<P> Since 1988, Home and Away has dealt with some controversial issues, despite being broadcast in a G - rated timezone . In 2007, the show breached broadcasting rules when they aired a number of episodes featuring Martha MacKenzie (Jodi Gordon) involved with pole - dancing in the G classification, as the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) said that these episodes should have been rated PG as they contained sexual scenes and references . Since 2008, every subsequent episode has been broadcast under the PG classification and often continues to exceed the rating . A 2010 episode which featured Martha McKenzie engaging in a sexual scene with Liam Murphy (Axle Whitehead) on a kitchen table was deemed "too raunchy" by a television watchdog in New Zealand, as the series was also aired in a G - rated timezone at 5: 30 pm on TV3 . From 2015, The Early Years episodes which broadcast on weekday mornings on 7Two have been re-rated PG . </P> <P> When Home and Away began in 1988, it initially focused on the Fletcher family--Tom (Roger Oakley) and his wife Pippa (Vanessa Downing), and their five foster children, Frank Morgan (Alex Papps), Carly Morris (Sharyn Hodgson), Steven Matheson (Adam Willits), Lynn Davenport (Helena Bozich), and Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie)--who relocated from the city to live in the seaside town of Summer Bay . At the end of the first episode, Tom and Pippa take in their sixth foster child Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson). The Fletchers bought the Summer Bay Caravan Park and moved into the Summer Bay House . They quickly built strong friendships with the locals, Ailsa Stewart (Judy Nunn), Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher), Donald Fisher (Norman Coburn), and Neville (Frank Lloyd) and Floss McPhee (Sheila Kennelly). </P> <P> While Home and Away features a mix of young cast members and older, more experienced actors, the show has always had a definite youth focus, with the younger characters dominating much of the storylines . Many of the cast have spent several years on Home and Away, including original cast member Judy Nunn who left the series in 2000 after 12 years playing the co-owner of Summer Bay's diner . Other original cast members Norman Coburn played high school principal Donald Fisher until 2003, and Kate Ritchie departed in 2008 after 20 years playing Sally Fletcher . Both Coburn and Ritchie along with Ray Meagher (Alf Stewart) entered the 2002 Guinness World Records as the longest - serving actors in an Australian drama series . Meagher now holds that record alone and he is the only remaining original cast member in the show . Meagher along with Lynne McGranger (Irene Roberts), Ada Nicodemou (Leah Patterson - Baker) and Emily Symons (Marilyn Chambers) are the longest - serving cast members currently in Home and Away . In 2010, Georgie Parker joined the cast of Home and Away as Alf's daughter Roo Stewart, originally played by Justine Clarke in 1988--89 . Alf and Roo are currently the only two original characters in the series . </P> <P> Throughout the years, Home and Away has featured several guest appearances from celebrities such as John Farnham, Johanna Griggs, Sia Furler, Michael Palin, Ian Thorpe, Lleyton Hewitt, Paulini, Nick Grimshaw, Eliza Doolittle, Ed Sheeran, and Jessica Mauboy . </P>

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