The third season of the Australian police-drama Blue Heelers premiered on the Seven Network

Seven Network

The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

 on 12 February 1996 and aired on Monday nights, and later Tuesday nights, at 8:30 PM. The 42-episode season concluded 26 November 1996.

Casting

Main cast for this season consisted of:

• John Wood
  John Wood (Australian actor)
  John Wood is a Gold Logie Award-winning Australian actor, best known for his role as Senior Sergeant Tom Croydon in the Seven Network's long running police drama Blue Heelers.-TV career:...
  
   as Sergeant Tom Croydon
  Tom Croydon
  Thomas Arthur Croydon is a fictional character in the long running Australian television police drama Blue Heelers. He is one of two characters to appear in all thirteen seasons, 1994 to 2006, and is an original character...
  
   [full season]
• Julie Nihill
  Julie Nihill
  Julie Nihill is an Australian actress.-Biography:After early roles in 1980s soap operas such as The Young Doctors, Prisoner and Sons and Daughters and the miniseries Bodyline .Nihill was cast in the role for which she became a household face: as bartender and local councilor Chris...
  
   as Christine 'Chris' Riley
  Chris Riley (Blue Heelers character)
  Councillor Christine Bridget "Chris" Riley is a fictional character in the long running police show Blue Heelers played by Julie Nihill. She is one of only two characters who were in the show from 1994 to 2006. She is good friends with Tom Croydon and his late wife Nell....
  
   [full season]
• Martin Sacks
  Martin Sacks
  Martin Colin Sacks is an award-winning Australian actor, chiefly known for his 12-year role on Blue Heelers from 1993–2005.-Career:...
  
   as Detective
  Detective
  A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
  
   Senior Constable Patrick Joseph 'P.J.' Hasham
  Patrick Joseph 'P.J.' Hasham
  P.J. was a fictional character in Australia's police series Blue Heelers.He was an original character in 1994 and left in 2005.He was portrayed by Martin Sacks....
  
   [full season]
• Lisa McCune
  Lisa McCune
  Lisa McCune , is a four-time Gold Logie Award winning Australian actress, best known for her role as Senior Constable Maggie Doyle in Blue Heelers, and as Lt...
  
   as Constable Margaret 'Maggie' Doyle [full season]
• William McInnes
  William McInnes
  William McInnes is an Australian film and television actor and writer.-Television:After a recurring role on A Country Practice in 1990, McInnes appeared in series such as Bligh, Ocean Girl, and Snowy before making his name as Senior Constable Nick Schultz on Blue Heelers in 1994...
  
   as Senior Constable Nicholas 'Nick' Schultz [full season]
• Grant Bowler
  Grant Bowler
  Grant Bowler is a New Zealand actor who has worked in American, Australian and New Zealand films and television.He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne Patterson in Blue Heelers and also appeared as Wilhelmina Slater's love interest Connor Owens in Ugly Betty.In November 2010, he was...
  
   as Constable Wayne Patterson
  Wayne Patterson
  Wayne George Patterson was a fictional character on the long-running Australian police drama Blue Heelers, played by actor Grant Bowler. He starred in the show from its beginning until he was hit by a car and killed in episode 96 in 1996....
  
   [episodes 87-96]
• Damian Walshe-Howling
  Damian Walshe-Howling
  Damian Walshe-Howling is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Andrew "Benji" Veniamin in the Australian underworld drama, Underbelly, for which he won the Best Supporting or Guest Actor in a Drama Series at the 2008 AFI Awards.-Biography:He also starred on Blue Heelers as Constable Adam...
  
   as Probationary Constable Adam Cooper [full season]
• Tasma Walton
  Tasma Walton
  Tasma Walton is an Australian television and film actress.-Acting career:Walton joined local radio station 6GE and trained as a production assistant and copy writer in her home town...
  
   as Probationary Constable Deirdre 'Dash' McKinley
  Deirdre 'Dash' McKinley
  Dash McKinley was a fictional character from Blue Heelers. She entered the series in 1996 and left in 1999, as she resigned from the police force. One of her major storylines occurred during the 1998 season, when she was diagnosed with cancer. Dash was the youngest of nine children. She had a kind...
  
