Helen Smart
 

One of my favourite characters in Prisoner was always Helen Smart, although I often found myself frustrated at how underused she was. When she kidnapped her sister from the cult and was imprisoned I thought that finally they were going to give her some big story lines inside of wentworth and what happens? The transfer her to another block.

Helen was a funny, warm and caring character and was played brilliantly by the talented Caroline Gilmer!

I'm looking forward to re-living Helens finest moments with the forthcoming DVD's.

Helen Smart was brilliant. Quirky, funny, sexy - she livened up the show no end every time she showed up. Caroline Gillmer did wonders with what could very easily have been a small and forgettable role.

For some reason until I watched the Aussie DVD's I had no recollection of Helen Smart or Caroline Gillmour ever appearing in Prisoner. Helen Smart is a great character, very funny, very bolshy, very Australian but also the character had depth and emotion. Her final storyline was a complete stinker with the whole 'cult' thing and her sister. It would of been nice if they'd have brought her back in for a couple of episodes just to get closure on the character. Helen Smart, came from nowhere but left a legacy behind her, a true Prisoner star!

I agree totally, one of the most underused characters I thought. I reckon she would have made a brilliant top dog, I don't think the women would mess with her. I wasn't too keen on her first stint when she kept doing that annoying accent but loved the comedy value the character had, which was exactly what the series needed at the time.

The cult storyline.... oh... it was an interesting storyline but I didn't care much for it either. I think maybe they just tried a little too hard and it just ended up being a bit over the top... although the scenes in the attic of the half way house were pretty impressive.:nod:

Helen Smart comes in in Vol 6 doesn't she? I used to love Caroline Gillmer in Neighbours, but not as much as her daughter Danni. She was hot!:censored::nod::cool:

Helen is definitely in Vol 6 (she helps Judy when she's on the run), but her first appearance is in Vol 4 (episode 118 IIRC) - she's a friend of Kerry Vincent's.

Cheers for that, I've yet to catch up on vol.4.

And in a weird twist, when Caroline Gillmer fell ill, guess who Grundy got to play Cheryl Starkl? They got Collette Mann, aka Doreen, to fill in for a while.

I love Helen, she's definitely my favourite recurring character. I think she probably worked better as recurring rather than permanent though as 'comedy characters' like hers can get a bit grating after a while if you see them in episode after episode but when they are just in the show for a shorter stint the writers can just maximise their output.

It took me a while to realise that the actress was yet another member of the Neighbours cast!