Sunshine & SLEUTHING

GRETA SCACCHI on the joys of making her popular crime drama in Australia

- ELAINE REILLY

Australia holds a special place in Greta Scacchi's heart.

'I was born in Italy, moved to England when I was five and then, at 15, moved to Australia. When I arrived in Perth and started school there, I felt I belonged for the first time, and I became an Australian citizen,' shares the actor, 65, who returned to the UK in 1977 to study at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and now lives back in Sussex, where she spent her childhood.

So the award-winning star, who made her name in films such as Heat and Dust (1983) and Presumed Innocent (1990), is 'thrilled' to now be starring in cosy Queensland-set whodunnit Darby and Joan.

One of the sun-soaked jewels in a wave of drama imports from Down Under that have been impressing viewers over the past few years, the first series, which landed on Acorn TV in 2022, followed Greta's character, sharp-witted English nurse Joan Kirkhope, as she travelled to Australia to investigate her husband's suspicious death.

But she soon crossed paths with gruff native Jack Darby (Cocktail's Bryan Brown), a retired cop who'd headed to the outback for a change of scene, and the pair found themselves solving a string of mysteries. Now, the second outing, which started streaming on Acorn TV last year, arrives on free-to-air U&Drama this week.