Inside Soap, Issue 98, 17 April 1998

A mum in a million

Debra Lawrance explains why she's hanging up Pippa's pinny ...

The day that the people of Summer Bay hoped they would never see has arrived. This fortnight, Pippa Ross leaves her brood of loving kids behind and sets off for a new life.

Pippa has been mother hen to a steady stream of foster children for almost a decade now, but she has decided the time has finally come to live her own life - as has Debra Lawrance, the actress who plays her.

"It was time for me to leave," says Debra, who took over the role of Pippa from actress Vanessa Downing back in 1990. "The show is filmed in Sydney, but I'm actually from Melbourne and all my family are there, so I was feeling the pull to return home. My time on Home and Away was great. I've really loved it, but I'm one of those people who needs new horizons."

When the time came to film Debra's final scenes, there was little need for acting. The tears had started flowing long before the director called 'action'.

"I had been on the show for seven-and-a-half years, so it was difficult to say goodbye," says Debra, who was joined on set by her real-life husband, actor Dennis Coard (Pippa's late husband Michael Ross).

"These people had been like my family, particularly Kate, who plays Sally, and Ryan, who plays Sam. It was definitely a bit emotional."