Simone Buchanan
Encyclopedia
Simone Louise Buchanan (born 11 March 1968 in Marrickville, New South Wales) is an Australian actress best known for her television roles as Debbie Kelly in the situation comedy Hey Dad..!
and Samantha Fitzgerald
in the soap opera Neighbours
.
Primary School. Her older brother Miles and younger sister Beth are also actors – Beth
is well known for her roles in Neighbours
and Blue Heelers
, and has also appeared in ; Miles was in A Country Practice
, Sons and Daughters
and Young Ramsay
.
.
In 2008, Buchanan played Samantha Fitzgerald
, the bipolar
-suffering estranged wife of Dan Fitzgerald
(Brett Tucker
), in the long-running soap opera Neighbours
. Originally appearing for three months, from March to June, the character's introduction was considered a success, leading to her return for a second three-month stint from November to February 2009. The character will returned for a four week guest role in late 2010, to coincide with the 6,000th episode celebrations.
treatment. Buchanan gave birth to a son, Rémy, via caesarean section
.
In March 2010, Buchanan supported Sarah Monahan
, a co-star on the Hey Dad..!
television show, over allegations that fellow star Robert Hughes
had engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour on the set of the show. Buchanan claimed she had approached the show's producer about the alleged assaults but that he instructed her to keep quiet.
Hey Dad..!
Hey Dad..! was an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network.-Synopsis:Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children Simon, Debbie and Jenny...
and Samantha Fitzgerald
Samantha Fitzgerald
Samantha "Sam" Fitzgerald is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Simone Buchanan. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 March 2008 and departed the show on 25 June 2008. She returned briefly on 24 November 2008. Sam's main storylines have...
in the soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
.
Early life
Buchanan is the daughter of musician Tony Buchanan and teacher Jo Buchanan. The second of three children, she attended AvalonAvalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was...
Primary School. Her older brother Miles and younger sister Beth are also actors – Beth
Beth Buchanan
Beth Buchanan is an Australian actress. She is best known for the television roles of Gemma Ramsay in Neighbours, in the early '90s, and Susan Croydon in Blue Heelers from 1994. She is also a long-standing member of the Ranters Theatre company.-Early life:Buchanan is the daughter of musician Tony...
is well known for her roles in Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
and Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers
Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :...
, and has also appeared in ; Miles was in A Country Practice
A Country Practice
A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
, Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
and Young Ramsay
Young Ramsay
Young Ramsay was an Australian television drama series which ran from 1977 to 1980 on the Seven Network. It was produced by Crawford Productions as two series of 13 episodes each.-Plot:...
.
Career
Buchanan has appeared in several films, including playing a rape victim in Shame and as Laura Harris – and eventually Anna Dodwell – in the Australian drama series Pacific DrivePacific Drive
Pacific Drive is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow in association with New World International for the Nine Network between 1996 and 1997....
.
In 2008, Buchanan played Samantha Fitzgerald
Samantha Fitzgerald
Samantha "Sam" Fitzgerald is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Simone Buchanan. She made her first on-screen appearance on 21 March 2008 and departed the show on 25 June 2008. She returned briefly on 24 November 2008. Sam's main storylines have...
, the bipolar
Bipolar disorder
Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
-suffering estranged wife of Dan Fitzgerald
Daniel Fitzgerald (Neighbours)
Daniel Fitzgerald is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Brett Tucker. He made his first on-screen appearance on 1 September 1999. Dan becomes a teacher at Erinsborough High and shares a house with fellow teacher, Tess. He remained as a recurring...
(Brett Tucker
Brett Tucker
Brett Alan Tucker is an Australian actor and singer. He was a series regular in The Saddle Club and McLeod's Daughters...
), in the long-running soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...
. Originally appearing for three months, from March to June, the character's introduction was considered a success, leading to her return for a second three-month stint from November to February 2009. The character will returned for a four week guest role in late 2010, to coincide with the 6,000th episode celebrations.
Personal life
Buchanan has been married to Brett Smith since 2008. She has a son, Tane (born 1998), from a previous relationship. In August 2009, it was announced that Buchanan was expecting her second child, due in early 2010. The pregnancy was achieved with IVFIn vitro fertilisation
In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
treatment. Buchanan gave birth to a son, Rémy, via caesarean section
Caesarean section
A Caesarean section, is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus...
