Beth Christine Buchanan (born 10 March 1972) is an Australian actress and Social Worker. She is best known for the television roles in sitcom ''

Hey Dad! ''Hey Dad..!'' is an Australian sitcom produced by Gary Reilly Productions, originally airing from 1987 to 1994 on the Seven Network. Synopsis Architect Martin Kelly singlehandedly raises his children: Simon, Debbie, and Jenny. His wife, Marga ...

'',

Gemma Ramsay Gemma Ramsay (also Willis) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Beth Buchanan. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 June 1990. The actress was not sure about a long-term com ...

in ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which 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 an ...

'', and Susan Croydon in ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the ever ...

''. She was also a long-standing member of the Ranters Theatre company.Usher, Robin (17 July 2008
"Swimming in success"
'' SMH.com.au'' (Retrieved: 1 March 2010)

Early life

Buchanan was born in Sydney, the daughter of musician Tony Buchanan (formerly of

Crossfire A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as assault rifles or sub-machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap. This tactic came to prominence in World War I. S ...

) and teacher Jo Buchanan. She is the youngest of three children; her brother Miles and sister Simone are also actors.

Career

Buchanan's television work includes appearances in ''

Secret Valley ''Secret Valley'' is an Australian children's television adventure series first shown on the ABC in 1980. It was produced by the Grundy Organisation in association with Telecip, S.A. and Spain's public broadcaster Televisión Española. Seri ...

'', ''Runaway Island'', ''Island Trader'', ''

Pirates Island ''Pirates Island'' is a 1990 Australian film about a group of children who are swept away in a balloon to an island where pirates run amok.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p121 Cast * Beth B ...

'', ''

A Country Practice ''A Country Practice'' is an Australian television soap opera which broadcast on the Seven Network from 18 November 1981 until 5 November 1993, airing at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday evenings. Altogether, 14 seasons and 1,058 episodes were p ...

'', ''

Home and Away ''Home and Away'' (often abbreviated as ''H&A'') is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988. Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip ...

'', '' Stingers'', ''Hey Dad'' (where her older sister Simone starred as Debbie Kelly) and ''

The Brittas Empire ''The Brittas Empire'' is a British sitcom created and originally written by Andrew Norriss and Richard Fegen. Chris Barrie played titular character Gordon Brittas, the well-intended but hugely incompetent manager of the fictional Whitbury New T ...

''. Her longest running part, between 1994 and 2006, was the recurring role of Susan Croydon, the daughter of Tom Croydon, in the popular series ''

''. Major storylines included becoming a school teacher; attempting to take the blame when drugs were planted in her and Tom's home; and losing her baby as a result of a hit-and-run targeted at her father. Buchanan played Rita Heywood in both series of

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship ABC Television network. The headquarters of the ABC TV channel an ...

's journalism-orientated comedy '' Lowdown''. Film roles have included ''

Newsfront ''Newsfront'' is a 1978 Australian drama film starring Bill Hunter, Wendy Hughes, Chris Haywood and Bryan Brown, directed by Phillip Noyce. The screenplay is written by David Elfick, Bob Ellis, Philippe Mora, and Phillip Noyce. The original mus ...

'', ''Flute Man'', ''A Good Thing Going'', ''

Fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

'' (1986) – based on the

Faraday School kidnapping The Faraday School kidnapping occurred on 6 October 1972 at a one-teacher school in the rural town of Faraday in Victoria, Australia, where two plasterers, Edwin John Eastwood and Robert Clyde Boland, kidnapped six female pupils and their teach ...

– ''

The Rogue Stallion ''The Rogue Stallion'' is a 1990 Australian television film about a wild horse. It was part of the ''South Pacific Adventure Series''. It was also released in the United States by Feature Films for Families. Plot Anna Peterson (Beth Buchanan) ...

'', and '' The King''. Buchanan also played the title character in Peter Long's short "A Telephone Call for Genevieve Snow" (2000). Adapted from the story by

Carmel Bird Carmel Bird (born 1940) is an Australian writer of novels, short stories and essays. She has written books on the art of writing, and has edited anthologies of essays and stories. In 2016, she was awarded the Patrick White Literary Award. Writing ...

, it won the Silver Lion Award at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

in 2000.

Personal life

Buchanan has three sons (Cinto, born 2004; Cesare, born 2007; and Tancredi, born 2010) with her ex partner, playwright Raimondo Cortese. She is an accredited Social Worker with a Master of Social Work (RMIT), has an Arts Diploma in Professional Writing and Editing (RMIT) and an Honours Degree in Performance Writing (Victoria University).Usher, Robin (9 May 2005
"Writing of lives less ordinary"
'' TheAge.com.au'' (Retrieved: 1 March 2010)

References and notes

External links

*
Ranters Theatre (official website)
''RantersTheatre.com'' Australian soap opera actresses Living people 1972 births Actresses from Sydney {{Australia-tv-actor-stub