VJ in home and away is without doubt worst casting ever. Previous holly in hollyoaks was probably 2nd worst. Although the current one I think is in hers 20's as well but does look Holly's age unlike last one.
Who were the Worst Recasts in Soap History
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Originally Posted by Lisa_Charlene:
“Ryan Connor played by Sol Heras.”
“Ryan Connor played by Sol Heras.”
Have to agree with you. Not only was he far too old, he had the acting ability of a garden shed.
Originally Posted by Vatican:
“If you can count Danniella Westbrook's second casting as Sam Mitchell, then I'll go for that. Terrible decision to bring her back instead of Kim Medcalf imo.”
“If you can count Danniella Westbrook's second casting as Sam Mitchell, then I'll go for that. Terrible decision to bring her back instead of Kim Medcalf imo.”
Originally Posted by Jay Lee:
“I would agree with that. Once they recasted Sam with Kim Medcalf, they ought to have stuck with her - Medcalf gave Sam a sense of maturity and level-headedness whereas Westbrook only really tended to play Sam as an immature, irresponsible girl.”
“I would agree with that. Once they recasted Sam with Kim Medcalf, they ought to have stuck with her - Medcalf gave Sam a sense of maturity and level-headedness whereas Westbrook only really tended to play Sam as an immature, irresponsible girl.”
Originally Posted by piggypug:
“Danniella Westbrook returning as Sam Mitchell, EE - Horrible decision to bring her back. Chavvy. Ruined Kim Medcalf's portrayal of Sam.
Hetti Bywater as Lucy Beale, EE - Terrible, one dimensional actress. Didn't warm to her at all.
Rory as Bobby Beale - I know he's only a little kid, but I think he was too stage school'y for EE and he looked nothing like Ian or Laura.”
“Danniella Westbrook returning as Sam Mitchell, EE - Horrible decision to bring her back. Chavvy. Ruined Kim Medcalf's portrayal of Sam.
Hetti Bywater as Lucy Beale, EE - Terrible, one dimensional actress. Didn't warm to her at all.
Rory as Bobby Beale - I know he's only a little kid, but I think he was too stage school'y for EE and he looked nothing like Ian or Laura.”
Originally Posted by Jay Lee:
“Ooh yes - Hetti Bywater was definitely a bad recast. Melissa Suffield just WAS Lucy Beale.
Still, at least the character got a decent exit under Bywater.”
“Ooh yes - Hetti Bywater was definitely a bad recast. Melissa Suffield just WAS Lucy Beale.
Still, at least the character got a decent exit under Bywater.”
Originally Posted by Lady Voldemort:
“Donna Reed as Miss Ellie in Dallas. I am not disputing that she was a great actress, but Miss Ellie she was not.
And - goes without saying really - the re-recast of Daniella Weatbook as Sam Mitchell 😖”
“Donna Reed as Miss Ellie in Dallas. I am not disputing that she was a great actress, but Miss Ellie she was not.
And - goes without saying really - the re-recast of Daniella Weatbook as Sam Mitchell 😖”
Originally Posted by Aaron_Silver:
“100% agree just when Kim had made the character her own they bring back a complete numb nut!!
”
“100% agree just when Kim had made the character her own they bring back a complete numb nut!!
”
Originally Posted by SecretLifeoBees:
“Daniella Westbrook being re-recast as Sam Mitchell was a huge mistake too.”
“Daniella Westbrook being re-recast as Sam Mitchell was a huge mistake too.”
Originally Posted by thengp12:
“Sign me up for Daniella's second coming. Also Ben number 3 the one that killed Hev”
“Sign me up for Daniella's second coming. Also Ben number 3 the one that killed Hev”
Originally Posted by actual_soap:
“The temporary Ailsa in Home & Away. Absolutely ridiculous.
Josh Pascoe as Ben in EE Dreadful.
Hetti Bywater as Lucy in EE”
“The temporary Ailsa in Home & Away. Absolutely ridiculous.
Josh Pascoe as Ben in EE Dreadful.
Hetti Bywater as Lucy in EE”
Agree 100% with all the above
Originally Posted by Jay Lee:
“Cody Willis in Neighbours, going from a squeaky schoolgirl to a deep voiced student who bore no resemblance to the original character.”
“Cody Willis in Neighbours, going from a squeaky schoolgirl to a deep voiced student who bore no resemblance to the original character.”
