"Home and Away" is an Australian television soap opera.
 It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988.
 The following is a list of characters that first appeared in that year, by order of first appearance.
 They were all introduced by the show's executive producer Alan Bateman who oversaw the serial before being succeeded by series producer Des Monaghan whose episodes first began airing in November.
 Sixteen of the original eighteen regular characters debuted in the pilot episode.
 The Fletcher family consisting of Frank Morgan, Tom and Pippa Fletcher, Carly Morris, Steven Matheson, Sally Keating and Lynn Davenport were introduced first.
 Summer Bay residents Alf Stewart, Floss and Neville McPhee, Bobby Simpson, Donald Fisher, Ailsa Hogan, Martin Dibble, Lance Smart and Matt Wilson also made their debuts.
 They were soon joined by Alf's daughter Roo and sister, Celia.
 In March, Lyn Collingwood arrived as Lance's mother, Colleen.
 The same month, Liddy Clark began playing Kerry Barlow and Amanda Newman-Phillips joined the cast as Narelle Smart.
 In April, Gerry Sont began playing Brett Macklin, a love interest for Roo.
 Barbara Stephens and Cornelia Frances arrived in June as Alf's other sisters Barbara Stewart and Morag Bellingham, respectively.
 July saw Simon Kay enter as Donald and Barbara's son Alan Fisher.
 Gavin Harrison began playing Revhead in August and was soon followed by John Morris as Philip Matheson.
 That month saw the serial's first birth Christopher Fletcher, son of the established Tom and Pippa.
 Another birth occurred in September, Martha Stewart, daughter of Roo and Brett.
 Sandie Lillingston joined the cast in the same episode as Brett's sister, Stacey and in November, George Leppard guested as Al Simpson.
Until Tomorrow (1975) was an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson.
 The series was produced in colour by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network in 1975.
 It was the second soap opera made by the Reg Grundy Organisation, the first having been "Class of '74".
 It is notable for having been made in Brisbane as opposed to Sydney or Melbourne, and was one of the few Australian soap operas produced for a daytime slot.
Steven "Stevo" Matheson is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera "Home and Away", played by Adam Willits.
 Steven was created by Alan Bateman as one of the serial's original characters and he first appeared in the pilot episode.
 Willits received the role after being one of over three hundred actors to audition for the roles of the serial's foster children.
 He was a regular cast member from 1988 to 1991 and again between 1995 and 1996.
 He has continued to make guest appearances in from 1997 until 2008.
 Steven is characterised in his early years by his quiet and studious persona, he later becomes problematic as he grows older.
 His main storylines have focused on his early tragedies in which his family die, bullying, his first kiss with Narelle Smart (Amanda Newman-Phillips) and his on/off relationship with Selina Roberts (Tempany Deckert).
 Critics of the serial have favoured his appearance and have subsequently branded him a "heart-throb" because of his good looks.
 Others have commented that he grew up quickly on-screen and eventually become a problematic character.
Colleen Stewart (also Hickey and Smart) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera "Home and Away", played by Lyn Collingwood.
 The character debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 7 March 1988.
 She was introduced as a recurring character by producer Alan Bateman.
 She served as comic relief and busybody from 1988.
 She returned briefly in 1997 before returning as a regular on 23 September 1999 until January 2013.
 Colleen has been portrayed as the serial's "local gossip", a role that been well received by certain critics.
 Many storylines have centered on her over protective nature towards her son Lance Smart.
 Collingwood revealed that she often pitched storylines for Colleen in the hope they would play out on-screen.
 Collingwood decided to leave the series in January 2012 and Colleen departed on 23 May 2012.
 She made a brief return from 27 November 2012 and officially departed on 24 January 2013.
Frank Jonathan Morgan is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera "Home and Away", played by Alex Papps.
 Frank debuted on-screen in the serial's pilot episode and was the first character to appear.
 Frank is one of the five foster children of Pippa (Vanessa Downing) and Tom Fletcher (Roger Oakley) who move to Summer Bay to begin a new life.
