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Martha MacKenzie
Martha MacKenzie (also Stewart and Holden) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Jodi Gordon. Martha made her first on-screen appearance on 8 September 1988. She was originally played by Burcin Kapkin. In 2005, the character returned to Home and Away, played by Jodi Gordon. Gordon was a model and she took acting lessons before auditioning for the role. Gordon won a Logie Award for "Most Popular New Female Talent" in 2006 and she earned several more award nominations for her portrayal of Martha. Martha returned on screen on 30 March 2005.
Martha was described as being friendly, feisty and fun loving. Martha's appearance has evolved throughout her time in the show: she was initially a tomboy who loved sport, but she later became a stylish woman. Upon her return in March 2005, Martha's storylines saw her surviving a helicopter crash, having an abortion and a miscarriage, battling alcoholism, being diagnosed with breast cancer and becoming a widow after her husband was shot. In a controversial storyline Martha worked as a pole dancer; the scenes were criticised by the broadcasting regulator for their content. Whilst playing Martha, Gordon was at the center of a number of personal scandals, which put her future in the show in doubt. In January 2010, it was announced that Gordon was leaving the show and Martha departed on 9 June 2010.
The role of Martha was originally played by Burcin Kapkin upon her introduction in 1988. In 2005, the character returned to the show, played by model Jodi Gordon. Gordon took acting lessons before successfully auditioning for the role. Gordon later revealed that she was initially nervous about auditioning due to her lack of acting experience. However, producers gave her two months prior to filming so she could learn her scripts and gain more acting skills. Gordon said, "I'd never done any acting. So I did a few little acting course things and then I kind of fluked the part".
During March 2007, Gordon was written out of the show indefinitely after her partner, Chris Burkhardt, died from cancer. The Home and Away writers had previously rewritten several scripts to allow Gordon to spend as much time as possible with Burkhardt.
In 2009, Gordon became the center of media attention due to a series of scandals in her private life. The serial's home network Channel Seven decided to support Gordon through the ordeals. The scandals cast doubt over whether Gordon would be staying with the serial and it was reported that she wanted to leave Australia for other roles. However, it was later confirmed she would be staying with the show and a spokesperson said, "Jodi is looking forward, not backward, and is hard at work on the set of Home and Away". Gordon was backed by her fellow cast members and fans of her character, who voiced their support for her. At the time Gordon was signed to appear in the serial for another two years after she had signed to a three-year contract.
In January 2010, it was announced that Gordon had decided to leave the show. She asked Channel Seven to release her two years early from her contract. Producers and network executives had urged her to stay with the show because her character was popular with viewers. Gordon said, "I've had a wonderful five years with Channel Seven and Home and Away—it's been an amazing experience to be a part of this incredible show. I've learnt so much." Gordon filmed her final scenes at the end of February. Fellow Actor Ray Meagher who plays Martha's grandfather Alf Stewart backed her decision to leave the show, but said he was sad that his character would be left on-screen without any blood relatives.
Channel Seven described Martha as being "Friendly, straight down the line, and with a great enthusiasm for life", and Jetstar magazine called Martha "a feisty addition to the Stewart family". Gordon described Martha's persona stating: "Martha's pretty feisty all of the time but in the sense of always fighting for what's right and keeping up a strong perspective on where I want to go, things like that." Gordon says that she feels Martha always makes bad choices when it comes to her love life, because she never knows what she wants. Gordon said that Martha is "messed up" but with a "warm side" to her persona, and that overall Martha is "fun loving, easy going girl-next-door" type character. Of her portrayal, Gordon says that she enjoys the challenge of playing Martha because she gets to shout a lot when showing her crazy and fun side. Gordon later said that "There will always be a little bit of trouble attached to Martha. She will always be a little bit mischievous". On the character's appearance, RTÉ said "Martha was a self-confessed tomboy, loving sport and anything physical. Now she has grown into a stylish woman with great taste in clothes which range from shorts and strappy tops to gorgeous summer dresses."
Most of Martha's storylines were central to her on-off relationship with Jack Holden (Paul O'Brien). Viewers saw the couple go through marriage, divorce, a second marriage and Martha being widowed. Holy Soap said that Martha and Jack proved to be one of the "best loved couples", before they married for the first time. However, their marriage does not last long and they split. Martha and Jack start to lead separate lives, but Jack is there for Martha after she has an abortion. Martha is feeling low at this point and kisses him; Jack's girlfriend Sam Tolhurst (Jessica Chapnik) sees this. O'Brien stated: "I think Jack felt like 'Oh this is nice, but I've moved on, I've finally moved on and found someone', but deep down he still wants Martha." Martha is left "shattered" after Jack plans to marry Sam. Martha was caught trying on Sam's wedding dress as she tried to figure out if she still had feelings for Jack. Gordon said that from day one, Jack and Martha have wanted to be together, but "they're never in the same headspace". O'Brien added that he believes Jack was always in love with Martha, even whilst he was in a relationship with Sam. Both O'Brien and Gordon agreed that when Jack and Martha first broke up it was a bad time for Jack, as his life was spiraling out of control, he needed her, but she left him when he needed her the most. They later become friends; O'Brien believed it was hard to understand how Jack could be so forgiving toward her.
