The actress who played one half of a legendary Home and Away couple is now 80 and has forged a highly successful career away from TV since leaving the soap 25 years ago

The tragic moment her character suffered a heart attack

An on-screen wife of one of the most iconic Home and Away characters, Alf Stewart, leads a very different life these days after leaving the world of acting behind.

Judy Nunn played Ailsa Stewart, the partner of diner owner Alf (Ray Meagher). She first appeared in the pilot of the long running soap way back in 1988 and continued to feature in the Channel 5 show until 2000, when she was killed off.

Since leaving the show, the 80-year-old has forged a successful career in an entirely different arena, which she first started dabbling with on the set of the Australian series.

When Judy first popped up on our screens in Summer Bay she was dating Alf following the death of his first wife, Martha. Ailsa was the owner of the general store but she was notorious for having murdered her abusive father.

READ MORE: EastEnders legend Steve McFadden addresses Phil Mitchell exit rumours after NTAs triumphREAD MORE: Emmerdale fans in disbelief as heartbreaking Robron scene was improvised by cast

Alf was selling the Summer Bay caravan park because he couldn’t bear to stay after Martha drowned in a boating accident there. Ailsa and Alf got married, much to the disapproval of his daughter Ruth, who disliked her dad’s new love.

Judy along with her onscreen husband Alf was an iconic character

They went on to have an unplanned baby boy, Duncan, and both were involved in plenty of other dramatic storylines, including the appearance of long lost children, their house being destroyed by a mudslide and their diner burning down – standard stuff for a soap.

But Ailsa’s most memorable scene was her unexpected death from a heart attack in 2000 when she collapsed from an undetected condition, leaving her doting husband and son distraught. She briefly popped up as a ghost in 2003 when Alf, who was experiencing a breakdown after his beloved died in his arms, began having visions of his dead wife. It later transpired he had a brain tumour.

That was the last on-screen appearance for Ailsa, and Judy decided to pursue an interest full time that she’s enjoyed on the Home and Away set while she wasn’t involved in any major storylines. She used the downtime to write books and has now turned her hobby into a successful career. She explained to The Morning Show exactly what made her take up the side hussle while acting.

An iconic character from Home and Away now has a very different career(Image: The Morning Show/7NEWS)

“When, for instance, we’re burying somebody or when we’re marrying somebody [on Home and Away], if you’re one of the general collectives, you’ve got to smile and nod a lot and at the funeral you’ve got to cry a lot but basically you’re an extra,” she said. “Sitting around I found that very boring so that’s when I’d write a book.”

Her first children’s book, The Riddle of the Trumpalar, was published in 1981, before she joined the C5 soap. From 1964 she was a leading stage actress before landing her breakthrough TV role in controversial Australian soap The Box as bisexual reporter Vicki Stafford. Judy, who is married to former Hong Kong police inspector and fellow actor and writer Bruce Venables, also appeared in Prisoner and as Dr. Irene Fisher in television serial Sons and Daughters .

Judy, now 80, is looking forward to one of her books being made into a series (Image: The Morning Show/7NEWS)

Having written scripts for hit Aussie soap Neighbours and Possession, she decided to stick to writing novels. After her debut kids’ adventure, she penned three more hit books throughout the eighties and into the early nineties. From 1991 she turned her hand to adult fiction and kept herself extremely occupied writing over 20 Australian period-themed books, many of which are bestsellers. The most recent novel, Stories from the Otto Bin Empire, was published in 2024.

Her entire collection has sold more than three million copies worldwide and her next book Pilbara, is due on October 28, accompanied by a tour of Australia. She currently lives in a beautiful house which overlooks the stunning Brisbane Water on the New South Wales Central Coast and is looking forward to one of her novels being turned into a series.

A big budget movie was discussed first before it was decided the murder mystery was better suited to multiple episodes. “Adding to already exciting times, my 2019 novel Khaki Town looks set to be turned into an international TV miniseries,” she told Woman’s Day. “I’m thrilled. All of this at 80!” she said before revealing that there will be some major names from the world of acting involved in the casting. “We are talking big Hollywood stars and, of course, great Aussie actors,” she added.