australian television information archive

Guarding Tess

CAROLINE Craig came to Blue Heelers straight out of acting school—a raw, inexperienced blonde kid with a sand-and-gravel voice, sparkling eyes and ready laugh.

It was a daunting assignment for a youngster—to fill the shoes of the most popular female actor in the history of Australian television, four-time Logie winner Lisa McCune.

"When I started on Heelers I thought: 'How the hell am I going to play a cop?' but thanks to everyone's help I did," says Craig, who recently filmed her final Blue Heelers scenes.

"But a lot of viewers were upset. They still wanted Australia's sweetheart (McCune). In that sense it was hard, replacing such an icon, but I just stuck to the thought that Tess Gallagher was completely different and some people were going to freak out."

Craig applauds the writers for taking "a huge risk" with her character, who had little in common with Maggie Doyle.

"What I liked most about Tess was that she was a bit of a misfit and a bit awkward," Craig says.

But replacing McCune proved to be hazardous for Craig, who sometimes found a trip to the supermarket dangerous.

"On one occasion this woman came up to me and said: 'You're certainly not Maggie Doyle' and whacked me on the back of the head with a packet of frozen peas," Craig says. "Another took me to task for 'being so mean to PJ'. "

But after three years with Heelers, Craig decided it was time to move on.

"Tess was prickly and acerbic and bossy and had a lot of baggage, which made her great to play but, after three years, I just wanted to be a different character," she says.

Craig will next appear on stage as an "18-year-old schoolgirl fugitive from the law".

By Robert Fidgeon
July 17, 2003
The Courier Mail