Floss McPhee was a character from January 1988 (Pilot Episode) to March 1989 (Ep 260). She made return guest appearances in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2008. She was the cheery and outgoing wife of Neville McPhee and the grandmother of Ben McPhee. Floss was played by Sheila Kennelly.
Biography[]
| Floss McPhee | |
|---|---|
Character Profile
| |
| Birthday: | Not known |
| Birthplace: | Australia |
| Father: | Not known |
| Mother: | Not known |
| Siblings: | Not known |
| Spouse: | Neville McPhee (1949-1996) |
| Children: | Scott McPhee |
| Occupation: | Circus Performer. Worked as Tarot Card reader Madame Zara |
| Played By: | Sheila Kennelly |
Backstory[]
Floss was born during the 1920s or 1930s (see below for more). Floss never revealed her maiden surname on the show.
She met and married Neville McPhee in May 1949. They went on to have a son called Scott a few years later. Floss and Neville earned a living performing on the travelling carnival circuit. Neville was a strongman while Floss plied her trade as a Tarot Card reader called Madame Zara. While Floss and Neville enjoyed their itinerant lifestyle, their son loathed it. When he grew up, he cut contact with his parents. After retiring from performing, the McPhees set up home in the Summer Bay Caravan Park. They continued to live happily in their gypsy van. After Alf Stewart moved out of Summer Bay House and closed the Caravan Park, the McPhees acted as caretakers.
1988-1989[]
Floss was first seen in the pilot episode, introducing herself to the Fletcher family. What nobody knew was that she and Neville had secretly taken in local tearaway Bobby Simpson and that she was living in one of the empty caravans.
Floss could be flighty and gossipy but she was also warm-hearted, jolly and community minded. She continued to believe she could predict the future using her Tarot Cards and genuinely believed that Bobby would cause the death of one of the Fletcher foster children. More notably, she seemed to predict some of the events that befell Frank Morgan on the day of his ill-fated wedding to Roo Stewart.
In March 1988, Floss decided to go in search of her grandson Ben. Because her son Scott had cut himself off from his parents, she had never met her grandson. Her sorrow over this had grown over the years and she decided to take action. By pure fluke, she got a job as Ben's nanny while his parents were abroad. Eventually the truth came out and eventually, Scott reluctantly agreed to allow his son continue to see his grandparents.
In 1989, Floss and Neville were offered a new position in a circus. They decided to leave Summer Bay and resume life on the road. Neville died in 1996 aged about 70.
2000-2008[]
Floss did not return to Summer Bay until 2000 (Ep 2853), when she attended Sally's wedding. She revealed that Neville had died 4 years earlier.
Floss returned again in 2002 and 2004. When she returned to the Bay in 2004, Floss told Sally she had terminal cancer, and wanted her to obtain some medicine to end her life peacefully. She believed she could get the relevant drugs as Sally's husband Flynn Saunders was the local doctor. Still, Floss returned again in April 2008 (Ep 4608) for Sally's farewell celebrations. She hasn't returned since then.
Memorable info[]
Date of birth: about 1930-1932 (May have been 1926 to 1929).
Full Name: Floss McPhee (maiden name unknown)
First Line: "G'day Alf."
Last Line: "Oh, don't look at me. I'm just as blown away as you are, lovey." (to Sally)
Trivia[]
Floss' age has never been explicitly stated but one magazine in the 1990s said she was born in 1926. That would have made her 62 in 1988 yet she looked much younger (as Sheila Kennelly (born 1936, aged 82) herself is several years younger). In May 1988, she and Nev celebrated 39 years of marriage, meaning they married in 1949 but Floss could have been 17 or 18, at the time of their wedding, so born 1930-1932. Neville was definitely born before 1927 as Floss said he was "60 odd" in a March 1988 episode. (Note: see article Character Birthdays)
Family[]
Spouse Neville McPhee (1949-1996)
Children Scott McPhee (c1953)
Grandchildren Ben McPhee