   [episode 107+]

Semi-regular cast members for this season include:

• Peta Doodson
  Peta Doodson
  Peta Doodson is an Australian television actress. She was more commonly known as playing the hardlined Inspector of police, Inspector Monica Draper, on the hit TV show Blue Heelers....
  
   as Inspector (formerly Senior Sergeant) Monica Draper
• Beth Buchanan
  Beth Buchanan
  Beth Buchanan is an Australian actress. She is best known for the television roles of Gemma Ramsay in Neighbours, in the early '90s, and Susan Croydon in Blue Heelers from 1994. She is also a long-standing member of the Ranters Theatre company.-Early life:Buchanan is the daughter of musician Tony...
  
   as Susan Croydon
• Michael Isaacs
  Michael Isaacs
  Michael Isaacs is an Australian actor best known for his semi-regular role as the intellectually disabled Clancy Freeman in the TV series Blue Heelers ....
  
   as Clancy Freeman
• Suzi Dougherty as Dr.
  Physician
  A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
  
   Mel Carter
• Axl Taylor as Len the barman
• Dennis Miller
  Dennis Miller (Australian actor)
  Dennis Miller is an Australian film and television actor. Miller has acted in television shows including a recurring role on Blue Heelers as Ex-Sergeant Pat Doyle .He was also married to actress Elspeth Ballantyne.- External links :...
  
   as Ex-Sergeant Pat Doyle
• Nick Waters as Inspector Ted Faulkner
• Helen Trenos as Celia Donald
• Stuart Baker as "Richo"
• Reg Evans
  Reg Evans
  Reginald "Reg" Evans was a British-born actor active in Australian television, theatre, and cinema from the 1960s....
  
   as Keith Purvis
• Terry Gill
  Terry Gill
  Terry Gill is a British-born actor who carved a nichè in Australian television playing police officers.He was a recurring cast member in the women's prison drama Prisoner as Det. Insp. Jack Grace, a regular cast member as Sgt...
  
   as Superintendent
  Superintendent (police)
  Superintendent , often shortened to "super", is a rank in British police services and in most English-speaking Commonwealth nations. In many Commonwealth countries the full version is superintendent of police...
  
   Clive Adamson
• Karen Davitt
  Karen Davitt
  Karen Davitt is an Australian actress, best known for her performance as Zoe Hamilton in Blue Heelers from 1995–1998.She was born 1 January 1963 in London.-Filmography:Filmography*MDA as Dr. Gerry Mitchell *Ned Kelly as Anne Jones...
  
   as Doctor Zoe Hamilton
• Rachel Blakely
  Rachel Blakely
  Rachel Blakely is an Australian actress. Her works include films such as Love Until, Young Hercules and Counterstrike, as well as guest appearances on television shows such as Xena: Warrior Princess, State Coroner and Flipper; from 2006 to 2007 she starred as Glenda Fry in the Australian...
  
   as Gina Belfanti
• Beverley Evans as Harriet Keppel
• Alexandra Sangster as Anna Croydon
• Don Bridges as Charlie Clarke
• Marie Trevor as Lelia Clegg
• Pauline Terry-Bietz as Beth McKinley
• Frankie J. Holden as Jack Woodley

Notable guest stars included Frances O'Connor

Frances O'Connor

-Background:O'Connor was born in Wantage, Oxfordshire, England to a pianist mother and nuclear physicist father. When O'Connor was two, her family moved back to Perth, Western Australia. O'Connor was raised a Roman Catholic and attended the Mercedes College in Perth...

, Marg Downey

Marg Downey

-Career:Downey first rose to prominence in the sketch comedy program The D-Generation on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in the late 1980s. She subsequently appeared in later sketch comedy series with other members of The D-Generation, including Fast Forward, Full Frontal and Something Stupid...

, Lee Kernaghan

Lee Kernaghan

Lee Kernaghan OAM is an Australian country music singer and songwriter. He was the 2008 Australian of the Year.-Honours:Kernaghan received the Order of Australia Medal in 2004....

, Radha Mitchell

Radha Mitchell

Radha Rani Amber Indigo Anunda Mitchell is an Australian actress. Her film roles include Finding Neverland, Phone Booth, Man on Fire, Silent Hill, and the The Crazies-Early life:...

, Terry Gill

Terry Gill

Terry Gill is a British-born actor who carved a nichè in Australian television playing police officers.He was a recurring cast member in the women's prison drama Prisoner as Det. Insp. Jack Grace, a regular cast member as Sgt...

, Raelee Hill

Raelee Hill

Raelee Hill is an Australian actress best known for her roles in some of her country's most successful television series...

, Louise Siversen

Louise Siversen

Louise Siversen is an actress.Siversen began acting as a child after her parents sent her to dance and drama classes to help her overcome her shyness. Siversen began to enjoy acting and went on to perform with St Martins Youth Theatre, appearing in many productions...

, Rhys Muldoon

Rhys Muldoon

Rhys Muldoon is an Australian actor, writer and director who has worked extensively in film, television, theatre and radio.-Television:...

, David Wenham

David Wenham

David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...