Had no idea deep voiced Cody was a recast, don't remember the first one at all
Originally Posted by unclekevo:
“Aaron Fontaine as Sonny Valentine was abysmal and the whole decision to bring him in was dreadful, if they wanted to bring Sonny in they should have brought Devon Anderson back but that was never gonna happen given his history with BK. recasting the role just felt like another cheap shot by Bk”
“Aaron Fontaine as Sonny Valentine was abysmal and the whole decision to bring him in was dreadful, if they wanted to bring Sonny in they should have brought Devon Anderson back but that was never gonna happen given his history with BK. recasting the role just felt like another cheap shot by Bk”
The problem with Sonny's return was that they expected us to believe this completely different character was Sonny. Keeping Anderson would maintain visual continuity but that'd be it
People have mentioned Wallis Day, but Parry Glasspool also looks too old for his role ... IIRC the actors of Jason and Holly are also in their early 20s, but they still look young enough to pass for teenagers whereas Glasspool very obviously isn't one. I agree with the person who said in another thread that it feels like the show wants us to treat the Ste/Harry relationship as if Harry were the actor's age rather than the character's
Originally Posted by Janet Plank:
“The 'new' Bethany is so awful that viewers are trying to forget she is there. Her 'mother', Sarah-Lou, is not a recast, but she might just as well be as she has forgotten all about acting while she has been off the show. I hope they have very short contracts.”
“The 'new' Bethany is so awful that viewers are trying to forget she is there. Her 'mother', Sarah-Lou, is not a recast, but she might just as well be as she has forgotten all about acting while she has been off the show. I hope they have very short contracts.”
Actually Sarah-Lou is a recast. Tina O'Brien took over the role in approximately 1999/2000 to coincide with the teenage pregnancy storyline. As they wanted an older actress to take on the storyline they brought in Tina to take over the role from the original actress who was approx the same age as the character.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
“I disagree with this actually, I think Hetti is seen as the definitive Lucy Beale now and always will be. This is more than likely to do with her death and the storyline that followed than anything she did on the show, but I'd definitely say the image of Lucy Beale that will be in most viewers minds will be one of Hetti - to illustrate this when doing a google images search of 'Lucy Beale' about 95% of the first few pages pictures that come up are of Hetti.
In terms of the recast itself, I don't think it was too bad. Recasting Melissa's Lucy wasn't a necessary action, she was a competent actress and had created a strong character in Lucy, her firing seemed to just be Kirkwood being petty, (I think it was him who fired her?) but Hetti definitely proved herself as an actress towards the end of her stint and I'd say she was all round a stronger actress than Melissa, although it definitely took quite a bit of time for her to ease in to the role and feel comfortable. Hetti's characterisation of Lucy also worked better for the 'Who killed Lucy?' storyline - the mystique and beauty of the character really draws the audience in, and I think made a far more interesting storyline had it been Melissa's Lucy who had been killed off.
In terms of bad recasts, I've forgotten the actors name but I'd say the 2nd Ben recast was just terrible. The original was awful too and had to go but he at least brought some humour as it was funny how bad he was, and I'd say he still had much more impact on the character of Ben than the 2nd actor - I'd say they've got it right with Harry Reid though. Rory Stroud also seemed to be a bit of a pointless recast considering he went so quickly after doing hardly anything - I did see him in 'Ah Wilderness' at The Young Vic in May though and he did very well, it was a small part but he really held his own which is not easy for someone of his age to do in a theatre production, so I do question whether it was necessary to recast Bobby a further time, Eliot held his own well during live week but is nothing spectacular and has hardly been given anything to do or say, despite being such a central part of one of EE's biggest storylines ever...”
“I disagree with this actually, I think Hetti is seen as the definitive Lucy Beale now and always will be. This is more than likely to do with her death and the storyline that followed than anything she did on the show, but I'd definitely say the image of Lucy Beale that will be in most viewers minds will be one of Hetti - to illustrate this when doing a google images search of 'Lucy Beale' about 95% of the first few pages pictures that come up are of Hetti.
In terms of the recast itself, I don't think it was too bad. Recasting Melissa's Lucy wasn't a necessary action, she was a competent actress and had created a strong character in Lucy, her firing seemed to just be Kirkwood being petty, (I think it was him who fired her?) but Hetti definitely proved herself as an actress towards the end of her stint and I'd say she was all round a stronger actress than Melissa, although it definitely took quite a bit of time for her to ease in to the role and feel comfortable. Hetti's characterisation of Lucy also worked better for the 'Who killed Lucy?' storyline - the mystique and beauty of the character really draws the audience in, and I think made a far more interesting storyline had it been Melissa's Lucy who had been killed off.
In terms of bad recasts, I've forgotten the actors name but I'd say the 2nd Ben recast was just terrible. The original was awful too and had to go but he at least brought some humour as it was funny how bad he was, and I'd say he still had much more impact on the character of Ben than the 2nd actor - I'd say they've got it right with Harry Reid though. Rory Stroud also seemed to be a bit of a pointless recast considering he went so quickly after doing hardly anything - I did see him in 'Ah Wilderness' at The Young Vic in May though and he did very well, it was a small part but he really held his own which is not easy for someone of his age to do in a theatre production, so I do question whether it was necessary to recast Bobby a further time, Eliot held his own well during live week but is nothing spectacular and has hardly been given anything to do or say, despite being such a central part of one of EE's biggest storylines ever...”
