Everything you always wanted to know about The Flying Doctors. Dedicated to Lenore Smith and Christopher Stollery.
 

Flying Doctors in the Netherlands

Lenore Smith and Christopher Stollery highly pleased with the Silver Televizier Tulip Award

Source: Televizier, Dutch TV Guide, 1992

Lenore Smith and Christopher Stollery, also known as nurse Kate and pilot Johnno of the Australian television series The Flying Doctors, came to the Netherlands especially for the presentation of the first Silver Televizier Tulip. ‘What nice people,' Lenore and Christopher said after their visit. And that feeling is totally mutual.

With vast majority The Flying Doctors was voted the best foreign television series of the year by the readers of Televizier (Dutch TV guide). ‘Quite an honour,' Lenore Smith says. ‘We used to come in second after Neighbours in Australia. That’s why we are incredibly surprised to be so popular in the Netherlands.' Christopher Stollery: ‘I often wondered why Australian series are so successful here. I think it’s mostly due to the contrast: Australia is warm and dry; the Netherlands are wet and cold. Australia is so far away, so different.' ‘And I think,' Lenore says, ‘the Dutch and the Australians have a special bond. They really get along.'

The fact that popularity has its dark sides, doesn’t seem to bother the couple. With a radiant smile and endless patience Lenore and Christopher, together for two years already, subject themselves to all obligations and attention. From TV studio to dinner party, from press conference to fan club day. Everything is ‘nice,' ‘great,' ‘touching’ and ‘wonderful.' ‘We are looking forward to a few months of vacation. Just taking a break,' Lenore says. ‘We are going to tour Europe by car for a while. Italy, Spain, England, we’ll see where we get. I need time to rest and to get out of the role of Kate. I have been Kate every week for six years on; I worked very hard under difficult circumstances. The Flying Doctors ruled a substantial part of my life. I have to get away from that for a while.'

The series already stopped in Australia, but we can still enjoy an entire season of episodes through VARA television. Would Lenore want to go back? ‘Ah, it all depends. Maybe I would, but Chris definitely wouldn’t.' Stollery: ‘I have played the part of Johnno for eight months. That’s enough for me. It was my first television role and I learned a lot from it. But I prefer the theatre. I want to play different parts every time, to do different things, to see the audience. I toured with the Shakespeare Company on three productions and amongst others I played the role of Hamlet.' Lenore is also busy with theatre productions. She toured with David Reyne, Guy in The Flying Doctors, and others. ‘There will be more theatre productions and there may be a mini series but just for now I don’t even think about it. First I want to unwind.'

While Lenore enthusiastically submits herself to make-up and pictures for hours (‘shall I wear my evening gown?’ and ‘What earrings?’), Christopher, dazed with all the attention, is shooting pictures and video himself. Lenore doesn’t mind at all being addressed as Kate. ‘Oh no, you get used to that. Even on the set we sometimes addressed each other by our role names. You shouldn’t forget that I more or less grew up in these series. Six years is a long time. Not that Kate and I are so much alike. Kate is a country girl, used to living in the outback. I am more of a city person. We live in Sydney, a fantastic city. I think it is easier when you are settled and have kids like Kate. You can see that Kate developed herself greatly. From the country girl she has grown out to a woman with large responsibilities. But there are definitely things I would never do. And then that sloth, that hesitation, when she and Geoff fell in love. I am definitely faster.' And less cattish? ‘Oh yes. On a certain moment the writers thought that Kate became too nice. In the time she had the baby, they made her a bit annoyed and irritated. In my eyes they took it a bit too far. They didn’t know what to do with Kate and the baby. When there were ideas about a baby I even asked them: "Are you sure? Because a lot of things will change in that case." But they said: "Oh no. We have enough ideas. It will turn out all right." But they didn’t know that of course. The moral was another problem. Should a mother work or not? It was more or less a relief to me. I wouldn’t be so busy anymore and I kind of needed that. But on the other hand Kate’s role became rather dull.'

In the mean time Christopher appeared in the series. ‘We met a few weeks before he joined The Flying Doctors. We became good friends and started dating soon. But there were weird moments of course. E.G. the love scenes from Johnno and Rowie or when I was in bed with Geoff. We weren’t jealous or anything but it was just very strange. You have never been jealous, have you darling?’ ‘Me? Of Robert? Oh no. But as soon as the scene was over,' Christopher says with a huge grin, ‘I had to hold Lenore for a while, because it was a bit strange.'

Johnno is a somewhat silent, serious man. Just like you? ‘He is more superficial, not so complicated. A free out-of-town bloke. A man like many in Australia. A difficult part, especially in the beginning. There were more functional actions than a real role. Later on Johnno got more screen time as a character. The character has been through a lot of changes.'

We know now for a fact that the plane that Johnno flies doesn’t actually leave the ground, but can you fly? ‘A long while before I joined the series a girlfriend of mine gave me a flying lesson for my birthday. Quite foreseeing, I may add. I enjoyed it and took more lessons afterwards. And when I joined The Flying Doctors a few more. The plane you see in the series is nothing more than a prop. It is incredibly primitive. Lights blink and a few people push it back and forth. It is amazing how they fool you with something like that.'

On the program there is a boat tour on the Amsterdam canals. After that a rehearsal for the Televizier Award Show. On Sunday there is a fan club day in Nijmegen. ‘Oh,' Lenore says, ‘Tell the fans I think of them. I have piles of mail. But I write everyone back!’

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Lenore and Christopher