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Martha MacKenzie
Martha MacKenzie (also Stewart and Holden) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Jodi Gordon. Martha made her first on-screen appearance on 8 September 1988. She was originally played by Burcin Kapkin. In 2005, the character returned to Home and Away, played by Jodi Gordon. Gordon was a model and she took acting lessons before auditioning for the role. Gordon won a Logie Award for "Most Popular New Female Talent" in 2006 and she earned several more award nominations for her portrayal of Martha. Martha returned on screen on 30 March 2005.
Martha was described as being friendly, feisty and fun loving. Martha's appearance has evolved throughout her time in the show: she was initially a tomboy who loved sport, but she later became a stylish woman. Upon her return in March 2005, Martha's storylines saw her surviving a helicopter crash, having an abortion and a miscarriage, battling alcoholism, being diagnosed with breast cancer and becoming a widow after her husband was shot. In a controversial storyline Martha worked as a pole dancer; the scenes were criticised by the broadcasting regulator for their content. Whilst playing Martha, Gordon was at the center of a number of personal scandals, which put her future in the show in doubt. In January 2010, it was announced that Gordon was leaving the show and Martha departed on 9 June 2010.
The role of Martha was originally played by Burcin Kapkin upon her introduction in 1988. In 2005, the character returned to the show, played by model Jodi Gordon. Gordon took acting lessons before successfully auditioning for the role. Gordon later revealed that she was initially nervous about auditioning due to her lack of acting experience. However, producers gave her two months prior to filming so she could learn her scripts and gain more acting skills. Gordon said, "I'd never done any acting. So I did a few little acting course things and then I kind of fluked the part".
During March 2007, Gordon was written out of the show indefinitely after her partner, Chris Burkhardt, died from cancer. The Home and Away writers had previously rewritten several scripts to allow Gordon to spend as much time as possible with Burkhardt.
In 2009, Gordon became the center of media attention due to a series of scandals in her private life. The serial's home network Channel Seven decided to support Gordon through the ordeals. The scandals cast doubt over whether Gordon would be staying with the serial and it was reported that she wanted to leave Australia for other roles. However, it was later confirmed she would be staying with the show and a spokesperson said, "Jodi is looking forward, not backward, and is hard at work on the set of Home and Away". Gordon was backed by her fellow cast members and fans of her character, who voiced their support for her. At the time Gordon was signed to appear in the serial for another two years after she had signed to a three-year contract.
In January 2010, it was announced that Gordon had decided to leave the show. She asked Channel Seven to release her two years early from her contract. Producers and network executives had urged her to stay with the show because her character was popular with viewers. Gordon said, "I've had a wonderful five years with Channel Seven and Home and Away—it's been an amazing experience to be a part of this incredible show. I've learnt so much." Gordon filmed her final scenes at the end of February. Fellow Actor Ray Meagher who plays Martha's grandfather Alf Stewart backed her decision to leave the show, but said he was sad that his character would be left on-screen without any blood relatives.
Channel Seven described Martha as being "Friendly, straight down the line, and with a great enthusiasm for life", and Jetstar magazine called Martha "a feisty addition to the Stewart family". Gordon described Martha's persona stating: "Martha's pretty feisty all of the time but in the sense of always fighting for what's right and keeping up a strong perspective on where I want to go, things like that." Gordon says that she feels Martha always makes bad choices when it comes to her love life, because she never knows what she wants. Gordon said that Martha is "messed up" but with a "warm side" to her persona, and that overall Martha is "fun loving, easy going girl-next-door" type character. Of her portrayal, Gordon says that she enjoys the challenge of playing Martha because she gets to shout a lot when showing her crazy and fun side. Gordon later said that "There will always be a little bit of trouble attached to Martha. She will always be a little bit mischievous". On the character's appearance, RTÉ said "Martha was a self-confessed tomboy, loving sport and anything physical. Now she has grown into a stylish woman with great taste in clothes which range from shorts and strappy tops to gorgeous summer dresses."
Most of Martha's storylines were central to her on-off relationship with Jack Holden (Paul O'Brien). Viewers saw the couple go through marriage, divorce, a second marriage and Martha being widowed. Holy Soap said that Martha and Jack proved to be one of the "best loved couples", before they married for the first time. However, their marriage does not last long and they split. Martha and Jack start to lead separate lives, but Jack is there for Martha after she has an abortion. Martha is feeling low at this point and kisses him; Jack's girlfriend Sam Tolhurst (Jessica Chapnik) sees this. O'Brien stated: "I think Jack felt like 'Oh this is nice, but I've moved on, I've finally moved on and found someone', but deep down he still wants Martha." Martha is left "shattered" after Jack plans to marry Sam. Martha was caught trying on Sam's wedding dress as she tried to figure out if she still had feelings for Jack. Gordon said that from day one, Jack and Martha have wanted to be together, but "they're never in the same headspace". O'Brien added that he believes Jack was always in love with Martha, even whilst he was in a relationship with Sam. Both O'Brien and Gordon agreed that when Jack and Martha first broke up it was a bad time for Jack, as his life was spiraling out of control, he needed her, but she left him when he needed her the most. They later become friends; O'Brien believed it was hard to understand how Jack could be so forgiving toward her.