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Elspeth Ballantyne
Elspeth Ballantyne
Born	1939 (age 84–85); Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1954–2013, 2022-
Known for	Bellbird; Prisoner (also known as Prisoner: Cell block H); Neighbours; Boronia Boys/Boronia Backpackers;
Spouse	Dennis Miller (m. 1968; div. 1977)
Children	2

Elspeth Ballantyne (born 1939)^[2]^[a]^[3] is a retired Australian actress, who appeared in theatre, television and film roles over a career that spanned nearly 60 years, a veteran of the industry having started her career as a child actor and becoming a staple of the theatre starting from 1947, in a production of Macbeth and by the age of 15 in 1954 had turned pro., performing in stage roles for the next 37 years, including a stage play tour of the United Kingdom of her iconic Prisoner role at the Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham.^[1]

Ballantyne is probably best known for her small screen roles in numerous TV serials. Her first major TV role was in the serial Bellbird in 1967 as librarian Laura "Lori" Chandler (formerly Grey), opposite actor Dennis Miller, whom she would marry the following year, she remained in the role until 1971. She became best known for her role in the TV cult series Prisoner (known internationally as Prisoner: Cell Block H) from 1979 to 1986 as original character Prison Officer Meg Jackson. She was the only actress to appear in the series' full 8-season run.

Early life

Elspeth Ballantyne was born into a show business family in Adelaide, South Australia, the daughter of Gwenneth Ballantyne (nee Richmond^[3]), an actress and teacher, and Colin George Sandergrove Ballantyne, a prominent theatre entrepreneur, who would give lectures to the young Elspeth on the likes of Shakespeare, Jonson, Ibsen, Chekhov and Strindberg^[3]^[4] her father began his career as a photographer, before becoming a stage actor, producer and director and theatre impresario as an arts administrator who was head of the South Australian Theatre Company, (the predecessor as the State Theatre) Company.^[5] Ballantyne has a brother Guy Ballantyne who is an actor and sister Jane Ballantyne a film producer.^{[citation needed]}

Ballantyne admitted that she not initially inspired to take up acting and became a laboratory technician at the Royal Adelaide Hospital instead.^[5] Professor Robert Quentin from the University of NSW suggested she audition for the National Institute for Dramatic Arts (NIDA). She was awarded a scholarship and became NIDA's first intake in 1959.^[5]

After NIDA, her father wanted her to join the Young Elizabethans; instead she chose to work with Raymond Westwell and Joan MacArthur in Perth, while they were establishing the National Theatre Company. Subsequently she and her brother Guy appeared in plays by her father, including as the apparition of MacBeth, and then took roles in the Alan Hopgood "football play" And the Big Men Fly and A Cheery Soul by Patrick White^[3]

Career

She became a staple of the early Crawford Production serials in the 1970s, including Division 4, Matlock Police and Homicide.^[6]

Ballantyne appeared in three iconic small screen roles, starting with the ABC serial Bellbird in which she played librarian Lori Chandler.^[5] After her character married Tom Grey, played by Tom Oliver, Ballantyne was written out.^[5] She subsequently moved to commercial TV playing firm but compassionate prison officer Meg Jackson (later Morris) in the soap opera Prisoner.^[7] Ballantyne was the only actor to stay with the series for its entire eight-year run, making her the longest serving cast member.^[6] She admitted that she stayed with the show because she enjoyed it and she also had two sons to bring up.^[7] She later reprised her role of Meg in the original stage tour of Prisoner: Cell Block H – The Stage Play, which toured the UK in 1989.

After Prisoner was cancelled, Ballantyne filmed a lead role as Maude Bum in Fool's Shoe Hotel for the ABC.^[7] She also appeared in an episode of The Flying Doctors, a production for the Melbourne Theatre Company, and was cast in children's series The True Story of Spit MacPhee, along with John Bach, Ray Meagher and Linda Cropper.^[7] She guested in an episode of G.P. in 1991.^[8]

In 1992, Ballantyne began regularly appearing in the soap opera Neighbours as coffee shop owner Cathy Alessi, the wife of Benito Alessi (George Spartels) and the mother of Rick and Marco Alessi (played by Dan Falzon and Felice Arena), as part of a new Italian family that was introduced to the series.^[9] She left the show the following year. Subsequently, she appeared in guest parts on TV dramas Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, All Saints, City Homicide, and miniseries Paper Giants: Magazine Wars (2013).^[6]

She has appeared in feature films The Caterpillar Wish as Mrs. Woodbridge, and in Moonlight & Magic as thrift shop owner Desma.^[10] Ballantyne also appeared in the drama short film Twenty Five Cents (2007),^[10] Red Hill (2010), and as the wheelchair-bound matriarch in the short The Last Tupper (2011).^[10] She played Maxine Danials in the Boronia movies Boronia Boys (2009) and Boronia Backpackers (2011).

