Louise Le Nay (born 1957)[2] is an Australian actress and writer, known for her role as Sandy Edwards in Prisoner (1981–82), and Stella Stinson, Kim's adoptive mother in Lift Off (1992–95). Her first novel, The Hero, was published in 1996, her second, Edenhope, in 2024.

Louise Le Nay
Born1957 [1]
Alma materMelbourne University[1]
Years active1981–2006
Notable workPrisoner – as Sandy Edwards
Neighbours – as Barbara Hill

Career

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Le Nay played Sandy Edwards in Prisoner,[3] in a role which spanned the end of 1981 and the beginning of 1982 on screen. In the show, Sandy became Top Dog whilst Bea Smith was in hospital, and was a popular and key character. Whilst working on the series, she discovered that she was pregnant and eventually left to have her daughter, Victoria. She later acted with her daughter when she had a guest role in A Country Practice in 1983, playing a single mother.

At the end of 1985 Le Nay was appearing as Barbara Hill in the original run of Neighbours, when it was still screened by Australia's Seven Network. Although not a main character, she played a key role in the run up to what was intended to be the show's final episode (episode 171) as the new girlfriend of respectable villain Charles Durham who planned to kill the first wife of Paul Robinson, Terry.

Le Nay's first novel, The Hero was published in 1996 by Allen & Unwin.[4] She later moved into writing for television, writing scripts as well as progressing from a story liner to script editor for the popular series Neighbours during the time the show achieved its peak rating performance success when character Karl Kennedy was cheating on his wife with his receptionist. She also worked as a script editor on Blue Heelers and MDA.

Her second novel, Edenhope, was published by Text Publishing in 2024.[4]

Filmography

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Acting credits
Year Title Role Notes
1981 Kingswood Country Mandy Season 3 (guest role – 1 episode)
1981 Lay Me Down in Lilac Fields Unknown/unnamed role Television film
1981–82 Prisoner Sandy Edwards Seasons 3–4 (supporting role — 30 episodes)
1982 Freedom Margie Feature film
1983 A Country Practice Elly Marsh Season 3 (guest role – 2 episodes)
1985 Emoh Ruo Helen Tunkley Feature film
1985 Neighbours Barbara Hill Season 1 (recurring role – 17 episodes)
1986 Jenny Kissed Me Welfare Officer Feature film
1986 The More Things Change... Lydia Feature film
1989 Celia Debbie Burke Feature film
1992 Lift Off Unknown/unnamed role Season 1 (guest role – 1 episode)
Non-acting credits
Year Title Credit Episodes
1985 Neighbours Script editor Unknown episode(s)
1996–2003 Neighbours Writer 40 episodes
2003–05 MDA Script editor 13 episodes
2003 MDA Writer 1 episode
2003 The Sleepover Club Writer 1 episode
2006 Headland Writer 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ a b "Louise Comes Out Fighting – Fow Women". TV Week, issue published 19 December 1981, p.73. Article by Jackie Johnson.
  2. ^ Libraries Australia Authorities - Full view
  3. ^ "Prisoner stars to reunite for a good cause". TV Tonight. 3 September 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Louise Le Nay". AustLit: Discover Australian Stories. The University of Queensland. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
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