friendship

The colourful cast of E Street. Where are they now?

What do you get when you put a pub, a psycho and a serial killer in one street? Aussie drama E Street.

The residents of rough, inner-city suburb Westside was the setting for one of Australia’s most dramatic TV series, E Street.

Beginning in January 1989 and running until 13 May, 1993, E Street took real-life drama and – borrowing from quite a few famous stories like Bonnie & Clyde, The Thornbirds and Westside Story – it went on to become one of the most-watched TV series of the early nineties and launch several careers.

And who can forget Bruce Samazan's dimples...

When we first meet the residents of Westside's E Street (actually called Eden Street but the cool locals call it E Street because that's, you know, cooler) we quickly learn that not all is as well as it seems on the surface.

We have the Patchetts, one of the most prominent families in Westside and owners of local watering hole, Patchetts.

Rival drama Richmond Hill was cancelled to make way for E Street, which tried to be a grittier, more dramatic version of the now defunct Aussie drama.

In all fairness, Richmond Hill was like A Country Practice with infidelity...E Street would appeal to a younger audience and do it's best to push the envelope when it came to storylines.

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And did I mention Bruce Samazan's dimples?

E Street ran for 404 one-hour episodes and in those days, Australian soap operas were on twice a week for an hour. That is, until E Street wrapped up. It was the last show to air in this way.

The creator of the show was Forrest Redlich, a former writer on A Country Practice. He modeled E Street after the show. Both were based on a police station, a doctor's surgery and a pub and both shared many of the same cast members.

The Patchett family is made up of dad, Ernie, son Chris and Aunty Vi. Chris' high school sweetheart is Lisa Bennett, however you soon get a sense they are outgrowing each other. Lisa's good friend, Wheels is in a wheelchair. Love a creative nickname.

They GET IT ON, but soon split, despite this very Nine and a Half Weeks bathtub scene.

So Wheels robs a bank and goes on the run with Sheridan. They fall in love, become pregnant and eventually surrender. It's very Bonnie & Clyde.

Local authorities try and hunt them down and kill them.

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But by then they have escaped to the Maldives. Awwwww.

And don't worry about Lisa. She finds love too.

Until Mr Bad kills him.

But Lisa has always been surrounded by tragedy. Remember her brother Sonny who killed, everyone?

His ex-girlfriend Kim.

And Chis, his wife and Abbey in a car bomb.

Then he shoots Elly who faces a long recovery.

Then he kills himself.

Reverend Bob loves Elly and Elly loves him, but they haven't admitted it yet. They call themselves 'besties', like best friends WITHOUT benefits. That white collar can be a little off-putting.

But Bob and Elly do eventually get together. In fact Reverend Bob gets it on with not one Elly, but two.

And it's very complicated. Elly's ex David is always sniffing around and, oh, yes, they have a daughter named Clare.

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Elly and David have been divorced for years but share a daughter and remain close. However Elly's true love is Bob.

But then Bob dies.

But not before finding out he has a son, Harley.

Bob has a son by the name of Harley resulting from an affair he had when he was a young clergyman. Harley loves Toni but she then loves CJ.

There was always so much action and drama on E Street. There was so much to love about this show.

And let's not forget Bruce Samazan's dimples...

Oh gosh, I forgot about the time when Max became a werewolf, a totally believable storyline. Totally.

In the later years of the show there is so much young love.

Toni and Harley.

Toni and CJ.

CJ is blind but finds his sight at the wedding.

Nikki and Max.

And who can forget Mr Bad.

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The series reached it's peak in 1992 with the storyline involving serial killer Mr Bad. Looking back, it's hard to understand why he used to freak me out so much. He looks a bit silly now.

See? He looked quite normal without his creepy makeup.

There's so much death and violence on this show, we're surprised this mob ever leave their houses.

And remember this?

Lisa's mum's boyfriend rapes her.

At first her mum doesn't believe her, but then she realises it is true and kills him, going to prison for eight years.

At one stage Claire is kidnapped by Cathy, a crazed fan of now radio announcer, Joey Valentine. Claire was at the station helping Joey out on the show for fun.

Her kidnapper plans to blow them all up. Why? Well, because she's crazy.

It turns out Cathy and her son Timmy had presented to Dr Elly Fielding and Timmy ended up dying of spinal meningitis. Cathy has always held Elly responsible for his death and she kidnapped Claire as revenge.

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Phew, they are the highlights, or low lights if you prefer.

The show was cancelled in 1993, not due to falling ratings but creative differences. Several key characters had left the show and producers and Channel Ten disagreed on the direction the show should take.

Bye bye E Street.

Now we track down this amazing Aussie cast and find out, where are they now? CLICK THROUGH the gallery.

What more? Try:

The hilariously crazy cast of Roseanne. Where are they now?

Our favourite members of Young Talent Time. Where are they now?

We adored the cast of A Country Practice. Where are they now?

Gilmore Girls, it’s been too long. Where are they now?

Aussie cop drama Blue Heelers. Where are they now?

Aussie cop drama Blue Heelers. Where are they now?

The cast of ‘Who’s The Boss?’ Where are they now?

The cast of Full House. Where are they now?

The original cast of Melrose Place. Where are they now?

The troubled cast of Growing Pains…where are they now?

The original cast of 90210. Where are they now?

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