australian television information archive

Lynn Styles as Hannah

Hannah O'Flaherty (Lynn Styles) is the heroine of the story. She's bright and plucky and curious. It's hard not to like her. She's more cautious than Brett, but it's that natural inquisitiveness which transports her to the other side of the world. It's a real freedom to leave her boarding school bedroom and sit on the beach under the blue Australian sky. But it's complicated leading a double life; she's got a secret to keep and unravel at the same time.

On the 23rd of December last year, 14-year-old Lynn Styles was getting ready to go out with her friends when she got the phone call to say she had the part of Hannah. She couldn't believe it. Previously she had worked on 'No Tears' and 'Fair City'. A month later, she found herself en route to Perth for four months, with her mum as chaperone.

Zachary Garred as Brett

Brett Miller, played by Zachary Garred, is pure Australian teenager. When we first meet him, it's summer holidays in Perth and he's out catching the waves with the best of them. But his homelife is complicated and the appearance of the portal is like a dream. At the turn of a key, he can leave the beach life for a world where he's a tanned curiosity. He becomes more and more involved in the life of the school, just as Hannah's becoming part of his life back home. It's a lot of work for a laid back surfer.

Brett is played by Zachary Garred a native of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.  Zachary had previously worked on a few TV commercials and was settling down to study for his HUC when he got word that he had been chosen for the part.

Danielle Fox Clarke as Tara

Tara is a princess in need of a tower. A beautiful and bright only child, she has an over developed sense of her place in the world. She's as scheming and vain as Hannah is solid and good natured. Infuriated and perplexed by each other, the girls have nothing in common except a bedroom, which they are forced to share.

Danielle Fox Clarke (14) has worked on 'Veronica Guerin', 'The Clinic', and 'Jane Eyre' at the Gate Theatre.

Robbie Sheehan as Cormac

Cormac McNamara is O'Keefe's resident genius. From the laboratory in his bedroom, he emerges with the most extraordinary inventions and labour saving devices. He's younger than the rest and immune to the politics of his peers. He admires Brett's coolness and has a soft spot for Hannah. An unlikely hero, but more than once his loyalty saves the day.

For someone who has never studied acting, 14-year-old Robbie Sheehan has a formidable CV. He started his acting career on 'Song for a Raggy Boy' and decided to get an agent after that. His credits include a short film called 'The Dublin Story' which was short listed for an Oscar, and 'The Cripple of Inismaan' in his hometown Portlaoise. Robbie was also short listed for 'The Young Blades'- a major Canadian drama about the three young musketeers.

His agent sent him to the casting of 'Foreign Exchange' and said 'be perky'. It worked. Robbie loved the role of Cormac.

Dan Colley as Martin

Martin has been made repeat a year, but he doesn't like to be reminded. As the handsome son of a billionaire, he's used to feeling unstoppable and sees no reason to suffer those he doesn't like. Tara's the obvious choice for him, but then this irritating Australian shows up and his feathers are well and truly ruffled.

Dan Colley plays Martin: 'I'm sixteen now and I've been acting since I was ten. My first job, was as the boy in The Gate's 'Waiting for Godot'. That was the most incredible experience. I'd never actually performed before, but because it was The Gate, the beauty of it was that it got invited to festivals around the place.

'In the first year I went to Toronto, then London and then a US tour. Since then, it's been bits and pieces at The Gate and a few other theatres. I study drama in the Independent Theatre Workshop with Gillian Oman. My first TV exposure was last year, playing the drug dealing schoolboy in 'The Big Bow Wow'. Dan and Robbie are currently short-listed for 'The Young Blades' — a major Canadian drama about the three young musketeers.

Barbara Griffin and Peter Dineen as Ms Murphy and Seamus

Ms Murphy is everything a headmistress should be; fairminded, stern if she has to be, with a nose for trouble and a timely sense of humour. She's interested in her pupils and proud of her school. An Irish mother with two hundred in her brood.

Seamus McCracken is the affable school caretaker, always ready to lean on his shovel for a chat. He's been there so long he seems inseparable from the place. In Episode 3, he finds himself lumped with a fairly useless young Australian as an assistant and the fun begins.

Ms Murphy and Seamus run their 'empire' between them.

Barbara Griffin of 'Bachelor's Walk' fame, steps into the shoes of Ms Murphy.