Floss McPhee

When actress Sheila Kennelly secured the role of Floss in Home and Away she was also due to film a small role in the 1988 film Evil Angels. The schedule clashed with the first week of filming on Home and Away and Kennelly decided to pull out of the role in Evil Angels. At the time she owned a farm and would have to leave her farm before 5 AM to arrive on-set in good time, despite sometimes being up all night tending to her livestock. ==Development==

Characterisation Floss is characterised as a "naturally gregarious" woman. Floss is kind and "would open her purse for anyone" in need. Profiling the character in the book Home and Away – Official Collector’s Edition, Andrea Black wrote "a carnival worker, Floss was Summer Bay's resident psycic." Writers created an on-screen partnership between Floss and her husband Neville McPhee (Frank Lloyd). Together they play the part of retired residents of Summer Bay's caravan park and continue their thirty-five year marriage. In their backstory Floss and Neville once toured the carnival circuit. Lloyd enjoyed working with Kennelly on creating the partnership between their characters. He told Oram that Kennelly is "an absolutely marvelous lady and a superb actress. We hit it off right from the word go and had some wonderful times." Kennelly became concerned that the characters of Floss and Neville were not being developed by the show's production team. She noted that writers never explored Floss' life in the carnival and instead chose to focus more on the younger characters. Their departure was publicised in the 29 October 1988 issue of TV Week. David Brown reported that their characters would be permanently "rested" from the serial. Brown wrote that Kennelly and Lloyd's departure was part of a "major cast reshuffle" ahead of the show's return in 1989. The actress reprised the role in 2002, alongside various past cast members to celebrate summer bay's fictional "150 year anniversary". When she returns Floss reveals that she has continued to do tarot readings, following Neville's off-screen death. Unlike other returnees, Floss plays a centric part in the show's boat disaster storyline. To celebrate the town's birthday a boat trip is arranged and all local residents are invited. ==Storylines==

Floss, along with her husband Neville, first appears in the Caravan Park when the Fletcher family arrive. Floss travels to the city meets her grandson Ben (Justin Rosniak) after lying to his nanny about her references and uses a false name "Mrs Neville". Ben, not knowing who Floss is rude to her at first but eventually softens towards her and she takes him to Summer Bay to meet his grandfather. When Ben discovers pictures of his father Scott (Peter Ford) in a photo album belonging to Floss and Neville, he wants to know the truth. Floss tells him and he reveals that Scott told them they were dead. Scott later turns up in Summer Bay and retrieves Ben much to the displeasure of him and his parents. Floss and Neville follow them back to the city and camp out on the front lawn until Scott agrees to let them see Ben. The police arrive and investigate a complaint made by Ben against Scott saying that he had hit him. After everything is cleared up, Scott orders Floss and Neville to leave but they don't want to. Ben threatens to run away when his grandparents are banished, so they lie to him, telling him they don't want to see him again. When Mother's Day approaches, Scott agrees to visit Floss and brings his wife Anna (Kate Turner), and Ben with him and the McPhees spend the day playing cricket on the beach. Floss becomes obsessed after a Tarot reading reveals Bobby Simpson (Nicolle Dickson) will cause the death of one of the Fletchers and remembers the license plate when she begins dreaming of Frank Morgan's (Alex Papps) death in a car accident. Bobby destroys Frank's car after hearing this but the McPhees give Tom Fletcher (Roger Oakley), an anonymous cheque and he buys Frank a new car with an almost identical license plate. Frank has an accident on the day of his wedding while swerving to avoid Bobby but survives. In early 1989, Floss and Neville decide to leave the bay and join their old circus. They sneak away, not wanting a big fuss but their car breaks down and The Fletchers catch them just in time to say a proper goodbye. Just over a decade later, Floss returns to the bay for Sally's ill-fated wedding to Kieran. She tells Sally that Neville died four years previous but lived a good life (the actor Frank Lloyd had died in 1995). In 2002, Summer Bay celebrates its 150th anniversary and Floss predicts the Mirgini disaster after warning Shelley Sutherland (Paula Forrest) against wearing red. Shelly and her daughter, Kirsty (Christie Hayes) are lost at sea for several days. When they are eventually rescued, Floss leaves. Floss returns in 2004 with the travelling circus and reveals to Sally that she is dying of cancer and wants her and her husband Flynn Saunders (Joel McIlroy) to help euthanize her. However, Floss receives news that she is not dying after all. Four years later on the eve of Sally's departure, Floss has a vision of Aden Jefferies (Todd Lasance) in trouble. Aden is found in the crumbling wreck of the collapsing Beachside Diner and safely rushed to hospital. Floss later attends Sally's tribute night at the school before setting off again. ==Reception==

Kennelly received a fan letter from a viewer in Queensland who had read she lived on a farm in the Hunter Region. The letter arrived in less than a week. Floss and her husband Neville were described by Lucy Clark writing for Sydney Morning Herald as "a funny old pair". Her colleague, Robin Oliver branded the pair as "a couple of loveable charlatans." Jason Herbison from All About Soap described Floss stating "you'll have to think very far back to recall Floss - she used to occupy a caravan with her husband Neville." ==References==