Ella Scott Lynch played Hayley Rose Smith on Home and Away from September to November 2005, and even though she was only there for three months, her performance solidified her place in our memory.
Rebecca Cartwright, an actor, had played the part for seven years before Ella took over in the fall of 2005 after Rebecca quit the show for personal reasons.
Ella stepped into the role with ease while she was away, and the characters Scott Hunter (Kip Gamblin) and Kim Hyde (played by none other than Thor actor Chris Hemsworth) even engaged in a hot love triangle.
However, Ella bore no physical similarity to Hayley’s initial appearance, so neither the cast nor the viewers at home could entirely adjust to the dramatic casting shift.
Gordon Farrer of The Age wrote about the move at the time, describing how challenging it was for the actors and viewers to adjust to a new actress in the part.
While still wearing the medical uniform, he observed, “she’s now a redhead with a completely different nose, and… you want to leap up and shout at the television, “SHE’S AN IMPOSTER, MATE, DON’T GET SUCKED IN, SHE’S UP TO NO GOOD”.”
Gordon acknowledged that it was a difficult transition to accept and equated it to going “mad,” likening the change to something more akin to the US soap opera Days of Our Lives.
After only three months on our screens, Ella quickly moved on from the part of Hayley to explore other endeavours, which included a number of TV and movie roles, including Charlotte’s Web and Monkey Puzzle.
She switched to a new drama role, though, when she was cast as nurse Claire Anderson in the medical drama All Saints in 2008, a position she played for two seasons.
She was interestingly reunited with Kip Gamblin, her Home and Away co-star, who once again co-starred with her, much to the joy of viewers at home, while playing this role.
Ella has had important appearances in the television series Love Child, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and NCIS Los Angeles.
Ella experimented with more comic parts in addition to her dramatic ones when she participated in Tim Minchin’s comedy series Upright from 2019 to 2022.
Toby Schmitz’s daughter Ziggy and son Ezra, who was born in 2021, are two of Ella’s gorgeous children, whom she has been parenting in addition to her professional activities.
Ella posted the following on social media when Ezra was first born to announce his happy arrival: “He fell to Earth at 4.24am on 15/6/21, 2 weeks earlier than expected, narrowly missing Donald Trump’s birthday by 4 hours,” she started.
He has already helped so many people, including a mother who didn’t think a delivery like his was possible.
“We are grateful that you trusted us to care for you, long toed baby alien. You are already cherished and have returned home.
She is currently dating Ezra’s proud father and adoring step-dad Steve Toulmin, a composer and sound designer who also has Ziggy as a stepchild.
