Inside Soap, Issue 79 (12-25 July 1997)

I'm Harold's First Wife!

But Madge needn't worry, actress Anne Phelan's liaison with her husband was a very long time ago ...

Madge and Harold are finally back on the road to true love. However, a visit from an old lady friend of Harold's throws a spanner in the works.

"Claudia met Harold when he was in Tasmania, so she knows him as Ted," reveals Anne Phelan, who plays her.

"One day, she just turns up on Harold and Madge's doorstep and so he invites her to stay," she continues. "But her possessiveness of Harold really gets up Madge's nose."

"Claudia's had a breakdown which has made her very shy. Harold is the only one she can trust, but she doesn't realise she's causing problems." For Anne, playing Claudia was a real blast from the past. She has spent many years working at the same studios, playing Prisoner Cell Block H top dog, Myra Desmond.

"A lot of the crew were still there," smiles Anne. "And I'd known Ian [Harold] for about 30 years - we played husband and wife in 70s' soap Bellbird."

It's 12 years since Anne was blasted out of Wentworth by a terrorist's bullet, but she's still recognised as the convict. "I work in a pub when I'm not acting, and people assume I own it," she laughs. "They think I'm rich, when in fact I'm there because it's the only work I can get!"

Steven Murphy