Briony Behets
 |
Briony Behets | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1951 (age 73–74) London, England |
| Education | Guildhall School of Music and Drama |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1971– |
Briony Behets (born 1951)[1] is an English-born Australian actress who found fame acting in television soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s. She is known for her early roles in Birds in the Bush, Number 96, The Box, Bellbird, and Class of '75. Behets was also a weather presenter on ATV-10 Melbourne's news bulletins during the mid-1970s. She received an AFI Award nomination for her role in The Trespassers (1976), and starred in telemovie Skin Deep in 1984. Later roles include Eve Cambridge in Possession, Amanda Harris in Neighbours, which she reprised in 2025, Margaret Bennett in E Street, Diana Stevens in British soap opera Families, and Elizabeth Regnery in The Saddle Club.
Early and personal life
[edit]Behets was born in London, United Kingdom in 1951. Her father worked as a civil engineer, which took him around the world and as a result much of Behets' childhood was spent in Germany and Sierra Leone before returning to England. At age 17 she was accepted into the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, studying there for three years.[2] After completing the course, she travelled to the United States as part of a student exchange project, working there as a nightclub dancer.
After moving to Australia, Behets lived in Melbourne. She was an experienced horsewoman and owned several horses in Mornington.[2]
Career
[edit]Behets made a few appearances in stage plays while she was in college. She came to Australia, aged 19, to travel around the country.[2] She became a model, before securing a role in the comedy series Birds in the Bush in 1972.[2] Behets subsequently enjoyed several high-profile television roles in Australia. She was an original cast member of soap opera Number 96 playing pregnant, young wife Helen Eastwood in 1972. Behets felt she was "terrible" in the role, as was inexperienced and she did not know anything about having a baby.[2] She also appeared in a production of Don's Party as Sue,[2] and a J. C. Williamson's production of Private Lives.[3]
She was a member of the original cast of another adult soap The Box as Judy Donovan starting in 1974.[2] The character was popular with viewers and Behets received a lot of fan mail from housewives and young men.[2] After leaving The Box she appeared for a short stint in Bellbird,[2] before taking an ongoing role in the school-based teen soap Class of '75 as sports mistress Jorja Jones.[4]
Behets was also a longtime weather presenter on ATV-10 Melbourne's news bulletins during the mid-1970s. She also acted in television guest starring roles in Australian drama series, including Homicide, Matlock Police, Bluey, Cop Shop, The Young Doctors,[3] Boney,[3] and Chopper Squad, also in the 1970s. In 1979 in the women's prison soap opera Prisoner she portrayed Susan Rice, the unbalanced wife of a popular celebrity.[3]
Her film roles include Night of Fear (1972), the joint lead with Judy Morris in The Trespassers (1976) for which she was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role,[3] Raw Deal (1977),[3] Inside Looking Out (1977),[3] and Long Weekend (1978).[5] In 1984, she starred in the Nine Network telemovie Skin Deep,[6] followed by a role in Cassandra in 1986.[3]
Later TV guest roles included Prime Time,[3] A Country Practice and The Flying Doctors in the 1980s. Later soap roles included appearances in Possession as the mother of a spoiled child actor; Neighbours as Amanda Harris the mother of regular character Jane Harris (Annie Jones);[7] and in E Street as Margaret Bennett, popular character Lisa Bennett's mother, for six months, in 1989.[3]
Starting in 1990, she was a regular lead in the British Granada Television soap Families.[3] Behets returned to Australia in 1992 to star in black comedy play It's Ralph at the Marian Street Theatre.[3] She also had a guest lead in Chances as Dr Christine Marquette.[8] In 1996, Behets guest starred in Season 12 of the American television series Murder, She Wrote, in an episode titled "Southern Double-Cross". The episode was set in Australia, but filmed in the United States.[9]
In the 2000s, she guest starred in some US drama series such as JAG.[10] She returned to Neighbours in July 2008, in another role as Kate Newton a romantic interest for Harold Bishop (Ian Smith).[11] She also appeared alongside Smith in Neighbours 21 years earlier in 1987 when she played Amanda Harris. She joined the regular cast of The Saddle Club during series three as the second actor to portray Mrs. Reg.[12] In April 2025, Behets will reprise her role of Amanda Harris in Neighbours.[11]
Selected filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Night of Fear | Horse rider | |
| 1976 | The Trespassers | Penny | Nominated – AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role |
| 1977 | Raw Deal | Alex's Lady | Feature film |
| 1977 | Inside Looking Out | Elizabeth | Feature film |
| 1978 | Long Weekend | Marcia | Feature film |
| 1980 | Nightmares | Angela | Feature film |
| 1980 | The Talking Bow Tie | Short film | |
| 1986 | Cassandra | Helen | Feature film |
| 1997 | Allie & Me | Woman in salon | US Feature film |
| 2008 | Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! | Herself | Feature film Documentary |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Birds in the Bush | Tuesday | TV series, 13 episodes |
| 1972 | Number 96 | Helen Eastwood | TV series, 25 episodes |
| 1973 | Wicked City | TV film | |