Personal life

Ballantyne was married to actor Dennis Miller from 1968 to 1977. Both had leading roles in the long-running series Bellbird.^[10] They have two sons together: Matthew and Tobias.^[11]

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Melbourne	Narrator	Short film
1975	End Play	Welfare Officer
1978	Blue Fin	Mrs. Pascoe
1982	Breakfast in Paris	Millie
1989	Blowing Hot and Cold	Shelagh MacBean
1990	A Doctor's Response	unknown role	Short film
2000	Selkie	Loopy
2005	Three Dollars	Eddie's Mother
2006	The Caterpillar Wish	Mrs. Woodbridge
2007	Moonlight & Magic	Desma
2007	Twenty Five Cents	unknown role	Short film
2008	Floating	Elderly Woman	Short film
2009	Boronia Boys	Maxine
2010	Red Hill	Old Woman
2010	The Last Tupper	Rhonda	Short film

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Consider Your Verdict	Cynthia Martin	Episode: "Queen Versus Luxton"
1963	Double Yolk	Jane	TV movie
1963	And The Big Men Fly	Lil	ABC TV Movie
1963	By Accident	unknown role	ABC Teleplay
1964–1975	Homicide	various roles Maureen Davis Cheryl Evans Joyce Suzi Knight	4 episodes "The Silent Witness"- 1964 (#1.9) "One Itch To Murder"- 1972 (#9.34) "The Fireworks Man"- 1974 (#11.34) "Rage"- 1975 (#12.22)
1965	Photo Finish		TV movie
1965	Daphne Laureola	unknown role	TV play
1966	Plain Jane	Kathleen	ABC Teleplay
1966	Anonymous	unknown role	ABC TV series, 1 episode
1967–1971	Bellbird	Laura 'Lori' Chandler / Laura 'Lori' Grey	Series regular
1973	Ryan	Rhoda Bitov	TV series, 1 episode The Girl with the Golden Slippers (#1.11)
1974	Marion	Joan Carruthers	ABC TV miniseries, 3 episodes
1974	This Love Affair	Laura	Episode 2: "Tilting At Windmills"
1972–1975	Matlock Police	Various roles Shirley Evans Jenny Fisher Judy Martin Jean Thompson	4 episodes "Chain Reaction"- 1972 (#2.82) "The Loan Wolf"- 1973 (#3.126) "Prosperity Breeds Contempt"- 1974 (#4.148) "First Day Out" – 1975 (#5.185)
1972–1975	Division 4	Various roles Janet Walker Dr. Jan Moore Fran Taylor Iris Ryan Karen Marsh Sen. Const. Terri Standish Policewoman June Salmon	9 episodes "For The Love of Money"- 1972 (#4.27) "Senior Stewart"- 1972 (#4.38) "Flight Plan"- 1972 (#5.1) "Traveling Man"- 1973 (#5.12) "Talk Back"- 1973(#6.4) "The Virgil"- 1974 (#6.35) "Easy Mark"- 1975 (#7.4) "A Sense of Duty Part 1&2"-1975 (#7.15, 16)
1975	Quality of Mercy	unknown role	Episode: "The Love Job"
1976	Tandarra	Molly Martin	Episode: "That's What Worries Me"
1976	Power Without Glory	Dorothy Wells	Episodes: "Confound Their Politics", "Fallen Heroes"
1976	Solo One	Sylvia Simpson	Episode: "Little Joe"
1977	Bluey	Rhoda Lewis	Episode: "Son of Bluey"
1978	Cop Shop	Claudie Gaynor, Dawn Curran (3 episodes)	Episodes: #1.52, #1.71, #1.72
1979–1986	Prisoner	Meg Jackson / Meg Morris	Series regular UK: Prisoner: Cell Block H / Canada: Caged Women
1979	Ride on Stranger	unknown role	ABC TV miniseries, 1 episode
1982	Telethon 1982	Guest - Herself	TV special
1986	Adrian	unknown role	Film documentary
1987	The Fool's Shoe Hotel	Maude Bum	Teleplay
1987–1991	The Flying Doctors	3 roles Barbara Freeman Wendy Ross Alice Franklin	3 episodes "The Unluckiest Boy in Town" – 1987 (#2.3) "Cadenza" – 1988 (#4.20) "None So Blind" -1991 (#8.6)
1988	Captain Johnno	Mrs. Greenwood	ABC TV Movie
1988	Spit MacPhee	Grace Tree	TV miniseries
1989–1991	Pugwall	Aunt Annabelle	10 episodes
1991	G.P.	Jean Watson	Episode: "The Price You Pay"
1992–1993	Neighbours	Cathy Alessi	Series regular
1997	One Way Ticket	Elizabeth	TV film
1998	State Coroner	Pat Thompson	Episode: "Three's A Crowd"
2000	SeaChange	Coral Kiss	Episodes: "Love Is in the Time of Coleridge", "To Thine Own Self Be Relatively True"
2002	Blue Heelers	Margaret White	Episode: "Sins of The Father"
2002	Marshall Law	Irene	Episode: "Money Talks"
2003	The Secret Life of Us	Celebrant	Episode: "The Quality of My Life"
2003–2004	Stingers	Chief Comm. Steadman	Episodes: "Boosted" and "Break and Enter"
2004	All Saints	Anne Lytton	Episodes: "Benefit of the Doubt", "Don't Look Back"
2005	Last Man Standing	Aunty Marg	Episode 1.1
2008	City Homicide	Miss Evelyn Purcell	Episode: "Thicker Than Water"
2008	Rush	Edie	Episode #3.22
2013	Paper Giants: Magazine Wars	Emily King	Episode #1.1
2022	Boronia Backpackers	Maxine Daniels	4 episodes
2023	Mondo Maniacs	Desma	2 episodes