, Norman Yemm

Norman Yemm

Norman Yemm is an Australian actor who is probably best known for his long-running role as Norm Baker in the television drama The Sullivans....

, Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman is an Australian actor.Andrew Blackman graduated Kelvin Grove College of Advance Education in 1984 with an Associate Diploma in Performing Arts and was granted the Elizabeth Bequest Scholarship with T.N...

, Frankie J. Holden, Anne Phelan

Anne Phelan

Anne Mary Phelan, OAM , is a much awarded Australian actress, who has appeared prominently in Theatre, Australian television productions and soap operas, including Prisoner where she played the role of 'Top Dog' Myra Desmond and Monica Taylor in Something in the air...

 and Andrew McKaige

Andrew McKaige

Andrew McKaige is an Australian actor.In addition to being an original cast member of the 1980s soap opera Sons and Daughters , he is the second actor to play the role of Marty Jackson in Prisoner – succeeding Ronald Korosy and preceding Michael Winchester.More recently, he has appeared in Paradise...

.

With Grant Bowler

Grant Bowler

Grant Bowler is a New Zealand actor who has worked in American, Australian and New Zealand films and television.He is known for playing the role of Constable Wayne Patterson in Blue Heelers and also appeared as Wilhelmina Slater's love interest Connor Owens in Ugly Betty.In November 2010, he was...

's exit from the show, Ann Burbrook

Ann Burbrook

Ann Burbrook, sometimes credited as Annie Burbrook, Ann Burbrook, sometimes credited as Annie Burbrook, Ann Burbrook, sometimes credited as Annie Burbrook, (born 23 November 1965 in Jesselton, Sabah, Malaysia, is an Australian actress.Burbrook trained at the Australian Ballet School and the WA...

 also returned to Blue Heelers to temporarily reprise her role as Roz Patterson

Roz Patterson

Roz Patterson was a fictional character in the Australian police drama series ‘Blue Heelers’. She was a starring character in the series since it began; but was the first character to leave the series, staying not even a year...

.

Plot

By the time the 42-episode third season began, Blue Heelers was hailed as the most successful Australian drama on television, also seeing significant changes in life at the station. Storylines included:

• Maggie discovering her brother Robbie (played by David Wenham
  David Wenham
  David Wenham is an Australian actor who has appeared in movies, television series and theatre productions. He is known in Hollywood for his roles as Faramir in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, Carl in Van Helsing and Dilios in 300 and Neil Fletcher in Australia...
  
  ) was on drugs,
• Wayne's death, paving the way for his untrustworthy replacement, Snr. Det. Jack Woodley (Frankie J. Holden), who eventually was caught falsifying evidence and replaced by strong, independent Constable Deirdre "Dash" McKinley,
• Tom dealing with his young daughter Anna (Alexandra Sangster)'s pregnancy and with his new grandson whom he took in after Anna left,
• PJ and Maggie - who had decided that their kiss meant nothing - were torn apart when Maggie fell for her professor Roman Kellerman (Geoff Paine). While PJ's suspicions about Kellerman proved correct, it severely affected his friendship with Maggie and he chose to leave the station. His charismatic replacement, Detective Johnny Kowalski (Jack Finsterer
  Jack Finsterer
  -Early life:Finsterer grew up in Ainslie, Canberra, where he attended Daramalan College, before going on to study drama at the Victorian College of Arts in Melbourne.-Career:...
  
  ) proved to be no picnic - wooing both the women of the station. When PJ eventually returned, with Kowalski gone, relations between him and Maggie were strained.
• Dash overcoming her gambling problem and repaying Adam,
• Nick being investigated about a death in custody of a child killer,
• PJ shot dead a local woman in self defence and then had to fight to clear his name (with the help of Maggie) but he still had to contend with the woman's psychotic son, Luke Darcy (Jonathon Brooks),
• The season ended with Tom suffering a heart attack in the dying minutes of the last episode

Awards

Episodes

DVD Season #	Episode #	Title	Director(s)	Writer(s)	Original airdate (Aust.) }}

DVD release

The Complete Third Season: Part 1
	Set Details			Special Features
	22 Episodes (990 Mins.) Episodes 55 - 76 6-Disc Set Full Frame English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery
	Release Dates
	February 16, 2006

The Complete Third Season: Part 2
	Set Details			Special Features
	20 Episodes (900 Mins.) Episodes 77 - 96 5-Disc Set Full Frame English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery
	Release Dates
	February 16, 2006

The Complete Third Season
Set Details			Special Features
42 Episodes (1890 Mins.) Episodes 55 - 96 11-Disc Set Full Frame English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)			Slipcase Packaging Photo Gallery
Release Dates
February 16, 2006