| 1974 | The Evil Touch | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1974 | Matlock Police | Joyce Roberts | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1974–1975 | The Box | Judy Donovan | TV series, 204 episodes |
| 1974–1975 | Class of '75 | Jorja Jones | TV series, 98 episodes |
| 1975 | Homicide | Helen Green | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1975 | Bellbird | Claire | TV series, 152 episodes |
| 1976 | Bluey | Kate Wallace | Episode: "The First Bloody Day" |
| 1976 | Alvin Purple | Pam | Episode: "The Hustled" |
| 1976 | Power Without Glory | Celia | TV miniseries |
| 1976 | Tandarra | Esther Grafton | Episode: "Come the Revolution" |
| 1977 | Young Ramsay | Chrissie Thompson | Episode: "Yellow Dog" |
| 1978 | The Lion's Share | Janet Jackson | TV movie |
| 1978; 1979; 1980 | Cop Shop | Felicity Stafford / Julie Gaskin / Diana Elliot / Barbara Sauers / Janie Palmer | TV series, 7 episodes |
| 1979 | Chopper Squad | Debbie James | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979 | Prisoner | Susan Rice | TV series, 5 episode |
| 1979 | Skyways | Pam McKinnon | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1980 | Water Under the Bridge | Claire | TV miniseries |
| 1980 | Romance in the Jurgular Vein | TV film | |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Sharon | Episode: '"The Axe-Man Cometh'" |
| 1981 | The Young Doctors | Frances Taylor | TV series, 15 episodes |
| 1982 | Winner Take All | Carol Catani | TV miniseries |
| 1982 | Holiday Island | TV series, 1 episode | |
| 1984 | A Country Practice | Dee Dee Cash | Episodes: "Elementary Miss Watson Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1984 | Special Squad | Rhonda Watson | Episode: "The Second Mr. Swift" |
| 1984 | Skin Deep | Barbara Ramsay | TV film |
| 1985 | Possession | Eve Cambridge | |
| 1986 | Hunger | Mrs. Levey | TV film |
| 1987, 2025 | Neighbours | Amanda Harris | Recurring |
| 1989 | The Flying Doctors | Jean Lambert | Episode: "All You Need Is Luck" |
| 1989 | E Street | Margaret Bennett | Recurring |
| 1989 | The Heroes | Alice | TV miniseries |
| 1989 | Living with the Law | TV series | |
| 1990 | Families | Diana Stevens | Main cast |
| 1990 | Flair | Samantha Harmon | TV miniseries |
| 1991 | Chances | Dr. Christine Marquette | Episodes: "Sexual Therapy", "Bodies and Soul" |
| 1992 | Bony | ||
| 1994 | G.P. | Janet Ryan | Episode: "Something Old, Something New" |
| 1996 | Murder, She Wrote | Melba Drummond | Episode: "Southern Double-Cross" |
| 2000 | JAG | Jenny | Episodes: "Boomerang Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2002 | Marshall Law | Sonia | Episode: "Life in the Raw" |
| 2002 | Guinevere Jones | Louise Rosen | Guest role |
| 2008 | Neighbours | Kate Newton | Recurring |
| 2008–2009 | The Saddle Club | Mrs. Reg / Elizabeth Regnery | Recurring |
Television (as self)
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Tell the Truth | Herself | TV series |
| 1972 | All About Faces | Contestant | TV series |
| The Big Bust-Up | Herself | TV documentary | |
| 1975 | Pot of Gold | Herself | TV series |
| 1975; 1976 | Ten Eyewitness News Melbourne | Weather Presenter | News show |
| 1975; 1977 | Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal | Herself | TV telethon |
| 1976 | Ernie | Herself | TV series |
| 1991 | The Midday Show | Herself | TV series |
| 1992 | In Sydney Today | Herself | TV series |
| 2002 | Good Morning Australia | Guest | TV series, 1 episode |
Stage
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972–73 | Don's Party | Susan | UNSW, Playhouse, Canberra, Warner Theatre, Adelaide, Russell Street Theatre, Melbourne, Theatre Royal, Hobart, Hunter Theatre, Newcastle, Playhouse, Perth & regional tour with MTC, NIDA & Old Tote Theatre Company & J. C. Williamson's |
| 1976 | Private Lives | Sibyl Chase | Comedy Theatre, Melbourne, Her Majesty’s Theatre, Sydney with J. C. Williamson's |
| 1992 | It's Ralph | Claire | Marian Street Theatre, Sydney |
References
[edit]- ^ "Briony Behets (1951-)". National Film and Sound Archive.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Briony – a bit of Class". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 February 1975. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Ceresa, Maria (30 July 1992). "Beyond the 'soap' sex symbol". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "TV Tuesday". The Age. 23 January 1975. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Armstrong, Derek. "Overview: Long Weekend". Allmovie. Retrieved 16 March 2010.
- ^ Stuart, Duncan (17 December 1984). "The 1985 production file". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Now mum's the word for Briony". TV Week. 8 August 1987. p. 25.
- ^ Anderson, Doug (10 December 1991). "On the Air". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Farrant, Darrin (23 January 1997). "Green Guide – Saturday". The Age. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hooks, Barbara (2 November 2000). "Pick of the day – JAG". The Age. Retrieved 31 March 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Kilkelly, Daniel (31 March 2025). "Neighbours to bring back character after 38-year absence". Digital Spy. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
- ^ "Mrs Reg on the saddle club". The saddle club. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
- ^ "AusStage".
External links
[edit]- 1952 births
- Actresses from London
- Australian film actresses
- Australian soap opera actresses
- English film actresses
- English soap opera actresses
- English television actresses
- Living people
- Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
- English emigrants to Australia
- 20th-century Australian actresses
- 20th-century English actresses
- 21st-century Australian actresses
- 21st-century English actresses