Gil and Bobbie Tucker decided to separate after 13 years of marriage in July 1982. Gil spoke to Joel Brady, "I don’t really know exactly what’s going to happen. I’m just taking it day by day. It was Bobbie’s decision and I had to accept it. Just before Christmas (1981) Bobbie decided she’d like a break and she went overseas for about 8 weeks. I had a separate holiday driving around Victoria. When Bobbie came back I imagined that we’d probably get back together.
"But Bobbie felt she’d like a further term of separation, and that’s what happened. It’s been an amicable thing. Our relationship has always been one of trust, you know, and we’ve always loved each other very dearly. It’s not as if we ever really fought about anything. We were married very young – she was 19 and I think I was 23 – and we were children I suppose. We grew up and, for a while, we grew up together. I don’t know perhaps the need we had for each other dwindled. She was very supportive of me in those early years and if it wasn't for her I certainly wouldn’t have got where I am now.
"You can’t live with someone for 13 years and suddenly not feel something for her. We’ll continue to be very close. I still see her from time to time and we still talk, thank goodness. It hasn’t been one of those screaming matches and, in a way, perhaps Bobbie has done me a favor. Since this happened I’ve had a lot of time on my own to think and I’ve realized that perhaps it is something very necessary for me in the sense that I’ve been able to see myself on my own for the first time in 13 years. It’s quite different. I suppose it hasn’t been easy for either of us and I know there have been times when I’ve certainly been very unhappy. But you couldn’t say 'Cop Shop' had broken up our marriage."
On 'Cop Shop', Gil played Constable Roy Baker. Back in May 1982, Gil spoke to Jacqui Johnson, "I don’t think Roy Baker is the best role for me, but I think it’s a great role to do. I wish the public would learn that actors are playing characters. He’s also much younger than I am. I’m 34 and he’s about 24. At drama school we were taught if you were good enough you could do any sort of role. That’s not true because some roles you just don’t look right for.
"When I left school I joined channel Seven in Sydney and worked as a cable boy. Then I went to an advertising agency and into the army. From the moment I started NIDA I realized that’s how I wanted to express myself. During the early years of my career I drove cabs, worked in garages, dug ditches and worked as a waiter. A TV series is a big trap because you’re paid a lot of money.
"People say I’m being safe, but I take risks with my character. If you’re looking at it purely from an acting point of view, most of my work has been comedy and, somehow, people often think if you’re being funny you’re not acting. Acting is generally associated with drama. I admire Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd and Chaplin. Of the more modern actors (at the time) I like Paul Newman, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Jack Nicholson."
Marcia Hines married Andre DeCarpenty in January 1983 was regarded "one of the best-kept secrets in showbusiness." On her honeymoon, Marcia opened up to Garry Shelley, "Gosh, it was hard. I told some terrible lies. But I had to do it that way, or it would have ended up as a circus." It was reported at 7 o'clock in the morning on the day of their wedding, the press showed up outside Marcia's house asking about the wedding.
Marcia maintained, "I do know I belong to the Australian public, but there’s a certain part of me which must stay me. I fight every day for my private life. It must stay as private as I can possibly make it. I said: 'What wedding?' and ducked inside. I eventually got out of the house and down to Darling Point, but true to form the press was already there. I didn’t think there would be so much interest in us. Now (on their honeymoon) we have to settle everything with everyone just so we can go up the street again.
"I'm flabbergasted that so many people were curious. It blows me out, because I didn’t know how famous Marcia Hines was until something like this happened. I could have done without the attention, but I probably would have questioned it had there not been some interest. It’s not a pitfall to be famous, but it does cramp your style every once in a while."
Gil acknowledged, "I think most journalists treat you the way you treat them. I’ve always respected their profession and they’ve respected mine. There’s never very much to write about me. I make it quite open that I’m in the business to create roles. The only difference between me and an accountant is that he carries briefcase. Mind you, I’ve got a briefcase – that’s a bit of a worry."
Marcia met Andre in France. "I am the guy who takes care of the money side – or the costing," Andre said with a French accent.
Marcia recalled, "I didn't like him at all. We didn’t just click. We became very good friends first and then we clicked. I couldn’t have married somebody in the same profession as myself. It will be nice to come home from work and say: 'How was your day?' – rather than know what it was like."
Back in 1981, Marcia mentioned, "Last time I recorded I was 25 – now I’m 27. My style will have changed – not drastically, but hopefully for the better. I’m really frightened about recording – it’s all completely new. For an entertainer not to be able to record is terrible, particularly when you’ve got a successful recording rate as I have. Now it’s more or less like starting again. You tend to lose a lot of confidence when you’re not going into the studio and working."
Of marriage, Marcia offered, "I really believe in marriage – and that’s why I've never been married. I do plan to get married one day – not twice, but once. That's extremely idealisitic of me, but I believe one has to be semi-idealistic in this world, even if not totally. Nobody can tell you whether or not it's (marriage) good or bad; you have to find out for yourself."
"I have told reporters that I don’t like long runs myself and that I generally do feel most TV series do run too long. But I’ve never pointed the finger at any particular series," Lorraine Bayly told the press in June 1982. In 1983, Lorraine starred in the TV series, 'Carson's Law', set in 1925 (after World War I and before the Great Depression). She spoke to Bob Austen, "As Jennifer Carson, I haven’t had the opportunity to wear many nice clothes in 'Carson’s Law', because in the first 3 months of the show, she wore black after her husband’s death.
"Jennifer hasn’t been going out to wear nice clothes, but in the next few months, she’ll be getting out and wearing some glamor outfits. They’re (the 1920s dresses) not waisted garments. I like simple garments that don’t have bows and a severe look about them. I’m not fashion-conscious. I refuse to be dictated to about the clothes I should wear. In fact, I’ll wear the opposite to what fashion trend is in, if it suits me. I feel contented, because it's a good series and it’s an intelligent series, which I think is more important."
Back in 1981, Marcia mentioned, "Last time I recorded I was 25 – now I’m 27. My style will have changed – not drastically, but hopefully for the better. I’m really frightened about recording – it’s all completely new. For an entertainer not to be able to record is terrible, particularly when you’ve got a successful recording rate as I have. Now it’s more or less like starting again. You tend to lose a lot of confidence when you’re not going into the studio and working."
Of marriage, Marcia offered, "I really believe in marriage – and that’s why I've never been married. I do plan to get married one day – not twice, but once. That's extremely idealisitic of me, but I believe one has to be semi-idealistic in this world, even if not totally. Nobody can tell you whether or not it's (marriage) good or bad; you have to find out for yourself."
"I have told reporters that I don’t like long runs myself and that I generally do feel most TV series do run too long. But I’ve never pointed the finger at any particular series," Lorraine Bayly told the press in June 1982. In 1983, Lorraine starred in the TV series, 'Carson's Law', set in 1925 (after World War I and before the Great Depression). She spoke to Bob Austen, "As Jennifer Carson, I haven’t had the opportunity to wear many nice clothes in 'Carson’s Law', because in the first 3 months of the show, she wore black after her husband’s death.
"Jennifer hasn’t been going out to wear nice clothes, but in the next few months, she’ll be getting out and wearing some glamor outfits. They’re (the 1920s dresses) not waisted garments. I like simple garments that don’t have bows and a severe look about them. I’m not fashion-conscious. I refuse to be dictated to about the clothes I should wear. In fact, I’ll wear the opposite to what fashion trend is in, if it suits me. I feel contented, because it's a good series and it’s an intelligent series, which I think is more important."
