Elspeth Ballantyne was born on 1939 and is a retired Australian actress, who appeared in theatre, television and film roles over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child actor and becoming a staple of the theatre starting from 1947, in a production of Macbeth and by the age of 15 in 1954 had turned pro.
15 Facts About Elspeth Ballantyne
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Elspeth Ballantyne became best known for her role in the TV cult series Prisoner from 1979 to 1986 as original character Prison Officer Meg Jackson.
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Elspeth Ballantyne was the only actress to appear in the series' full 8-season run.
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Elspeth Ballantyne admitted that she not initially inspired to take up acting and became a laboratory technician at the Royal Adelaide Hospital instead.
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Elspeth Ballantyne was awarded a scholarship and became NIDA's first intake in 1959.
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Elspeth Ballantyne became a staple of the early Crawford Production serials in the 1970s, including Division 4, Matlock Police and Homicide.
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Elspeth Ballantyne appeared in three iconic small screen roles, starting with the ABC serial Bellbird in which she played librarian Lori Chandler.
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Elspeth Ballantyne subsequently moved to commercial TV playing firm but compassionate prison officer Meg Jackson in the soap opera Prisoner.
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Elspeth Ballantyne was the only actor to stay with the series for its entire eight-year run, making her the longest serving cast member.
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Elspeth Ballantyne admitted that she stayed with the show because she enjoyed it and she had two sons to bring up.
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Elspeth Ballantyne appeared in an episode of The Flying Doctors, a production for the Melbourne Theatre Company, and was cast in children's series The True Story of Spit MacPhee, along with John Bach, Ray Meagher and Linda Cropper.
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In 1992, Elspeth Ballantyne began regularly appearing in the soap opera Neighbours as coffee shop owner Cathy Alessi, the wife of Benito Alessi and the mother of Rick and Marco Alessi, as part of a new Italian family that was introduced to the series.
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Elspeth Ballantyne appeared in the drama short film Twenty Five Cents, Red Hill, and as the wheelchair-bound matriarch in the short The Last Tupper.
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Elspeth Ballantyne played Maxine Danials in the Boronia movies Boronia Boys and Boronia Backpackers.
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Elspeth Ballantyne was married to actor Dennis Miller from 1968 to 1977.