Cathy Alessi
| Cathy Alessi | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Neighbours character | |||||||
| Portrayed by | Elspeth Ballantyne | ||||||
| Duration | 1992–1993 | ||||||
| First appearance | 29 July 1992 | ||||||
| Last appearance | 4 August 1993 | ||||||
| Introduced by | Don Battye | ||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||
| Profile | |||||||
| Occupation | Coffee Shop owner and manager (1992–1994) | ||||||
| Home | Sydney | ||||||
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| Husband | Benito Alessi |
|---|---|
| Sons |
Marco Alessi Rick Alessi |
| Daughters | Lindsay Steiner |
Catherine "Cathy" Alessi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Elspeth Ballantyne. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 29 July 1992 and remained until her departure on 4 August 1993.
The Alessi family were introduced in 1992 following the announced departures of several regular characters. The family were the first "truly ethnic" group to be introduced into the cast. Following her stint as Meg Morris in Prisoner, Ballantyne took eight years off of television to concentrate on theatre work. She then received the role of Cathy Alessi and revealed she could not turn it down. Ballantyne told David Nicholls of Inside Soap "I had a wry smile on my face when I read about the character of Cathy Alessi. She has two teenage sons, one just out of school and one still in school, and that's a very similar situation to my own." Ballantyne's character became popular with viewers in Australia and the actress said Cathy had some good storylines coming up, so she hoped she would become as popular as Meg. Within a year, the entire Alessi family had left, leaving only Rick (Dan Falzon) behind.
When Cathy became broody around Phoebe Bright (Simone Robertson) and decided to try for another baby, it emerged that she had once had a child adopted out. Cathy conceived while she was dating her future husband Benito (George Spartels). She gave birth to a daughter shortly after her 16th birthday. The news shocked Cathy's son, Marco (Felice Arena), who had always thought he was the oldest. He was also hurt because he considered his mother to be his best friend. Marco decided to embark on a search for his sister and the adoption agency tracked her down, but she did not want to make contact with the family. Cathy and Benito believed that the matter was at an end, but a young woman began following Marco and later revealed herself to be his sister, Lindsay (Jane Longhurst). While Marco was pleased to meet Lindsay, she was angry and accused him of ruining her life. Cathy and Benito later came face-to-face with Lindsay. Arena enjoyed filming the storyline and praised Ballantyne and Spartels.
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