A Place to Call Home

Cast and characters

Main continuing characters

Marta Dusseldorp as Sarah Adams, who despite a strict Catholic upbringing, moved to Paris to be with the man she loved, and adopted his Jewish faith. She comes to work for the local hospital near the Bligh family, whom she met while serving as a nurse on the ship taking them back to Australia from Europe. Later, she is astonished to hear a report that her husband is still alive following World War II, and her life again spins into troubled times.

Noni Hazlehurst as Elizabeth Bligh, the headstrong and stubborn matriarch of the Bligh family. She at first worries that Sarah will endanger the Bligh family's social position, but she mellows over time. She intuits James' homosexuality, since her own husband also had affairs with men, but she pressures James to stay in the marriage as she had done in her own past. Later in the series, she leaves for Sydney to live with her daughter Carolyn, and becomes a less-domineering, more-relaxed person.

Brett Climo as George Bligh, Elizabeth's son, a good-hearted man who takes Sarah under his protection and gradually falls in love with her. He is Elaine's widower and father to James and Anna, although it eventually emerges that Anna is the secret child of his sister Carolyn and their friend Jack; she was taken in by George and Elaine to spare Carolyn any scandal. His high expectations of James puts his son in danger, until eventually George remembers having once seen his own father kissing another man. George later runs for public office and takes over as lord of the estate. In later years, he has a child by Sarah.

Craig Hall as Jack Duncan, the secret, past lover of Carolyn and secret father to Anna, who now faces many challenges in his work as a doctor in a hospital run by the Bligh family. He is compassionate and generous, despite his episodic personal problems with addiction and depression, and devotes his energy to helping others. Over the series, he and Carolyn connect with their daughter Anna and reconnect with each other.

David Berry as James Bligh (regular: seasons 1–4, 6; recurring: season 5), the only son of George and Elaine, who grows up believing Anna is his sister. In spite of his relationships with local farmhand Harry and fellow student William, he marries William's sister Olivia but, still tormented by his gay desires, he tries to commit suicide. During Olivia's pregnancy, he undergoes electroconvulsive therapy and aversion therapy in attempts to change his sexuality. He feels betrayed when Olivia has an affair, but returns to Ash Park to live for his son. He gets involved with Henry, his father's physician, and later moves to the Riviera in France with William, where he feels he can be fully himself.

Main departed characters

Aldo Mignone as Gino Poletti (seasons 1–4), the young, handsome Italian farmer who has set Anna's heart on fire. He has a real passion for farming and trying to please everybody, but his ambitious business decisions are not very successful.

Jenni Baird as Regina Standish (season 1–5), the widowed, wealthy, but still money-hungry sister of George's late wife, Elaine. Regina is the opposite of who Elaine had been: cold, bitter, and scheming, she despises Jews and openly displays religious intolerance toward Sarah. Regina has now set her sights on the widower George's inheritance, and would take extreme actions to achieve her goals regardless of anyone she sees as an obstacle. After being committed in an asylum for the murder of Millie Davis and a policeman, Regina is released in 1958. She returns to the town and helps Sarah and George fight Sir Richard's cruel intentions. She succumbs to an overdose of morphine, thought to be administered by Sir Richard, at the end of season 5. Her body is found in the river, and he is arrested for murder, but it is later determined that she committed suicide.

Matt Levett as Andrew Swanson (guest: season 6; regular: season 2; recurring: season 1), a somewhat-entitled heir apparent who tries to win the hand of Anna Bligh.

Ben Winspear as Doctor Rene Nordmann (regular: season 3; recurring: season 2), the long-lost first love and husband of Sarah Adams. First seen only in flashback, Rene had been arrested by the Nazi occupiers of Paris, and had disappeared without a trace. Later, when Sarah is amazed to learn that he is still alive, she travels to Paris to rescue him from the deep psychological damage caused by his long ordeal of imprisonment and torture. Rene has great difficulty adjusting to normal life, and still seems to carry his imprisonment within him. Much of his behavior is attributable to shrapnel in the brain.

Brenna Harding as Rose O'Connell (regular: season 4; recurring: season 3)

Robert Coleby as Douglas Goddard, a retiree who operates a club for Australian war veterans. He marries Elizabeth Bligh but dies in season 5.

Recurring characters

Heather Mitchell as Prudence Swanson, the wealthy friend of Elizabeth. Prudence socializes with Elizabeth whenever she comes to visit Sydney. As a member of Sydney's upper class, she is very aristocratic and looks down her nose at Sarah when she arrives for a garden party.

Judi Farr as Peg Maloney, the aunt of Sarah Adams, who writes to her frequently from her home in Sydney. She and Sarah have grown very close, and when Sarah later decides to take a difficult action, she asks Peg for help.

Krew Boylan and then Amy Mathews as Amy Polson, the maid of the Bligh household, sister to Harry and sister-in-law to Bert. When Regina suspects that James is gay, she manipulates Amy into spying for her, which eventually forces Elizabeth to dismiss Amy with great sorrow. After James's aversion therapy, Amy's face reminds him of her brother Harry, causing him to develop intense nausea.

