From Fame to Struggles: Neighbours’ Gail Robinson Actress Nearly Unrecognisable 36 Years After Leaving the Soap
Scheming Ramsay Street resident Paul Robinson has been married six times in Neighbours, but whatever happened to the star who played his second wife Gail back in the late 1980s?
Marrying Neighbours’ infamously conniving Paul Robinson is probably crazy. But Gail Lewis did just that on the Aussie soap in the late 1980s, transforming into Gail Robinson with a marriage built on deception to dupe Japanese businessman Mr Udagawa and clinch a deal for Daniels Corporation, their employer.
Gail had worked with Paul when they were both flight attendants, and they had both become cutthroat business moguls, each already sporting a failed marriage. Their nuptials unfolded in the lounge of 22 Ramsay Street, shared with Dr Clive Gibbons, as a simple affair witnessed by family members.
Fiona Corke, who debuted as Gail in March 1987, decided to bow out after soaking up fan adoration so intense she mused it felt “was so full on and so huge, you didn’t know if you were an actor or in a pop group.” During its heyday, Neighbours was a UK sensation, with millions tuning in daily; Scott and Charlene’s matrimony snagged a whopping 20 million viewers in its November 1988 broadcast. Gail waved goodbye to Ramsay Street in August 1989, leaving Paul amidst pregnancy with triplets, opting instead for Tasmanian tranquillity, reports OK!.
Other early cast members, including Peter O’Brien (Shane), Paul Keane (Des) and Elaine Smith (Daphne), also left the soap in the late 1980s. Fiona started her career with minor film and TV roles in 1985, aged 24, before landing the role of Alison Mills in Prisoner: Cell Block H in 1986 – a part intended to be ongoing until the series was cancelled.
Fiona Corke returned to Ramsay Street as Gail for guest appearances
While on Neighbours, she met her future husband, Nick Carrafa (Tony Romeo), but they kept their relationship under wraps to avoid confusing viewers. Post-Neighbours, Fiona featured in more film and TV shows, but returned to Ramsay Street as Gail for guest appearances in 2005, 2006 and 2007, and again for an extended run in 2019, which saw the return of all of Paul Robinson’s ex-wives (the serial heartthrob has been married six times).
In 2020, Gail ranked 13th in Huffpost’s 35 Greatest Neighbours Characters Of All Time, with the journalist dubbing “smart cookie” Gail as “the true love of Paul’s life”. The article also mentioned Gail’s fashion sense, as Fiona’s wardrobe for the soap was famously supplied by one exclusive outlet in the 1980s, with the end credit, “Fiona Corke’s wardrobe by Kamizole,” becoming a memorable feature for viewers.
Fiona is now a prominent wildlife activist and serves as vice president of the Australian Society for Kangaroos
Fiona – virtually unrecognisable now with long, brown hair – is a prominent wildlife activist and serves as vice president of the Australian Society for Kangaroos, campaigning against the killing of kangaroos for their skins and meat.
In 2016, she commented on her efforts with the society, saying: “Most of my time is now concentrated on raising awareness of the horrific cruelty involved in the culling/shooting of kangaroos under government permits on public and private land, and the kangaroo industry.”She added, “It’s something most Australians don’t know about. I didn’t, but was so appalled, I just had to do something about it.”
Expressing her concern, she noted, “If people are outraged at the cruelty involved in greyhound racing, live exports, bashing of seals and whaling etcetera, then they should be equally outraged and concerned about what really happens to our kangaroos.”
