television has an unenviable history of badly produced, cheap shows, but Paradise Beach really took the cake.
Essentially a parade of models pretending they could act, Paradise Beach was the worst of the worst.
Even a parade of hot young stars and starlets (including Olivia Newton-John‘s first husband, Matt Lattanzi) couldn’t save the series, and with poor ratings and overseas sales the daily show did not come back for a second season and all the storylines were left up in the air.
Actress Megan Connolly, who played Tori Hayden, died in September 2001 of a heroin overdose.
Paradise Beach was parodied extensively in the popular Australian comedy series The Late Show. The D-Generation team targetted the poor acting, the formulaic plot and characterisation, characters dancing every time rock music was played, and the cash-in mentality of filming the soap at a beachside studio complex (“Hey, look! Warner Brothers Movie World!”).
Robyn Devereaux Barsby
Isla Fisher Tom Barsby
Robert Coleby Anne-Marie Connick
Emma Kearney Joan Hayden
Paula Duncan Ken Hayden
Michael Caton Tori Hayden
Megan Connolly Vanessa Campbell
Melissa Tkautz Lisa Whitman Barsby
Tiffany Lamb Emily Harris
Melissa Bell Kirk Barsby
Manu Bennett Paula Taylor
Zoe Bertram Val Sterling
Virginia Hey Fiona McDermott
Liz Burch Anna Ritchie
Deborah Coulls Cassie Barsby
Kimberley Joseph David Finn
Tayler Kane Karen Wolfe
Rebekah Elmaloglou Brooke Bannister
Gabrielle Fitzpatrick Cooper Hart
Matt Lattanzi Gordon
Andrew McFarlane Mr Jerome
John Orcsik Tina Goggin
Jodie Parry Loretta Taylor
Raelee Hill Max
Dwayne Lawler Keye
Tony Lee Pietro
Enrico Mammarella Eddy
Brad McMurray Harry Tait
Jaason Simmons Peter
Gerry Sont Candy
Bridgette Edmunds Travis Geronimo
Adam Ford Kirsty
Terasa Livingstone Alan
Michael Bishop Eric Sanderson
Paul Driver Lucas
Gavin Earl Alan
Neil Flemming Roy McDermott
John Holding Sam Dexter
Richard Huggett Nick Barsby
Andrew McKaige Chris Quinn
Scott Michaelson Greg Wolfe
Russell Paul Andrew
Shane Ammann Patrick Worthing
Doug Penty Sean Hayden
Ingo Rademacher Alex Harding
Emma Skinner
