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The Alice: characters

Andrew McFarlane as Hugh Delaney

Hugh considers himself a tough but fair man and an honest copper. His son Toby has had a few issues with "tough but fair" over the years, but most of The Alice would agree — adding "nice, dry sense of humour" to the description.

As a young man Hugh was a bit of a dreamer and fell into policing while pondering what else he might explore. When Ellie agreed to marry him his wildest dream came true and he stayed in The Alice.

Hugh tends to keep his own counsel and presents as slightly diffident, but anyone who takes the time to draw him out will be rewarded with erudite discussion on just about anything under the sun. Emotional insight, on the other hand, is not his strong point and the nuances of other people's feelings sometimes escape him.

Although his family means the world to him, Hugh has not worked at maintaining his relationship with his wife and has allowed things to slide into a rut. He feels terribly guilty about the affair he had with the police psychologist and finds himself emotionally ill-equipped to deal with the subsequent breakdown of his marriage. He thinks he can win Ellie back and has trouble accepting they are separated.

Occasionally Hugh wonders if he really gets what it's all about. Does everyone know something he doesn't?

Andrew McFarlane

Since graduating from NIDA in 1973, Andrew McFarlane has appeared in some of Australia's most memorable television dramas, including Neighbours, The Alice telemovie, Heroes Mountain — The Thredbo Story, Water Rats, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Murder Call, Day of the Roses, Heartbreak High, Halifax FP, GP, Flying Doctors, Rafferty's Rules, Cop Shop, Patrol Boats, The Sullivans and Division 4.

He is also recognised by pre-schoolers all around Australia, having been a regular presenter on Play School for a number of years.

McFarlane has an extensive background in theatre, with recent performances in Myth, Propaganda and Disaster in Nazi Germany and Contemporary America (Griffin Theatre Company), Talking Heads (Hit Productions) and After the Ball (Ensemble Theatre).

His feature film credits include Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Doctors and Nurses and Break of Day.