TV WEEK
10th November 1990
This time it’s his on-screen sister, not his real-life fiancee.
RACHAEL Beck thinks showbusiness is one big roller-coaster — and she loves every minute of the heady ride.
Such is her exuberance that she is not often out of work, although she admits to being “hell” to live with when she is.
Rachael has just completed a guest spot in Home And Away, playing the drug-addicted sister of Craig McLachlan’s character, Grant Mitchell.
She is now heading for the stage to co-star in A Little Night Music with Geraldine Turner and John Waters. “I can’t wait to work with Geraldine,” she says. “I’m in awe of her. I’m just going to sit there and be a sponge and soak up this precious experience.’’
Rachael knows the stage, having been in the original Australian production of Cats.
“I grew up on the stage,” she says. “I adore it and that is where my heart is.
“I do a lot of stage work for the Department of Health and the Department of Education in schools. It’s a fantastic life.
“I love singing and dancing, although I don’t like to restrict myself. I love to try everything.”
In Home And Away, Grant (Craig McLachlan, who in real life is engaged to another Rachel — actress Rachel Friend) is happy that his younger sister Kim (Rachael) has come to stay.
Grant knows she has fallen out with their mother and he thinks her time in Summer Bay will allow him to talk some sense into her and persuade her to return home.
Kim, however, isn’t letting on she has left home because her drug habit is becoming all-consuming.
According to Rachael, “deceit” is the key word in describing her character’s behavior. ‘‘Kim’s appearance belies her bizarre behavior,” she tells TV WEEK.
“She keeps herself immaculately groomed. She wears makeup and beautiful clothes and is always putting on a happy face. She is the last person you would perceive as having a drug problem.
“Deep down she is aware of her addiction, but she reasons everyone else is doing it and her motto is, ‘Why not enjoy life to the full while you are young’?”’
Kim’s addiction, however, is life-threatening. ‘‘She is overlapping her intake of drugs, borrowing from Grant’s friends and beginning to steal,” Rachael says.
Unlike her Home And Away character, Rachael says she has never felt the need for drugs.
“I hate them and I don’t need them at all,” she says. ‘‘I just get high on life.’’
Story: Glen Williams
Picture: Steve Brack
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