1 9 9 7 – 1 9 9 9 (Australia)
60 x 50 minute episodes
This ABC drama series went into production in Sydney in July 1997 with Tony Martin (E Street and Heartbreak High) in the starring role alongside Rachael Blake, Aaron Pedersen and Jessica Napier.
The storyline centred on ex-cop Bill McCoy (Martin) who returns home to Sydney after 10 years in self-imposed exile in South-East Asia to look for his missing son, now a street kid.
The setting was a crisis centre in Sydney’s inner-city suburb of Darlinghurst, a red-light district adjacent to Kings Cross where the young and glamorous, the straight and the bent, the rich and the poor and the damaged thronged the seedy streets.
Pedersen played lawyer Vince Cellini, Blake was cast as medical officer Dr Maxine Summers, and Napier played Gerry, a runaway youth.
Launched with two stunning 2-hour debut episodes in November 1997, the gritty Wildside met with immediate critical acclaim.
The final episode of the series aired on Friday 2 July 1999.
Bill McCoy
Tony Martin
Dr Maxine Summers
Rachael Blake
Vince Cellini
Aaron Pedersen
Gerry Davis
Jessica Napier
Inspector Virginia King
Victoria Longley
Mark Doyle
John Haas
Detective Charlie Coustos
Alex Dimitriades
Detective Brian Deakin
Richard Carter
Simone Summers
Abbie Cornish
Rob Summers
John O’Hare
Detective Kate Holbeck
Abi Tucker
Detective Frank Reilly
John Howard
Detective Kim Devlin
Tammy Macintosh