# Judith McGrath

Judith McGrath (21 April 1947 – 20 October 2017) was an Australian actress. She was known for her roles as Colleen Powell in Prisoner, Matron Gribble in Round the Twist, Bernice Hudson in A Country Practice, and Yvonne 'Von' Ryan in All Saints.

## Biography

McGrath was known for her television roles, including soap operas Prisoner (1979–84), as Deputy Governor/Officer Colleen "Poface" Powell, A Country Practice (1992–93) as hippy Bernice Hudson and for her Logie Award-nominated role in the medical drama All Saints as Nurse Yvonne "Von" Ryan (1998–2009) and her comedy roles in children's series Round the Twist as Matron Cecilia Gribble.
McGrath was known for playing characters with a dry, often sarcastic wit.

## Early life

Born in Brisbane, McGrath began her career at the Brisbane Arts Theatre, and was a member of Twelfth Night Theatre under artistic director Joan Whalley. She also played Grace in the 1969 film Age of Consent.

## Career

McGrath is probably best known to international audiences for her role in the cult Network Ten series Prisoner as fair-minded but sarcastic Deputy Governor Colleen" Poface" Powell. Initially a minor character, appearing in 12 episodes in the first two series (1979–80), she became a permanent cast member in 1981 and went on to appear in a total of 263 episodes. She chose to leave the series, taping her final scenes in December 1983. Her farewell episode aired in May 1984 during the show's sixth season.
After leaving Prisoner, McGrath appeared in guest roles in Neighbours in 1985 and The Flying Doctors in 1986 and 1988, before appearing in the first series of the children's television show Round The Twist in 1989, playing Matron Gribble. She went on to be a regular cast member on A Country Practice as Bernice Hudson from 1992 until 1993.
McGrath played the long-running role of Yvonne "Von"' Ryan in television medical drama series All Saints on Network Seven from its debut in 1998, opposite co-star Georgie Parker. She was the only original cast member to stay with the series until it concluded in late 2009.

## Death

McGrath died at a hospice in Brisbane at the age of 70 from lung cancer on 20 October 2017.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1969 | Age of Consent | Brisbane Girl - Grace (as Judy McGrath) | Feature film |
| 1986 | Backstage | Hotel Receptionist | Feature film |
| 2005 | Fink | Centrelink Woman | Feature film |
| 2010 | Scone Wars | Mavis Hepstead | Film short |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Bluey | Mrs. Thompson | Season 1, episode 22 (guest) |
| 1977, 1980 | Young Ramsay | Rosemary Billings | Season 1, episode 8 / Season 2, episode 5 (guest) |
| 1978–80 | Cop Shop | Mrs. Bond | Season 1, episode 23 (guest) |
| 1978–80 | Cop Shop | Leila Foley | Season 2, episode 22 (guest) |
| 1978–80 | Cop Shop | Jane Hardy | Season 2–3 (recurring, 4 episodes) |
| 1978–80 | Cop Shop | Eve Fleming | Season 3, episodes 59 & 60 (guest) |
| 1978 | The Sullivans | Miss Harvey | Unknown season (recurring, 4 episodes) |
| 1979 | Skyways | Mrs. Mason | Unknown season (guest, 2 episodes) |
| 1979 | Skyways | Dr. Mendelshon | Unknown season (guest, 2 episodes) |
| 1979 | Skyways | Zoe Lawrence | Unknown season (guest, 1 episode) |
| 1979–84 | Prisoner | Colleen Powell | Seasons 1–3 (recurring, 31 episodes) Seasons 3–6 (main role, 232 episodes) |
| 1984 | Special Squad | June Holgate | Season 1, episode 26 (guest) |
| 1985 | Neighbours | Margaret Haywood | Season 1, episodes 67 & 68 (guest) |
| 1986, 1988 | The Flying Doctors | Cynthia Cumberland-Brown | Season 1, episode 18 (guest) |
| 1986, 1988 | The Flying Doctors | Caroline Longley | Season 3, episode 22 (guest) |
| 1986 | Sword of Honour | Dietician | Miniseries (episode 4) |
| 1987 | Willing and Abel | (unknown role) | Season 1 (unknown episodes) |
| 1987 | Camera Script | | episode "Second Star On The Right" |
| 1989 | Round the Twist | Matron Gribble | Season 1 (main role, 9 episodes) |
| 1992–93 | A Country Practice | Bernice Hudson | Seasons 12–13 (main role, 149 episodes) |
| 1995 | Police Rescue | Hazel | Season 4, episode 3 (guest) |
| 1996 | Naked: Stories of Men | Margaret | Season 1, episode 3 (main role) |
| 1998–2009 | All Saints | Yvonne 'Von' Ryan | Seasons 1–12 (main role, 493 episodes) |
| 2011–12 | Winners & Losers | Maria Crawley | Seasons 1–2 (recurring, 3 episodes) |

### Other appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1982 | Telethon 1982 | Herself – Guest | TV special |
| 1992 | The Main Event | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |
| 1994 | Day to Day | Herself – Guest | TV series (1 episode) |
| 2001–02 | The Weakest Link | Herself | TV series (2 episodes) |
| 2007 | Channel 7 Telethon | Herself | TV special |
| 2011 | Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation | Herself | TV series (1 episode) |