Flamin Galah, flamin Alf, the longest serving character ever.
Sun kissed beach side soap Home And Away began in January 1988 and has had over 200 regular characters over the years, many of them teens and twenty-somethings. Alf Stewart is the only original character, as of 2023 still going strong after 36 years. Below is a list of the longest serving characters in Home And Away. This list includes characters with the longest continuous duration, and longest time between first and last appearances. Actor Ray Meagher even hit the "Guinness World Records" for the longest serving continuous soap character on Australian TV.
List of longest serving Home And Away characters by duration[]
| # | Character | Actor | First appearance | Final appearance | Duration | Total duration | Longest continuous duration | Time between first and last appearance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alf Stewart | Ray Meagher | Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Current | 1988-present | 34 years, 5 months | 34 years, 5 months | 34 years, 5 months |
| 2 | Irene Roberts | Lynne McGranger Jacqy Phillips |
Ep 887 (29 Oct 1991) | Current | 1991, 1992, 1993-present | 29 years, 9 months | 29 years, 5 months | 30 years, 8 months |
| 3 | Leah Patterson | Ada Nicodemou | Ep 2793 (22 Mar 2000) | Current | 2000-present | 22 years, 3 months | 22 years, 3 months | 22 years, 3 months |
| 4 | Sally Fletcher | Kate Ritchie | Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Ep 5825 (5 Sep 2013) | 1988-2008, 2013 | 20 years, 5 months | 20 years, 3 months | 25 years, 8 months |
| 5 | Marilyn Chambers | Emily Symons | Episode 309 (18 May 1989) | Current | 1989-1992, 1995-1999, 2001, 2010-present | 18 years, 7 months | 12 years, 5 months | 33 years, 1 month |
| 6 | VJ Patterson | Matt Little Felix Dean |
Ep 3190 (30 Nov 2001) | Ep 6818 (5 Feb 2018) | 2001-2018 | 16 years, 0 months | 16 years, 0 months | 16 years, 3 months |
| 7 | Donald Fisher | Norman Coburn | Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Ep 4502 (11 Sep 2007) | 1988-2003, 2004, 2005, 2007 | 15 years, 7 months | 15 years, 5 months | 19 years, 8 months |
| 8 | John Palmer | Shane Withington | Ep 4820 (27 Mar 2009) | Current | 2009-present | 13 years, 3 months | 13 years, 3 months | 13 years, 3 months |
| 9 | Colleen Smart | Lyn Collingwood | Episode 36 (7 March 1988) | Ep 5664 (24 Jan 2013) | 1988, 1989, 1997, 1999-2013 | 13 years, 1 month | 12 years, 8 months | 24 years, 10 months |
| 9 | Roo Stewart | Georgie Parker Justine Clarke |
Episode 3 (20 January 1988) | Current | 1988-1989, 2010-present | 13 years, 1 month | 11 years, 8 months | 34 years, 5 months |
| 11 | Ailsa Stewart | Judy Nunn Nancye Hayes |
Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Ep 3445 (14 Feb 2003) | 1988-2000, 2002-2003 | 13 years, 0 months | 12 years, 11 months | 15 years, 1 month |
| 11 | Duncan Stewart | Benedict Wall Brendan McKensy Lewis Devaney Allana Ellis |
Episode 328 (14 Jun 1989) | Episode 6545 (9 Nov 2016) | 1989-2001, 2004, 2005, 2016 | 12 years, 6 months | 12 years, 0 months | 27 years, 4 months |
| 13 | Pippa Ross | Debra Lawrance Vanessa Downing |
Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Ep 4840 (24 Apr 2009) | 1988-1998, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 | 10 years, 3 months | 10 years, 2 months | 21 years, 3 months |
| 14 | Christopher Fletcher | Rian McLean Shaun Wood Dylan McCready Ashleigh Bell-Weir |
Episode 156 (22 August 1988) | Ep 3544 (3 Jul 2003) | 1988-1998, 2003 | 9 years, 7 months | 9 years, 6 months | 14 years, 10 months |
| 15 | Sam Marshall | Ryan Clark | Ep 738 (3 Apr 1991) | Ep 4000 (8 Jul 2005) | 1991-2001, 2002, 2005 | 9 years, 2 months | 8 years, 10 months | 14 years, 3 months |
| 16 | Hayley Lawson | Ella Scott Lynch Rebecca Cartwright |
Ep 2481 (28 Sep 1998) | Ep 4100 (25 Nov 2005) | 1998-2005 | 7 years, 2 months | 7 years, 2 months | 7 years, 2 months |
| 17 | Morag Bellingham | Cornelia Frances | Episode 102 (7 June 1988) | Ep 6645 (25 April 2017) | 1988-1989, 1993, 2001, 2002-2009, 2011-2013, 2016, 2017 | 6 years, 2 months | 2 years, 5 months | 28 years, 10 months |
| 18 | Kirsty Phillips | Christie Hayes | Ep 2856 (19 Jun 2000) | Ep 4973 (28 Oct 2009) | 2000-2005, 2008-2009 | 6 years, 0 months | 4 years, 8 months | 9 years, 4 months |
| 19 | Justin Morgan | James Stewart | Episode 6442 (7th June 2016) | Current | 2016-present | 5 years, 11 months | 5 years, 11 months | 5 years, 11 months |
| 20 | Bobby Marshall | Nicolle Dickson | Pilot Episode (17 Jan 1988) | Ep 1710 (9 Jun 1995) | 1988-1993, 1995 | 5 years, 8 months | 5 years, 7 months | 7 years, 6 months |
| 21 | Michael Ross | Dennis Coard | Ep 651 (22 Oct 1990) | Ep 1912 (30 Apr 1996) | 1990-1996 | 5 years, 6 months | 5 years, 6 months | 5 years, 6 months |
| 22 | Martha MacKenzie | Jodi Gordon Burcin Kapkin |
Episode 169 (8 September 1988) | Ep 5093 (9 Jun 2010) | 1988, 2005-2010 | 5 years, 4 months | 5 years, 3 months | 21 years, 9 months |
| 22 | Tori Morgan | Penny McNamee | Episode 6416/6417/6418 (5th May 2016) | Ep 7662 (27 Sep 2021) | 2016-2021 | 5 years, 4 months | 5 years, 4 months | 5 years, 4 months |
| 24 | Tony Holden | Jon Sivewright | Ep 4020 (5 Aug 2005) | Ep 5138 (11 Aug 2010) | 2005-2010 | 5 years, 0 months | 5 years, 0 months | 5 years, 0 months |
| 24 | Ziggy Astoni | Sophie Dillman | Ep 6681 (20 June 2017) | 7990 march 9 2023 | 2017-2023 | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years |