Lois Collinder

The Wentworth Star, Issue 10, December 1996

P-TWS was able to contact Lois for her interview through her agent at Actors Agency, in Melbourne. Shortly after, Lois sent us the answers to our questions and she hopes that you all will enjoy them!

Lois did you work on a series prior to Prisoner?
I have been acting in some way or another most of my life. As a child I went to dancing school and appeared in many concerts and pantomimes from the age of two. I love acting and enjoy entertaining people, whether singing, dancing or playing a character.

How long did it take to get the more meatier role of speaking?
I joined Prisoner as a non-speaking extra, after auditioning for their casting director and gradually was given lines to say. I was always called Alice Jenkins but was later dubbed 'Lurch' by director Kendal Flanagan. Although Alice started off as a nasty bully, I was pleased when she was reformed and became one of the 'goodies' in the prison gang.

What would you do between recording scenes?
While waiting in between scenes I would fill in the time by knitting or doing needlework. I often found it too noisy or distracting to read and over the two years I made quite a few jumpers for other members of the cast. If I had a very heavy week with lots of dialogue, I would need the time in between to learn the lines for the next scene.

I read that after Prisoner you worked in Nunsense - how did you find that?
Since Prisoner finished I have enjoyed working on stage again. In the musical Nunsense, I played Sister Hubert, a singing, tap dancing nun. It was great fun. I love making people laugh and this show certainly did that. One night a man fell out of his chair, he was laughing so much! We toured Australia, playing in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra and Perth.

Do you have any special memories from your time on Prisoner?
My favourite scenes were the talent quest where I sang dressed like Carmen Miranda and all of my scenes with Harry. I also thought that the relationship with Lurch and Rita really worked well and perhaps it was because we were both so tall. Glenda Linscott is the only actress I have ever worked with who is taller than me!

How did you feel when the announcement came down that Prisoner was being axed?
I was not really surprised when Prisoner was axed. It had run for eight years and it was a gruelling schedule for all concerned, from the storyliners, writers, cast and crew. The last day of filming was rather sad, as they demolished the set as we finished each scene. We had a huge party in the empty studio after the last scene, which was the one where the Freak was in solitary and Rita walked in with the tray.

Are you now working in Neighbours on a semi-regular basis?
No, but I was very pleased to play Ms Anne Teschendorff in Neighbours last year. It was great to be back in the old studio again and to see some of the old crew. I have just been back this week to do a couple of scenes and had a very noisy reunion with Jackie Woodburne who I hadn't seen for nine years! We were both amazed that the time had passed so quickly.

Regards, Lois
Thank you.

Lois was recently seen in Shark Bay, as Bull Van Dyke, on Foxtel.