Sheila Kennelly

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Sheila Kennelly as Norma in Number 96.

Sheila Kennelly is an Australian actress famous for several television soap opera and comedy roles starting in the 1970s.

She initially became famous in Australia through her role of bubbly barmaid Norma Whittaker in soap opera Number 96. Norma and husband Les (Gordon McDougall) were comedy characters added to the cast of the series a few months after it premiered in 1972, and quickly became two of the show's most popular figures. After a few years, when the ratings of Number 96 went into decline, the writers decided to kill off Les as part of a revamp of the series. It was later judged to have been a mistake and McDougall was returned to the series playing Les's long-lost brother. However this failed to fully recreate the Les and Norma magic and with the show's ratings falling further both characters were finally written out the series shortly before its cancellation in 1977. Kennelly would return for an appearance in the show's final episode a few months later.

Kennelly went on to several other comedy roles including a continuing role in children's comedy Carrots in 1979, and she played the regular role of Bruno's mother Rosa in the last two seasons of Kingswood Country in the early 1980s. In the late 1980s, she played the regular role of Floss in soap opera Home and Away. Floss departed after a couple of years, but after a long absence Kennelly returned for several guest appearances as Floss through the 2000s. She also had a guest starring role in medical drama All Saints in 2002.

Kennelly returned to Home and Away as a regular in 2008.