What is Home and Away?
Home and Away is a long-running Australian soap opera set in Summer Bay, a fictional coastal town in New South Wales. It first aired on the Seven Network in 1988 and is filmed largely at Palm Beach in Sydney.
The show was created by Alan Bateman and began with Pippa and Tom Fletcher, a couple who foster children and move to Summer Bay to run the local caravan park. Family, romance, crime and beach life have been central themes ever since.
Palm Beach, on Sydney's Northern Beaches, stands in for Summer Bay, and the surf club and beach scenes are filmed there. Interior scenes are shot at the Seven Network's studios in Sydney.
Stars and success
Home and Away has launched many careers, including those of Chris Hemsworth, Isla Fisher, Heath Ledger, Naomi Watts and Melissa George. Ray Meagher, who plays Alf Stewart, has appeared since the first episode and holds a world record for long service in a TV soap.
The show is popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland and New Zealand as well as Australia, and it has won many Logie Awards.
It has produced more than 8,000 episodes, airing several times a week, and Alf's catchphrase, flamin' mongrel, is well known.
Did You Know?
Tourists often visit Palm Beach to see Summer Bay's real-life locations, including the Barrenjoey Lighthouse.