Australia’s ‘first reality TV star’ Noeline Donaher found dead

Noeline Donaher, best known as the star of Australian real-life soap opera Sylvania Waters, has died.

Donaher has enjoyed a quiet life away from the spotlight since filming the reality TV series in 1992.

She is believed to have passed away in May 2023, with her partner Laurie’s son Mick announcing the news on a Facebook group at the time.

‘Dad has asked me to share with you all… the sad news that Noeline Donaher, his partner 40 years, recently passed away,’ he wrote.

Sylvania Waters followed the family life of Noeline and partner Laurie Donaher, who lived in the wealthy Sydney suburb of the same name.

The series also featured her teenage son Michael, his older brother Paul, who lived nearby with pregnant girlfriend Dione, as well as Laurie’s son Mick, daughter-in-law Yvette and their two small daughters.

When originally screened in Australia and Britain, the series raised controversy over claims that it pandered to British stereotypes of Australians and set up Noeline as a target.

The show was filmed months in advanced, with 12 episodes created.

Sylvania Waters screened in the UK in 1993 and one critic claimed it was ‘Neighbours gone mad, Home and Away on drugs’.

The Sydney Morning Herald at the time argued the series was pandering to ‘every British preconception about Aussies’.

Noeline tried to fight the backlash by doing talk shows and writing her own book, The Sylvania Waters Diary.

She also released a single called ‘No Regrets’ before eventually stepping out of the spotlight.