
Put your hand up if you want to live in Pearl Bay?
OK. So, yes, it might be an entirely fictitious construct of a late-90s Australian comedy-drama series. But… we’d still really like to move there.
For the currently confused souls who somehow missed the seminal slice of local telly that was SeaChange , Pearl Bay was the new home/hideout for big city lawyer Laura Gibson (Sigrid Thornton), who retreated to the coast with her two children after the breakdown of her marriage.
Naturally, what the newly single mother hoped would be a simpler life, well, wasn’t. (Et voilà, you’ve got yourself a hit.)
To hear what William McInnes has been up to post Sea Change, listen to No Filter below or via your favourite podcast app.
Tonight – 20 years since the ABC series ended – we’ll get to make a return visit to Pearl Bay and its lovable townsfolk, courtesy of a Channel 9 reboot of the series. Laura will be back, along with Bob Jelly (John Howard), while original head writer/creator Deb Cox will take up the mantle of executive producer.
While we’re waiting, let’s catch up with the cast.
Laura Gibson– Sigrid Thornton

Images: ABC and Getty
Sigrid Thornton was always going to be busy. Since stepping down from the bench at the Pearl Bay court house, the award-winning actor has starred on stage and screen, including in the thriller featurePact, and on TV as the host of 2000s lifestyle showWhat's Good for You, investigator Geraldine "Gerry" Lloyd onUnderbelly: The Golden Mileand most recently inWentworth, the popular reboot of 80s hitPrisoner.
She has also been active in the theatre scene, most notably with a critically acclaimed turn as Blanche Du Bois in a Black Swan Theatre Company production ofA Streetcar Named Desire.
Still, Sigrid is keen to get reacquainted with Laura Gibson.
“Time has passed and the world has changed," she said in a statement, "so as we revisit this rich and strange place I trust we’ll all delight in the chance to explore how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go. I can hardly wait.”
Nor can we, Sigrid. Nor can we.
'Diver' Dan Della Bosca- David Wenham

Images: ABC and Getty
It's hard to get past the idea of David Wenham as Laura's first love interest, Diver Dan, but of course he and his career are so much more than that. We're just struggling to recall any of it right now because, well, Diver Dan.
Oh, that's right. He's since been in one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time, playing Faramir inThe Lord of the Ringsfilm trilogy. He also played the role of Carl inVan Helsing, Dilios in the300movies, Lieutenant John Scarfield inPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Talesand just last year voiced Johnny Town Mouse inPeter Rabbit.
On the small screen, David starred alongside Elisabeth Moss as Al Parker inTop of the Lake.
In 2009, he also performed to sold-out crowds at the Sydney Opera House in the Australian run ofJerry Springer: The Opera. He was Jerry. Naturally.
Max Connors- William McInnes

Images: ABC and Supplied
After leavingSeaChange,William joined on to the cast of short-lived dramaMarshall Law, and had recurring roles in TV hits includingBlue HeelersandKath and Kim. He also starred inCurtin, a TV-movie about the former PM.
Since his Logie-winning stint as Max, he bagged another two silver statues - Most Outstanding Actor forMy Brother Jackin 2002 and the same again six years later forEast West 101.
A consummate storyteller, he also somehow managed to write and release seven books, the fifth of which -Worse Things Happen at Sea- he co-authored with his wife, Sarah Watt, following her terminal cancer diagnosis. Sarah passed away on November 4, 2011.
In his latest book,Fatherhood, William reflects on what it means to be a dad through tales about his father and his own parenthood experience.
Bob and Heather Jelly- John Howard and Kerry Armstrong

Images: ABC and Getty
John Howard (no relation, because that would be weird) has logged credits in some of the most popular Aussie dramas over the past two decades. There was John Taylor inAlways Greener, six years as Dr. Frank Campion inAll Saintsand a season inPacked to the Rafters.He also enjoyed minor roles on the big screen, with supporting parts in 2012 Australian comedyAny Questions for Ben?, and 2015 filmsMad Max: Fury RoadandLast Cab to Darwin.
After becoming just the second female to win two AFI awards in the same year (forSeaChangeandLantanain 2001), Kerry Armstrong continued her already stellar career with roles in ABC legal dramaMDA, comedy-dramaBed of Rosesand then over to Channel 10'sThe Wrong Girl, alongside Jessica Marais. In 2018, she made the move to Ramsay Street and Australia's longest-running soap,Neighbours, on which she plays Alice Wells, an evil nanny who attempted to give her employer a codeine addiction then poisoned her and ditched her on the side of the road. Among other things.
Off screen, Kerry is considerably more philanthropic (and not even a little bit murderous). She even leveraged reality television to back causes close to her heart, appearing for Cure for Life on season five ofDancing with the Starsand for Camp Quality on season four ofI'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here.
Karen Miller- Kate Atkinson

Images: ABC and Foxtel/SOHO
GoshSeaChangehad some great couples, but few were more shippable than cop Karen and court clerk Angus (Tom Long).
But Kate has since earned a whole new legion of fans courtesy of her performance as senior prison officer turned governor, Vera Bennett onWentworth. She also starred alongside Guy Pearce in ABC dramaJack Irish, and had a recurring role onOffspringas the girlfriend of nurse Kim (Alicia Gardiner).
Trevor and Kevin (aka. Kev and Trev) Findlay- Christopher Lyons and Kevin Harrington

Images: ABC and Getty.
Beyond Pearl Bay caravan park, Kev and Trev are living the beautifully normal lives we always imagined. Kevin Harrington has continued acting (including roles as David Bishop inNeighbours, Lewis Moran inUnderbellyandUnderbelly Files: Chopper, and Ivan inThe Wrong Girl), but has also entered the hotel business.
“My wife Anne and I are running Quest apartments in Werribee,” Harrington told news.com.au in 2016. “We had a go at running Quest St Kilda and then we bought into this one. Every second person who comes into the place, they see me in my suit and tie and they look at me funny before their memory twigs.”
Chris, meanwhile, is now a father of two young children who works in IT security for Telstra. But he previously toldnews.com.authat he would like to get back into the industry in a decade or so, once he and his family can ensure they are "financially sound". Sensible, Trev.
Belinda Jepsen
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