Judith McGrath (21 April 1947 – 20 October 2017) was an Australian actress. She was known for her roles as Colleen Powell in ''

Prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement or captivity in a prison or physical restraint. The term usually applies to one serving a Sentence (law), se ...

'', Matron Gribble in ''

Round the Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port ...

'', Bernice Hudson in ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera/serial which was broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 22 November 1993, and subsequently on Network Ten from 13 April 1994 to 5 November 1994. Altogether, 14 ...

'', and Yvonne 'Von' Ryan in '' All Saints''.

Biography

McGrath was known for her television roles, including soap operas ''

'' (1979–84), as Deputy Governor/Officer Colleen "Poface" Powell, ''

'' (1992–93) as hippy Bernice Hudson and for her

Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...

-nominated role in the medical drama '' All Saints'' as Nurse Yvonne "Von" Ryan (1998–2009) and her comedy roles in children's series ''

'' as Matron Cecilia Gribble. McGrath was known for playing characters with a dry, often sarcastic wit.

Early life

Born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, McGrath began her career at the

Brisbane Arts Theatre Brisbane Arts Theatre refers to an independent theatre company in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of the oldest theatre companies in Brisbane, being established since 1936. The name historically also refers to the theatre building in ...

, and was a member of

Twelfth Night Theatre The Twelfth Night Theatre is an established Australian entertainment venue located in Bowen Hills, in Brisbane, Queensland. Many notable actors, both international and Australian, have performed there. The Twelfth Night Complex includes the ma ...

under artistic director

Joan Whalley Joan Agnes Whalley, OAM (December 1927 – 27 August 2021), was an Australian actress, teacher and artistic director of Twelfth Night Theatre in Bowen Hills, Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital an ...

. She also played Grace in the 1969 film ''

Age of Consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to Human sexual activity, sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is un ...

''.

Career

McGrath is probably best known to international audiences for her role in the cult

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

series ''

'' as fair-minded but sarcastic Deputy Governor Colleen" Poface" Powell. Initially a minor character, appearing in 12 episodes in the first two series (1979–80), she became a permanent cast member in 1981 and went on to appear in a total of 263 episodes. She chose to leave the series, taping her final scenes in December 1983. Her farewell episode aired in May 1984 during the show's sixth season. After leaving ''Prisoner'', McGrath appeared in guest roles in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' in 1985 and ''

The Flying Doctors ''The Flying Doctors'' is an Australian drama TV series produced by Crawford Productions that revolves around the everyday lifesaving efforts of the Royal Flying Doctor Service, starring Andrew McFarlane as the newly arrived Dr. Tom Callaghan. ...

'' in 1986 and 1988, before appearing in the first series of the children's television show ''

Round The Twist ''Round the Twist'' is an Australian children's comedy drama television series which follows the supernatural adventures of the Twist family, who leave their conventional residence to live in a lighthouse, in the fictional coastal town of Port ...

'' in 1989, playing Matron Gribble. She went on to be a regular cast member on ''A Country Practice'' as Bernice Hudson from 1992 until 1993. McGrath played the long-running role of Yvonne "Von"' Ryan in television medical drama series '' All Saints'' on

Network Seven Seven Network (stylised 7Network, and commonly known as Channel Seven or simply Seven) is an Australian commercial free-to-air Television broadcasting in Australia, television network. It is owned by Seven West Media, Seven West Media Limited, ...

from its debut in 1998, opposite co-star

Georgie Parker Georgina Parker (born 16 December 1964) is an Australian television soap actress and has also appeared in film and theatre. She is a double Gold Logie winner, best known for her acting roles in Australian soap operas; as Lucy Gardiner (later ...

. She was the only original cast member to stay with the series until it concluded in late 2009.

Death

McGrath died in Brisbane at the age of 70 on 20 October 2017.

Filmography

Film

Television

Other appearances

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Judith 1947 births 2017 deaths Actresses from Brisbane 20th-century Australian actresses 21st-century Australian actresses Australian film actresses Australian soap opera actresses Australian stage actresses