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Bridie Carter with son

MOTHERHOOD statement… Bridie Carter, with Otis, says parenthood stirs creativity.

Greener pastures

Bridie Carter farewells the land on McLeod’s Daughters to take on new challenges, writes Robert Fidgeon

TV SWEETHEART Bridie Carter has decided the time has come to say goodbye to the folk at Drovers Run to pursue fresh acting challenges.

Carter, who with Lisa Chappell launched McLeod’s Daughters in 2000, films her final scenes in two weeks but will be seen on screen until next April.

But she remains tight-lipped about how her character, Tess McLeod, leaves the show. “I can’t say anything obviously because of confidentiality. The producers would kill me,” she says.

“And I don’t want to spoil it for the viewers, either.

“If it was anything desperately tragic, the viewers would be so resentful and unforgiving. I hope that will not be the case.”

Carter, who is married to clothing designer Michael Wilson and lives in Byron Bay, gave birth to son Otis on March 29. “I only wanted to go back to work if I could breastfeed because that’s extremely important for me,” Carter says. “He (Otis) can’t be more than five minutes away.”

However, she insists that motherhood had nothing to do with her decision to quit.

“No, I’m simply ready to do other stuff,” she says. “A couple of people have said, ‘Have you quit to be a mum?’ but to be honest it’s just the opposite.

“I think having a child makes you even more creative and stirs up the creative juices ­ especially as an actor.

“It’s another experience to draw from. It sort of deepens your well and pool of emotion.”

While she loves playing Tess, Carter believes it is time to make the break.

“I’ve been on the show for a long time now (five years),” she says. “It felt absolutely right in my heart. I’m very excited about the future. I’m looking at several projects at the moment.

“The nature of this business is you do a job and you move on. You have to be a gypsy at heart.”

Carter’s departure means there won’t be any “daughters” left on the show. Claire McLeod, played by Lisa Chappell, died in 2003.

But in true TV drama fashion, the scriptwriters came up with a new twist in last night’s episode. Stevie (Simmone Jade Mackinnon) found a puzzling entry in the late Jack McLeod’s old ledgers that may point to a new female family member in Drovers Run.

By Robert Fidgeon
September 08, 2005
The Courier Mail