| The Henderson Kids | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Drama |
| Written by | Roger Moulton |
| Directed by | Paul Moloney |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 12 per season |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | Birregurra, Victoria |
| Running time | 50 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | Network Ten |
The Henderson Kids was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for Network Ten between 1985 and 1987. It was created and storylined by Roger Moulton, who also wrote 5 episodes in the first series and 2 episodes in the second series.
The series follows a teenage brother and sister, Steve (Paul Smith) and Tamara (Nadine Garner). They are forced to leave the city and move to the country to live with their uncle Mike (Nicholas Eadie) after their mother Alice (Diane Craig) is hit by a truck and killed. Mike is a police officer in the fictional town of Haven Bay.
The Henderson kids making a new life in Haven Bay and making friends with the local gang. They were Ted Morgan (Ben Mendelsohn), Colin "Cowboy" Clarke (Mark Hennessy), Charlotte "Char" Kernow (Kylie Minogue) and Brian "Brains" Buchanan (Bradley Kilpatrick).
Steve and Tamara defend the family land, Hendersons' Point, against the schemes of ruthless businessman Ashley Wheeler (Peter Whitford). To compound matters, Steve falls in love with Wheeler's gorgeous daughter Sylvia (Annie Jones).
Several well known actors played guest roles in the series. They included Tottie Goldsmith, Kevin Harrington, Peter O'Brien, Stefan Dennis, and Jane Hall who, like Minogue, Kilpatrick and Jones, went on to appear in Neighbours. Antoinette Byron also had a role in the series.
The Haven Bay set footage was filmed in Birregurra, Victoria.
A second series, set in the fictional bayside suburb of Westport followed in 1987. This had Steve and Tamara living in the city again, with their father Walter "Wal" Mullens (Michael Aitkens). They had a new gang of friends, including Vincent "Vinnie" Cerantonio (Alex Papps), twins Carol (Anita Cerdic) and Marty Summers (Nathan Croft), and Brian "Brains" Buchanan, a holdover from the original series.
The Westport footage was filmed in Williamstown, Melbourne.
Nadine Garner won a TV Week Logie Award in 1985, and a Television Society of Australia Penguin Award (1987) for her portrayal of Tamara ("Tam") Henderson.
A total of 24 episodes were produced. In 2007 Madman Entertainment released two 3-DVD sets of the series: The Henderson Kids (series one) and The Henderson Kids II. The DVD extras are a 13-minute TV promo for series 1 on the first The Henderson Kids DVD set and a short "goof reel" from series two on the The Henderson Kids II DVD set.