.
In March 2010, Buchanan supported Sarah Monahan
Sarah Monahan
Sarah Monahan is an Australian actress. Best known for her role as Jenny on Hey Dad..!, she has also appeared in Sons and Daughters and Home and Away....
, a co-star on the Hey Dad..!
Hey Dad..!
Hey Dad..! was an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network.-Synopsis:Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children Simon, Debbie and Jenny...
television show, over allegations that fellow star Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes (Australian actor)
Robert Lindsay Hughes is an Australian actor whose most significant roles include ABBA: The Movie and the television sitcom Hey Dad..!-Early career:...
had engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour on the set of the show. Buchanan claimed she had approached the show's producer about the alleged assaults but that he instructed her to keep quiet.
Filmography
| | Television and film roles | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | |
| 1978 | A Good Thing Going A Good Thing Going A Good Thing Going is a 1978 Australian television film directed by Arch Nicholson. It stars John Hargreaves and won four Logie Awards.-Plot:Phil Harris spends more time with his best friend, Terry than with his wife and children... |
Cathy Harris | ||
| 1979 | My Brilliant Career My Brilliant Career (film) My Brilliant Career is a 1979 Australian drama film directed by Gillian Armstrong and based on the book of the same name by Miles Franklin.... |
Mary Anne | ||
| 1980 | Secret Valley Secret Valley Secret Valley was an Australian children's television adventure series from 1980 made by the Grundy Organisation and first shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation... |
Simone | ||
| 1981 | Run, Rebecca, Run | Rebecca | ||
| Doctors & Nurses | Jane Gilmour | |||
| 1982 | Runaway Island | Jemma McLeod | ||
| The Mystery at Castle House | Sharon Barnes | |||
| 1984 | A Country Practice A Country Practice A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,... |
Sharon Barnes | (#4.69), (#4.70) | |
| The Man from the High Country | Debbie Lomax | |||
| Run Chrissie Run! Run Chrissie Run! Run Chrissie Run! is a 1986 Australian film, directed by Chris Langman. Graham Hartley adapted the script from the novel When We Ran by Keith Leopold... |
Cathy | |||
| 1985 | Sons and Daughters Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series) Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final... |
Donna Jackson | Unknown Episodes | |
| The Flying Doctors | Lucy Daniels | Original mini-series pilot | ||
| 1986 | Platypus Cove | Jenny Nelson | ||
| 1987 | Hey Dad! | Debbie Kelly | All Episodes (1987–1990) | |
| Shame | Lizzie Curtis | |||
| 1991 | A Country Practice A Country Practice A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,... |
Sara Kennedy | ||
| 1991 | Push | Sara Kennedy | (#11.61), (#11.62) | |
| 1993 | G.P. | Mickey Davis | (#5.28) | |
| 1995 | Pacific Drive Pacific Drive Pacific Drive is an Australian television series made by Village Roadshow in association with New World International for the Nine Network between 1996 and 1997.... |
Laura Harris | ||
| 1998 | All Saints All Saints (TV series) All Saints is an Australian medical drama which first screened on the Seven Network. The series debuted on 24 February 1998 and concluded its run on 27 October 2009... |
Mitchie Bell | (#1.22) | |
| 1999 | Water Rats Water Rats (TV series) Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney... |
Jenny Spiro | (#4.6) | |
| 2000, 2003 | Blue Heelers Blue Heelers Blue Heelers is an Australian police drama series which depicted the lives of police officers stationed at the fictional Mount Thomas police station in a small town in Victoria.- Overview :... |
Nurse Angie Cohen | (#7.35), (#10.8) | |
| 2005 | Forced Entry | Julie | ||
| 2006 | McLeod's Daughters McLeod's Daughters McLeod's Daughters is a Logie award-winning Australian drama series that aired on the Nine Network from 2001 to 2009. It tells the story of two sisters, Claire and Tess McLeod, who are reunited after they inherit the family farm... |
Amy Tanaka | (#6.13) | |
| 2008–2010 | Neighbours Neighbours Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems... |
Samantha Fitzgerald | Recurring guest | |