<P> Early in season 5 Debbie Kelly moves to Dunk Island to work as a waitress . She is replaced by new character Sam Kelly, Martin's niece from Hong Kong who moves in . Nudge departs after the conclusion of season 5 . No explanation is given in the show's story to explain his disappearance . From season 6 schoolboy Arthur MacArthur is the new neighbour who regularly visits . At the end of season 6 Simon moves out, leaving his friend Ben to move into Simon's room . At the end of season 12 Martin leaves for a $300,000 - per - year contract to design and build a deep water port and mini-city in Saudi Arabia . He leaves the house and the business in the care of friend Greg Russell . Sam moves to Adelaide soon after, opening the door for Greg's daughter Tracy to move in . </P> <P> At the end of the series Betty and Jenny are the only remaining original characters . Jenny is portrayed by a different actress by this stage . Betty's portrayer Julie McGregor is the only original cast member to remain through the entire series . </P> <P> In the series finale the regular characters are held hostage in the house by a fugitive bank robber . The robber places a bomb in the family's VCR, as leverage with the police . After the hostage drama has been resolved and the robber arrested the family remembers there's a bomb in the VCR, but they don't know how to re-program it . Betty observes that "this is just like E Street...at the end, where they all got blown up", but Greg responds that "That doesn't happen in sitcoms ." (Greg's portrayer Mark Owen - Taylor had acted in E Street .) The characters panic as they count down the seconds to the expected explosion and the screen fades to black . The cast are then shown in a curtain call as the credits roll . The curtain call includes former regular cast members Christopher Truswell and Sarah Monahan who do not otherwise appear in the episode, series producer and writer Gary Reilly and writer John Flanagan . </P> <Ul> <Li> Martin Kelly--Robert Hughes (1987--1994; episodes 1--265) </Li> <Li> Betty Wilson--Julie McGregor (1987--1994; episodes 1--291) </Li> <Li> Simon Kelly--Paul Smith (1987; episodes 1--39), Christopher Mayer (1988--1991; episodes 40--187) </Li> <Li> Debbie Kelly--Simone Buchanan (1987--1990, 1994; episodes 1--165, 268) </Li> <Li> Jennifer Kelly--Sarah Monahan (1987--1993; episodes 1--227), Angela Keep (1993--1994; episodes 231--291) </Li> <Li> Gerald' Nudge' Noritas--Christopher Truswell (1987--1991, 1994; episodes 1--174, 291) </Li> <Li> Samantha Kelly--Rachael Beck (1991--1994; episodes 166--267) </Li> <Li> Arthur MacArthur--Matthew Krok (1991--1994; episodes 169, 178--291) </Li> <Li> Ben Hubner--Ben Oxenbould (1991--1994; episodes 177--291) </Li> <Li> Greg Russell--Mark Owen - Taylor (1993--1994; episodes 263--291) </Li> <Li> Tracy Russell--Belinda Emmett (1994; episodes 266--291) </Li> </Ul>

Where did dad check out the bird come from