''Foreign Exchange'' is a television series produced by
Southern Star in association with Irish public broadcaster
RTÉ
(; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...
(Raidió Teilifís Éireann). It aired on
Nine Network
Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...
from 5 November to 27 December 2004. The series starred Lynn Styles as Hannah O'Flaherty, a feisty Irish girl, and Zachary Garred as Brett Miller, a sun-drenched Australian boy. The pair are brought together from opposite sides of the world, due to a transfer portal. The series of 26 episodes was created by the Australian author John Rapsey and directed by Annie Murtagh-Monks and Gillian Reynolos.
Synopsis
''Foreign Exchange'' had two major sets, one in
Galway
Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
, and the other in
Perth
Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia. Brett Miller and his family live underneath their restaurant, only to find a rock that opens a portal into the basement level of O'Keeffe's College, an Irish boarding school (which is in reality Castlehackett House, near
Tuam
Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
,
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
).
[Viking Summer: The Filming of MGM's "Alfred the Great" in Galway in 1968 by Mary J. Murphy. . Paperback, p 35, (© Nov 2008). Knockma Publishing.] There he unexpectedly bumps into Hannah O'Flaherty, a student from Galway, who is delighted to learn that when she turns a similar rock on her side of the portal, she can escape the grey and winter of Ireland to the sun and summer of Australia. The show revolves around these two characters, who are the only two to know and use the portal with the exception of Cormac MacNamara, who learns about the portal near the end of the season.
Characters
* Brett Miller (Zachary Garred): A young Australian surfer who finds a portal that takes him to Ireland, in the basement of a boarding school, O'Keeffe's College. He becomes the best friend of Hannah, and they never tell anyone about the portal. Originally an only child, his mother Jackie remarried to Craig and he now has a little sister Meredith. Also living in the home is Wayne, his big brother. In Ireland, Brett finds work as a janitor's assistant. Initially, he has a crush on Tara, over the course of the series, he realises that his true passion is Hannah.
* Hannah O'Flaherty (Lynn Styles): An Irish student at O'Keeffe's College, best friend of Brett. She boards at the school as a roommate with Tara. Hannah is smart and a close friend of Cormac, the local genius. The school's director, Miss Murphy (Barbara Griffin), is suspicious of her disappearances (when she goes to Australia). Hannah loves Brett's family and vice versa. In Australia everyone thinks she is a surfer.
* Cormac MacNamara (
Robert Sheehan
Robert Sheehan (born 7 January 1988) is an Irish actor. He is best known for television roles such as Nathan Young in ''Misfits (TV series), Misfits'', Darren Treacy in ''Love/Hate (TV series), Love/Hate'', and Number Four / The Séance (Klaus ...
): One of the smartest students at O'Keeffe's College. He always has some new invention and is a close friend of Hannah.
* Tara Keegan (Danielle Fox-Clarke): Hannah's roommate, who never suspected the portal. She likes to appear popular. Tara is interested in fashion, shopping, gossip, beauty treatments and money. Often she leaves school only to go to the shopping mall. Initially Brett has a crush on her.
* Martin Staunton (Dan Colley): Son of the vice-director and advisor of O'Keeffe's College, boyfriend of Tara. His father is rich.
* Meredith Payne (
Chelsea Jones
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria, a suburb
**Chelsea railway station, Melbourne
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia, a community
* Chelsea, Quebec, a municipality
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of Lond ...
): Meredith is the daughter of Craig, the younger sister of Wayne, the stepdaughter of Jackie and the stepsister of Brett. She is a generous, kind, honest, intelligent girl and always gives her opinion. She likes Brett and Hannah a lot, and she thinks that they are an item, and also likes Wayne although he is often rude and loud. She loves to read.
* Wayne Payne (
Joel Turner): He is Brett's stepbrother and Meredith's elder brother. He likes bullying Brett.
* Jackie Miller-Payne (Kirsty Hillhouse): Mother of Brett and stepmother of Meredith and Wayne. She is a great cook and runs the family restaurant.
* Craig Payne (Greg McNeill, credited as Gregory O'Neill): Husband of Jackie, father of Wayne and Meredith, stepfather of Brett. He tries to live with their three children of an organised manner.
* Seamus McCracken (Peter Dineen): Caretaker and janitor of the college and boss of Brett.
* Eilish Murphy (Barbara Griffin): Director of O'Keeffe's College. She suspects that Brett and Hannah have some kind of secret.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Foreign Exchange (Tv series)
APRA Award winners
Boarding school television series
Nine Network original programming
Television shows set in Perth, Western Australia
2004 Australian television series debuts
2004 Australian television series endings
Television series by Endemol Shine Australia
Australian English-language television shows
Australian children's fantasy television series
County Galway
Television shows set in the Republic of Ireland