Cassie Turner | |||||||||||
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Home and Away character | |||||||||||
Portrayed by | Sharni Vinson | ||||||||||
Duration | 2005–2008 | ||||||||||
First appearance | 18 March 2005 | ||||||||||
Last appearance | 2 April 2008 | ||||||||||
Introduced by | Julie McGauran | ||||||||||
Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||
Profile | |||||||||||
Occupation | Student at Summer Bay High School (2005–2007) Waitress |
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Home | Phuket | ||||||||||
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Daughters | Summer Rose Turner |
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Grandmothers | Joy Turner |
Uncles | Ben Foxton |
Aunts | Pauline Bennett |
First cousins |
Carla Bennett Liam Bennett |
Cassandra "Cassie" Turner is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Sharni Vinson. She debuted on-screen during an episode that aired on 18 March 2005. Vinson originally auditioned for the role of Martha MacKenzie (Jodi Gordon), but later secured the role of Cassie. She admitted it was a challenge to portray a character six years her junior who was still attending school. Cassie's backstory reveals that she was abused as a child by her uncle. However, her characterisation is out of conjunction with the usual victims of such crimes. She is portrayed as "fiercely independent and headstrong" female who has a knack for "winning friends and influencing people". Cassie is popular with the serial's male characters, while her allure also broadened off-screen to male viewers. Cassie is given a foster family when Sally Fletcher (Kate Ritchie) and Flynn Saunders (Joel McIlroy) take her into their home.
Cassie has featured in various romance storylines; in one she begins a relationship with Macca MacKenzie (Trent Baines). The serial decided to portray as domestic abuse through the two characters. Cassie was seen pushing those closest to her away, while Macca continued his abuse. Vinson also visited females with the virus as part of the research process. The storyline was well received by carriers of the virus and Vinson said it was a "big moment" in her acting career. Vinson has received one Logie Award nomination for her portrayal of Cassie. In 2007, Vinson decided to leave Home and Away because of personal commitments. Cassie departed screens on 2 April 2008, when she left to go travelling.
Sharni Vinson appeared in Home and Away in 2001 and 2003, as guest characters named Tonya and Summer respectively. In 2004, Vinson's agent submitted her to audition for the role of Martha MacKenzie. Vinson received a re-call for the role and was also handed scripts for another character, Cassie Turner. However, fellow actress Jodi Gordon went on to secure the role of Martha. Vinson said she wanted to play Martha because she was characterised as a tomboy, a trait which Vinson attributes to herself. Soon after, Vinson signed up to play Cassie. Vinson was twenty one at the time, while Cassie was portrayed as a fifteen-year-old student. Vinson later described the experience as "such a stretch" because she "well out of school and then I was back into a school uniform, with the pigtails, no makeup, playing this real young character." In her first few months on-screen, producers decided to cast Todd Lasance as Aden Jefferies. Aden was introduced as a new boyfriend for Cassie and was planned to heavily feature in her early storylines.