Paula Duncan

Paula Margaret Duncan AM (born 15 September 1952) is an Australian actress. Her numerous television roles include playing Nurse Lisa Brooks in The Young Doctors (1976–77), Detective Danni Francis in Cop Shop (1977–83), for which she twice won the Logie Award for Most Popular Actress, Lorelei Wilkinson in Prisoner (1986), Janet Bryant in Richmond Hill (1988) and Bridget Jackson in Home and Away (1990). Her sister was actress Carmen Duncan.

Paula Duncan

AM
Born
Paula Margaret Duncan

(1952-09-15) 15 September 1952
Cooma, New South Wales, Australia
OccupationActress
Years active1975–present
Known forNumber 96
The Young Doctors
Cop Shop
Prisoner
Richmond Hill
Home and Away
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1982; div. 1998)​
FamilyCarmen Duncan (sister)

Career

Born in Cooma, New South Wales, Duncan has played several leading roles in various TV series. Early roles were Carol Finlayson in Number 96 (her sister Carmen Duncan had previously acted in this serial), followed by Lisa Brooks in The Young Doctors. She left The Young Doctors to take the role of Danni Francis in Cop Shop, and stayed in the role for the series' entire 1977–1984 run. After Cop Shop ended she played Lorelei Wilkinson in Prisoner in 1986, then was Janet Bryant in Richmond Hill (1988) for its entire 12-month run, Bridget Jackson in Home and Away, and Joan Hayden in Paradise Beach.[1]

In 2011 Duncan joined the cast of Neighbours as Carolyn Johnstone, a love interest for Harold Bishop (Ian Smith).[2] Duncan previously appeared in the show as Amy Medway in 1985.[2]

Duncan is also well known to Australian audiences through her work on television commercials, especially humorous commercials for the household cleaner Spray N' Wipe, which she has been doing for over 20 years.[3] She has also made guest appearances on the NRL Footy Show on Network Nine.

Duncan married actor John Orcsik in June 1982 after they met acting together in Cop Shop. They opened acting school, The Australian Film & Television Academy (TAFTA) [4] together on the Gold Coast in 1994. They eventually divorced in 1998. They have since worked together, including acting together in Paradise Beach.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1986 Jenny Kissed Me Gaynor
2004 Cocktail Hour Sandra Short
2004 Strange Bedfellows Yvonne Philpot
2009 Braille Madam
2011 Surprise Surprise Muriel Short
2017 Torn Tess Smith Short, completed
2020 Unsound Angela Feature, completed

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1955 Lux Video Theatre Kitty "So Evil My Love"
1974-75 Number 96 Carol Finlayson "1.669", "1.689", "1.700"
1976-77 The Young Doctors Lisa Brooks "core character"
1977-83 Cop Shop Det. Danni Francis Recurring role
1984 Matthew and Son Barbara Dean TV film
1986 Prisoner Lorelei Wilkinson Main role; Season 8
1986 Studio 86 Glenda "An Electric Day"
1987 Future Past Miss Bernsteen TV film
1988 Richmond Hill Janet Bryant TV series
1990 Home and Away Bridget Jackson Recurring role; Season 3
1993 Paradise Beach Joan Hayden "1.139"
1996 Academy Jennifer Haywood TV film
1998 Breakers Karen Fairbarn TV series
2000 Pizza Lorelei Wilkinson "Gambling Pizza"
2008 East of Everything Pauline "No Way to Nirvana", "Save Me Some Scones", "Aesthetic My Arse"
2011 Neighbours Carolyn Johnstone Recurring role; Season 27
2015 Hiding Jenny Krilich "1.1", "1.3", "1.8"

References
  1. Paula Duncan at IMDb
  2. "Harold Bishop to find love on Ramsay Street". Herald Sun. The Herald and Weekly Times. 30 March 2011. Retrieved 22 June 2011.
  3. "The Spray N' Wipe commercial". news.com.au. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014.
  4. "The Australian Film & Television Academy". tafta.com.au. Retrieved 5 July 2020.
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