candy raymond

The second year of the series saw new dramas concerning Helen Sheridan (Carmen Duncan) who embarked on a troubled romance with Jack Sellars. Helen also had the rather extreme problems of her promiscuous younger sister Jill (Candy Raymond) to contend with.

The show's earliest standout star Abigail seems to have had a rather turbulent relationship with the show's producers, and after a series of public disputes with them she abruptly left the show in June 1973. Depending on who tells the story, Abigail was either sacked or walked off the set. Either way, her departure had not been prepared for, so the role was recast.

abigail

with Bev's popularity and storyline entanglements it was felt she couldn't just disappear, so the producers opted to slip new actor Victoria Raymond into Bev's boots. Bev's new portrayer was the older sister of current cast member Candy Raymond, who was herself being touted as a contender to the crown of Number 96's new sex-symbol star.

For Victoria's first episodes in the series the director chose to keep the new Bev in a wide-shot; all viewers would see was a shapely long-haired blonde in the background while the new facial features would be more difficult to make out. In the event Victoria ultimately worked-out in the role and came to be regarded as a popular actor and sex-symbol in her own right.