Despite having known about Dalliance for a while, Georgie Parker never expected to be in it. The drama on Paramount+, which follows a group of 60-somethings as they grapple with the realities of life, had been in development for some time, and Georgie had heard a lot about it from her friend Heather Mitchell, one of the series’ creators and stars.
How Georgie Parker joined Dalliance
Then, one day, Georgie received a phone call.
“Heather had come to see me in a play I was doing, and afterwards, we caught up and she told me all about the show,” Georgie, 61, tells TV WEEK. “I was excited for her because she has such a breadth of knowledge as an actor and a creative. And at this point, I wasn’t attached to it at all.
“But two days later, Heather called and said, ‘Darling, can you get any time off your series [Home and Away]? I was watching you in the play and I thought, “Why am I not asking her?”’ I’m so fortunate – it’s like the stars aligned.”
Georgie plays Ruby, a loving wife who’s forced to reassess her relationships after an unexpected moment upends her entire life. Georgie said yes – “without even reading a script” – and was joined by some of the best in the Australian industry.
Alongside Heather, the two-time TV WEEK Gold Logie winner shares the screen with Hugo Weaving, David Wenham, Catherine McClements and Wayne Blair – to name just a few.
Telling the stories that matter
Soon, the script came in – and with it was a rare opportunity to tell mature women’s stories.
“Men get these juicy roles their whole bloody lives, but if anything, women have unique experiences because they haven’t been explored enough,” Georgie says. “They get more interesting as they get older, as do men, because they have more life experience – there’s more to draw on. That’s what is explored in this show. It was cool to be on set and see people my age.”
Most of the cast had known each other from previous productions, including Georgie and Hugo, who played a couple in 1988 miniseries Barlow and Chambers: A Long Way from Home (also known as Dadah Is Death).
“He was 27 and I was 23,” she recalls. “But he had a picture from that production, so we used that picture [in Dalliance] as a young Rose and Billy.”
Bringing her success to the Logies stage: ‘Pinch me’
In terms of life experience, Georgie has certainly had her share as an actor. One of her first big roles on TV was in 1989 in A Country Practice, which was recently inducted into the TV WEEK Logie Hall of Fame. Georgie says she knew “how lucky I was to get that job”, and the experience was one of community and cohesion.
“I learnt a lot and watched the older actors and loved watching them work together,” she adds. “I remember the feeling I had in my belly when I got the job and I still get it now when I get roles.”
Those roles have included The Man from Snowy River, All Saints and Home and Away. But for all her talent and the accolades that have come throughout her career, the actress says she “never makes the assumption that it’s going to work out”.
“The fact that I’ve been able to work for as long as I have is just incredible because this is a very strange industry and, you know, there are astoundingly great actors not working,” she says. “To be one of the lucky ones, it’s like, ‘Pinch me.’ It’s amazing!”
As for what’s next? Georgie is hoping to see more Dalliance on her schedule: “I hope we get a season two. Fingers crossed!”
Dalliance is available now on Paramount+
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