Have to disagree on Hetti, she was terribly one dimensional. She raised her game slightly for her last week but I think it was a great idea to kill her off as there is no way Hetti had the ability to become a major character as her acting was so weak, so by killing her off the Lucy Beale character remains iconic rather than just being a bland background character. I didn't like Ben Hardy as Peter Beale either, I found him pretty wooden and the increase in shirtless scenes made it pretty clear he was just there for his looks.
I do agree with you on Ben 2 though, he was painful.
Originally Posted by Brummy Girl:
“Actually Sarah-Lou is a recast. Tina O'Brien took over the role in approximately 1999/2000 to coincide with the teenage pregnancy storyline. As they wanted an older actress to take on the storyline they brought in Tina to take over the role from the original actress who was approx the same age as the character.”
“Actually Sarah-Lou is a recast. Tina O'Brien took over the role in approximately 1999/2000 to coincide with the teenage pregnancy storyline. As they wanted an older actress to take on the storyline they brought in Tina to take over the role from the original actress who was approx the same age as the character.”
BIB: Wasn't it wonderful when they used to do that?
A worst recast thread and no-one mentions the awful Declan recast in Neighbours?! The character literally went from James Sorensen to Erin Mullally overnight, who ruined the character.
Hayley going from blonde to a red head in Home and Away.
EE's Joshua Pasco's Ben was terrible.
Hayley going from blonde to a red head in Home and Away.
EE's Joshua Pasco's Ben was terrible.
Originally Posted by Luxray:
“VJ Patterson being played by Matt Little (Home and Away).
Just bizarre and looks so out of place when he has scenes with Jet. Seems way older!”
“VJ Patterson being played by Matt Little (Home and Away).
Just bizarre and looks so out of place when he has scenes with Jet. Seems way older!”
The temporary Ailsa was actually played very well (same mannerisms, different look) but the decision to recast a long-term and established character for such a short stint (just before the character's exit) was more a problem of the plot than the person.
Originally Posted by _NiallDEE_:
“In terms of the recast itself, I don't think it was too bad. Recasting Melissa's Lucy wasn't a necessary action, she was a competent actress and had created a strong character in Lucy, her firing seemed to just be Kirkwood being petty, (I think it was him who fired her?)”
“In terms of the recast itself, I don't think it was too bad. Recasting Melissa's Lucy wasn't a necessary action, she was a competent actress and had created a strong character in Lucy, her firing seemed to just be Kirkwood being petty, (I think it was him who fired her?)”
Over 5 years later and this is still coming up?
Melissa Suffield was sacked after receiving several warnings about her behaviour off set and on social media; at the end of the day it's no-one's fault but Melissa's that she got sacked. It wasn't anyone being petty.
As far as terrible recasts go:
Declan in Neighbours.
Ryan Connor in Corrie
Putting Daniella back as Sam Mitchell in EE.
Josh Pascoe as Ben in EE
Last 2 recasts of Nick in Corrie - Adam Rickett was not a good actor, Ben Price is a great actor but looks about 15 years older than Leanne, not the same age.
Bethany in Corrie is dire, but I wouldn't class her as a recast, simply because she wasn't really much of a character before and has been off screen for years.
Originally Posted by Deschanel:
“Hayley going from blonde to a red head in Home and Away.”
“Hayley going from blonde to a red head in Home and Away.”
I find that such a tricky one because Bec played Hayley for 6 years and Ella played her for 3 months. Ella was a much better actress, but they should have just given Hayley a quick exit, rather than the audience having to accept that Hayley has gone from high voiced blonde hair/blue eyed to low voiced ginger hair/brown eyes.
They made it even more ridiculous to accept when some of Ella's first scenes with Hayley were her interacting with Kit!
Who was the guy who played Sally's husband in Home and Away? That was the funniest one, even if the two looked nothing alike. I still remember Alf asking was there something different and the new guy replying that he'd had a hair cut
Originally Posted by Nefersitra:
“Over 5 years later and this is still coming up?
Melissa Suffield was sacked after receiving several warnings about her behaviour off set and on social media; at the end of the day it's no-one's fault but Melissa's that she got sacked. It wasn't anyone being petty.
As far as terrible recasts go:
Declan in Neighbours.
Ryan Connor in Corrie
Putting Daniella back as Sam Mitchell in EE.
Josh Pascoe as Ben in EE
Last 2 recasts of Nick in Corrie - Adam Rickett was not a good actor, Ben Price is a great actor but looks about 15 years older than Leanne, not the same age.
Bethany in Corrie is dire, but I wouldn't class her as a recast, simply because she wasn't really much of a character before and has been off screen for years.”
“Over 5 years later and this is still coming up?
