# Colette Mann

Colette Mann (born 17 February 1950) is an Australian actress, singer, TV and radio presenter, choreographer, writer and media personality. She has been in the entertainment industry for over 50 years.
Mann appeared in two Grundy Organisation TV series, the prison drama Prisoner as Doreen May Anderson Burns, between 1979 and 1984 and later in Neighbours from 2012 to February 2022 as Sheila Canning. She had previously appeared in the latter series in 1995 in an eight-week role.
She has appeared also in The Flying Doctors and Blue Heelers television series and the 2000 film The Dish. She has written two books and had a column in New Idea magazine.

## Life and career
### Early life

Mann was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and trained at a local Melbourne dancing school as a child until about 19 or 20, and then went to a professional dance school and trained under Betty Pounder, a choreographer for J. C. Williamson Theatre Ltd, and obtained an arts degree in law at university and taught at a secondary school.

### Television acting career

In her first high-profile role, Mann appeared in the Network Ten soap opera Prisoner as Doreen Burns, in which she was an original cast member during the first four seasons (1979–1982). Mann resigned from the role in March 1982 to pursue other projects and her final episode (episode 304) was broadcast in August 1982. She did however make guest appearances in 1983 and 1984.
She has appeared in The Flying Doctors, MDA and Blue Heelers. In 1988, Mann portrayed the role of "Edith Fraser" in the American television movie Outback Bound, which also starred American actors Donna Mills and John Schneider. From late 1995, Mann briefly took over the role of Cheryl Stark in the soap opera Neighbours for eight weeks when Caroline Gillmer was taken ill. From February 2012, Mann joined the cast of Neighbours again as regular character Sheila Canning. In February 2022 she had permanently left the show.

### After Neighbours

Mann has appeared for numerous Screen Star Events in the UK. In 2023 she appeared at the Screen Star 15 year event alongside Tammy MacIntosh and Jacquie Brennan.
Mann revealed in an interview in 2022 with Talking Prisoner that during the filming for series 7 of Wentworth she had a cameo alongside Val Lehman and Fiona Spence as the series at the time had not been formally renewed for its final series, she said that they filmed their cameo for the final episode of series 7 but the scene was not used in the scenes that went to air.

### Presenter

Mann has been a presenter on the TV shows The Don Lane Show, Hey Hey It's Saturday, What's Cooking, Good Morning Australia and The Circle. She has been a fill-in presenter for Glenn Ridge on talk back radio MTR 1377. She also appeared on Jeremy Vine Channel 5 in July 2019.
Mann was part of a three-woman troupe in the 1980s called the Mini Busettes with fellow Prisoner actresses Jane Clifton and Betty Bobbitt. They performed for three seasons at Melbourne's Le Joke comedy venue and at many Sydney league clubs.

### Theatre

Mann was a member of the original Australian cast of Godspell in 1971. She performed the song "Turn Back, O'Man".
Mann played the role of Buttercup in Opera Australia's production of HMS Pinafore by Gilbert and Sullivan in 2005. Mann also appeared on stage as Shirley, the battleaxe owner of Broken Hill pub, in Priscilla Queen of the Desert - the Musical in 2010.
In 2023, Mann joined the pantomime in the UK for Beauty and The Beast for its 2023 season.

## Author

Mann has written two books, It's A Mann's World (1990) and Give Me A Break (2002), and also writes for New Idea magazine as a feature writer about her family and sons.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Type |
| 1974 | Between Wars | Student in Revue | Feature film |
| 1982 | Kitty and the Bagman | Doris de Salle | Feature film |
| 2000 | The Dish | Betty the Bush Poet | Feature film |
| 2009 | Just Desserts | Frances | Film short |
| 2013 | By a Loved One | Mother | Film short |
| 2014 | Grace Under Water | Toni | Film short |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1974 | The Champion | | TV movie |
| 1978 | Cop Shop | Chris | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1979–1984 | Prisoner | Doreen Anderson / Doreen Burns / Doreen | TV series, regular cast (seasons 1 & 4), recurring (seasons 5-6) |
| 1979 | The Franky Doyle Story | Doreen Anderson | TV movie |
| 1981 | Prisoner in Concert | Doreen Burns | TV special |
| 1988 | Always Afternoon | Doreen | TV miniseries, 1 episode |
| 1988 | Outback Bound | Edith Fraser | TV movie |
| 1991 | The Flying Doctors | Trisha / Grace | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Stark | Dixie | TV miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1994 | The Man from Snowy River: The McGregor Saga | Mrs. Carney | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1995 | The Client | Lorraine | TV series US, 1 episode: "Child's Play" |
| 1995–1996 | Neighbours | Cheryl Stark | TV series, 23 episodes |
| 1997 | JAG | E.R. nurse | TV series, 1 episode: "Ghosts" |
| 1999 | Party of Five | Nurse | TV series, 1 episode: "Fate, Hope and Charity" |
| 2002 | History's Mysteries | Re-enactor | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2003 | MDA | Daphne Lowe | TV series, 1 episode: "A Time and a Place" |
| 2003 | Blue Heelers | Denise Pertucci | TV series, 1 episode: "Motherhood" |
| 2005 | H.M.S. Pinafore | Little Buttercup | TV special |
| 2010 | Sleuth 101 | Ann | TV series, 1 episode: "Late and Live" |
| 2012–2022 | Neighbours | Sheila Canning | TV series, regular cast, 1248 episodes |
| 2016 | Neighbours: Summer Stories | Sheila Canning | Web series |
| 2017 | Neighbours vs Time Travel | Sheila Canning | Web series |
| 2019 | Wentworth | New Inmate (cameo) | Season 7, episode 10 (scene deleted) |
| 2021; 2022 | Fisk | Mrs Popovitch / Irm | 2 episodes |

### Other appearances

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1992 | The Main Event | Contestant | TV series, 1 episode |
| 1995 | Sale of the Century: Battle of the TV Classics | Contestant | TV series, 4 episodes |
| 1997 | Frontline | Herself | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2006 | Temptation | Contestant (with Val Lehman) | TV series, 1 episode |
| 2007–2011 | 20 to 1 | Self | 15 episodes |
| 2016 | All Star Family Feud | Contestant (with Val Lehman) | TV series, 1 episode |