Since it was confirmed that a new McLeod’s Daughters project had been green-lit four years ago, very few updates have been given.
With fans growing restless, it now seems Channel Seven is offering up the next big thing – a McLeod’s reunion on the beach!
But it’s not just any old beach. Later this year, former McLeod’s stars Aaron Jeffery and Rachael Carpani are expected to arrive in Summer Bay to take up juicy guest roles on Home and Away.
Channel Seven’s move to hire Aaron and Rachael, 43, has stirred speculation among TV experts. They are convinced the network might be planning on sinking its teeth into the long-awaited McLeod’s movie project, and finally bring it to our screens.
According to reports, Aaron, 53, will join Home and Away as James ‘Jimmy’ Fowler. Given the character’s name, which was spied on Aaron’s official acting profile online, many fans are certain he has been cast as the father of Summer Bay siblings Eden, Levi and Abigail Fowler.
Meanwhile, Rachael will supposedly play Claudia Salina. Very little is currently known about Claudia, with fans noting her last name has no ties to current characters, meaning she is likely part of an end-of-season plot and not expected to be in many episodes.
McLeod’s Daughters originally aired on rival network Nine. Series creator Posie Graeme-Evans confirmed in 2022 that her new project had been acquired by film studio Dreamchaser.
The studio is co-run by former Nine CEO Hugh Marks, who left the network in 2020.
“Hugh’s company securing the McLeod’s film almost guarantees it won’t appear on Nine or their streaming offering Stan,” tells one TV insider. They also say that Seven casting two long-time McLeod’s favourites in Aaron and Rachael “just doesn’t seem like a coincidence”.
“It’s not hard to imagine Seven purchasing the rights to turn the new project into a mini-series event across weekends or running the film on prime time and then on 7plus,” the source continues.
“They now have two major McLeod’s stars on their payroll and the cross promotion between Home and Away and a new McLeod’s is gold,” they add.
In an interview with New Idea last year, Rachael said she’d happily return as Jodi Fountain McLeod for the new project if asked. Aaron likely wouldn’t be part of it though, given his character Alex Ryan died in the final season.