Dina Panozzo as Carla Poletti, the mother of Gino. She is very critical of the relationship with Anna and her son, saying that it will never work because she is not Catholic. But when George accedes, she does so as well.

Angelo D'Angelo as Amo Poletti, the father of Gino

Jacinta Acevski as Alma Grey

Scott Grimley as Norman Parker (driver)

Rick Donald as Lloyd Ellis-Parker, a talented portrait artist on temporary assignment, who seems to offer Olivia the romantic affection she desperately craves.

Erica Lovell as Eve Walker, sister of Amy Polson and Harry Polson, in a turbulent relationship with Bert Ford.

Michael Sheasby as Bert Ford, Amy and Harry's brother-in-law, a local yobbo who always seems to be looking for a fight. His suspicion of outsiders and religious intolerance make Sarah a natural target, as are the Italian Poletti family, and Harry and James, whose mutual attraction Bert uses to blackmail the Blighs. Bert is found dead in the lake, and the unknown circumstances surrounding his death haunt his former victims.

Production

Development for A Place to Call Home began after Bevan Lee completed his "domestic trilogy" (Always Greener, Packed to the Rafters, and Winners & Losers). He took inspiration from film director Douglas Sirk's 1950s films, such as Written on the Wind (1956) and All That Heaven Allows (1955). Lee told The Age that he wanted to create a romance-driven melodrama based in the 1950s because people's lives in the present are "relatively bland". He said, "At the end of the day, conflict is drama and we live in relatively conflict-free society. I had to go to a place where there was pain and damage and hurt; after the war there was." The script was co-written by Lee and Trent Atkinson.

Noni Hazlehurst (Elizabeth Bligh) was the first cast member to be announced for A Place to Call Home, on 18 June 2012. Marta Dusseldorp (Sarah Adams), Brett Climo (George Bligh) and Frankie J. Holden (Roy Briggs) were announced a month later, with Dusseldorp leading the overall cast. Newcomers David Berry (James Bligh), Arianwen Parkes-Lockwood (Olivia Bligh), Abby Earl (Anna Bligh) and Aldo Mignone (Gino Poletti), made up the rest of the main cast.

A Place to Call Home is set primarily in both the fictional estate "Ash Park" and the nearby fictional country town of "Inverness" in New South Wales. Inverness was also used as the country setting of Always Greener. Camden and the Southern Highlands in New South Wales serves as the backdrop for Inverness. Ash Park is actually Camelot, a heritage-listed property located at Kirkham, on the outskirts of Camden. Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales, is a third location where major events occur, but most city scenes are filmed indoors, aside from some establishing shots such as historic footage of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Filming for the first season began on 9 July 2012 and concluded on 12 December 2012. Season one was shot on a Sony F65 camera, the first Australian television production to do so.

In June 2013, Erin McWhirter of TV Week announced that A Place to Call Home had been renewed for another season. Abby Earl told McWhirter, "We're locked in pre-production in August and then we start filming in September, so there's plenty of time for me to get back in Anna's shoes." The second season started on 11 May 2014 and concluded on 13 July 2014.

Release

Broadcast

When Seven Network revealed its new television series lineup for 2012, A Place to Call Home was mentioned alongside other titles. Seven Network's Angus Ross said that it would potentially premiere in late 2012, but would not be rushed to air by a certain date unless "casting and other elements" were right. The first season of A Place to Call Home consisted of thirteen episodes. The pilot episode was originally broadcast on 28 April 2013, in the 8:30 pm time slot (previously occupied by Downton Abbey).

Shortly after airing in Australia A Place to Call Home started broadcasting on TV One in New Zealand.

Series one and two began airing on BBC2 in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2014, series three on 25 February 2016, and series four on 13 February 2017. The fifth series was promoted to a BBC1 daytime slot, and began airing daily on 13 March 2018. The sixth and final series aired on BBC1 on 11 February 2019.

All six seasons are available for streaming in the US and Canada on Acorn TV. The first four seasons were also distributed to television stations by American Public Television.

In 2020, all six seasons were made available for streaming in Sweden on SVT Play until 17 September, in Norway on NRK TV and in Finland on YLE TV1.

In 2020, the entire series began screening in Greece on ERT2 weekdays from 29 June as "Μια Καινούργια Αρχή" (A New Start).

Soundtrack

A Place to Call Home – Music from Seasons 1–5 was released on 20 October 2017

Reception

The series was praised in a 2021 column by Michael Oren, former Israeli ambassador to the United States, in the Jewish online magazine, Tablet. Oren wrote that: "Sarah ranks as one of the most complex characters to appear in contemporary television—principled, passionate, long-suffering, and intrepid." He continued: "A Place to Call Home proves that Jews, God, and Israel needn’t be lambasted or lampooned to achieve high ratings."

Awards and nominations

Australian Cinematographers Society Awards

Equity Ensemble Awards

Logie Awards