Melissa Suffield was sacked after receiving several warnings about her behaviour off set and on social media; at the end of the day it's no-one's fault but Melissa's that she got sacked. It wasn't anyone being petty.
As far as terrible recasts go:
Declan in Neighbours.
Ryan Connor in Corrie
Putting Daniella back as Sam Mitchell in EE.
Josh Pascoe as Ben in EE
Last 2 recasts of Nick in Corrie - Adam Rickett was not a good actor, Ben Price is a great actor but looks about 15 years older than Leanne, not the same age.
Bethany in Corrie is dire, but I wouldn't class her as a recast, simply because she wasn't really much of a character before and has been off screen for years.”
15 years older, how old do you think he looks, Leanne looks late 30s lol
Originally Posted by Matt35:
“ VJ in home and away is without doubt worst casting ever. Previous holly in hollyoaks was probably 2nd worst. Although the current one I think is in hers 20's as well but does look Holly's age unlike last one.”
“ VJ in home and away is without doubt worst casting ever. Previous holly in hollyoaks was probably 2nd worst. Although the current one I think is in hers 20's as well but does look Holly's age unlike last one.”
Yeah I'm really struggling with the new VJ, he is just far too old for the character, it looks ridiculous when he's hanging around in his school uniform or with his friend Jett who looks so much younger. I think the old VJ was in it so long so the bond between him and Leah felt real and now there seems to be very little connection between the new VJ and Leah.
It was also ridiculous when they recast Hayley for the last couple of months of her time in H&A, I understand that Bec Cartwright went on maternity leave and Hayley had a big story that wasn't finished, but they could have rewritten the ending of it, or if they had to recast, I'm sure there were lots of blondes who looked more like Bec who could have filled the part.
I'm still struggling with the new Martin in EE, but it's nothing against the actor, the other Martin was just there for so long and had links to so many well known characters.
Originally Posted by junipaire:
“15 years older, how old do you think he looks, Leanne looks late 30s lol”
“15 years older, how old do you think he looks, Leanne looks late 30s lol”
Ben is 43 Nick is meant to be 34.
Jane is 36 so a lot closer in age to the characters.
Kate Ford as Tracy Barlow. Hetty Bywater as Lucy Beale. Both poor actresses cast into such important roles in terms of show history. Soaps can deal with poor casting decisions if the character can easily be 'moved' on and out but they are stuck if they want to retain key family structures. EE did what they thought was the best to rid themselves of a mistake. Kill the character off but make it such a pivotal event that that the character lives on after death.
The Sasha Close recast of Lucy Robinson in Neighbours. So bad they shipped the character off to boarding school for a few years Thankfully she was replaced by Melissa Bell upon her return.
Thankfully she was replaced by Melissa Bell upon her return.
Kate Ford as Tracy Barlow - Corrie
and a US soap example: Emma Samms as Fallon Carrington Colby - Dynasty
Secretlifeobees, good call regarding Sasha Close as Neighbours' Lucy Robinson, she was truly dire!
and a US soap example: Emma Samms as Fallon Carrington Colby - Dynasty
Secretlifeobees, good call regarding Sasha Close as Neighbours' Lucy Robinson, she was truly dire!
Originally Posted by Brummy Girl:
“Actually Sarah-Lou is a recast. Tina O'Brien took over the role in approximately 1999/2000 to coincide with the teenage pregnancy storyline. As they wanted an older actress to take on the storyline they brought in Tina to take over the role from the original actress who was approx the same age as the character.”
“Actually Sarah-Lou is a recast. Tina O'Brien took over the role in approximately 1999/2000 to coincide with the teenage pregnancy storyline. As they wanted an older actress to take on the storyline they brought in Tina to take over the role from the original actress who was approx the same age as the character.”
Thankyou, Brummy Girl, I had forgotten that. So Sarah-Lou can genuinely go on the list of 'worst recasts'.
Originally Posted by junipaire:
“15 years older, how old do you think he looks, Leanne looks late 30s lol”
“15 years older, how old do you think he looks, Leanne looks late 30s lol”
Yes, but Nick easily looks 50 or over.
Originally Posted by TrebleKing:
“Have to agree with you. Not only was he far too old, he had the acting ability of a garden shed.”
“Have to agree with you. Not only was he far too old, he had the acting ability of a garden shed.”
He was incredibly beautiful though
I'll add the second Sonny Valentine too. He might as well have been a completely different character.
VJ Patterson wins this hands down.
I also agree with a previous poster about Hayley on H&A. Bec had played Hayley for seven years and was one of the main characters. She had also just been voted Australia's Most Popular Actress so it was absolutely ridiculous she was recast
I also agree with a previous poster about Hayley on H&A. Bec had played Hayley for seven years and was one of the main characters. She had also just been voted Australia's Most Popular Actress so it was absolutely ridiculous she was recast
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