 The serial's creator Alan Bateman thought of the idea while observing the locals of a rural town in New South Wales opposing the idea of foster children living in the area.
 Papps was cast into the role and immediately began receiving fan mail.
 Frank has been played by actors Bradley Pilato and Michael Scilusa during flashback sequences.
Roberta "Bobby" Marshall (née Simpson; previously Morgan) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera "Home and Away", played by Nicolle Dickson.
 She was introduced in the pilot episode by executive producer Alan Bateman.
 Nearly four hundred actresses auditioned to play Bobby, with Dickson taking the role.
 Bobby is described as a trouble-making teen who is rebellious and a loner.
 Bobby became a popular character because of her confronting attitude.
 Bobby's story lines have focused on finding her biological parents, her feud with Roo Stewart, adoption and her marriage to foster brother Frank Morgan.
 Bobby's marriage to Frank was only implemented when script writers were sure viewers approved of it.
 At certain points in Bobby's duration, Dickson disapproved of her actions, for instance she became frustrated with her because she decided to find her biological parents without thinking about her foster parents' feelings.
 Dickson decided to leave the serial in 1993, and the character was subsequently killed off in a boat accident.
 In 1995 Dickson made a cameo appearance when Ailsa Stewart has hallucinations of Bobby in her fridge door.
 Dickson has received a Logie Award for her portrayal of Bobby and she has been referred to as a "Summer Bay icon".
George Mason is a New Zealand film and television actor.
 He secured his first role in the feature film "50 Ways of Saying Fabulous" when he was thirteen years old.
 After deciding to pursue acting full-time, Mason appeared as Regan Ames in "Shortland Street" in 2011, before making appearances in "Tangiwai: A Love Story", "Top of the Lake" and "3 Mile Limit".
 In 2013, Mason starred as Ted Keegan in the fifth season of "Go Girls" and he had a supporting role in crime drama "The Blue Rose".
 The following year, he joined the cast of "Home and Away" as Martin Ashford.
William Augustus 'Bill' Bateman (11 September 1866 – 27 July 1935) was a businessman, an Australian sportsman who played first-class cricket for Western Australia and Australian rules football in the Western Australian Football Association (WAFA).
 He was the captain of the Swans Football Club - the first Australian Rules Football team in Western Australia.
 He came from one of the founding families of Western Australia and his grandson Alan Bateman created the TV soap Home and Away.
Home and Away (often abbreviated as H&A) is an Australian television soap opera.
 It was created by Alan Bateman and commenced broadcast on the Seven Network on 17 January 1988.
 Bateman came up with the concept of the show during a trip to Kangaroo Point, New South Wales, where he noticed locals were complaining about the construction of a foster home and against the idea of foster children from the city living in the area.
 The soap opera was initially going to be called "Refuge", but the name was changed to the "friendlier" title of "Home and Away" once production began.
 The show premiered with a ninety-minute pilot episode (subsequently in re-runs known as "Home and Away: The Movie").
 Since then, each subsequent episode has aired for a duration of twenty-two minutes and "Home and Away" has become the second longest-running drama series in Australian television.
 In Australia, it is currently broadcast from Mondays to Thursdays at 7:00 pm.
Martin "Ash" Ashford is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera "Home and Away", played by George Mason.
 The character made his first screen appearance on 27 October 2014.
 When Mason auditioned he believed Ash to be a "great character" and moved from Melbourne to accept the role.
 Ash is characterised as a tough, ex-prisoner who has a backstory of criminal activity.
 He was sent to prison after committing a robbery with Dean Sanderson (Kevin Kiernan-Molloy), but he framed Ash as the sole perpetrator and turned his sister Billie (Tessa de Josselin) against him.
 He is introduced into the show as an old prison friend of established character Darryl Braxton (Steve Peacocke) and they soon embark on a journey into the Australian Outback in search of Billie.
 His storyline continued to be centric to Brax's story.
 The show later developed a relationship storyline with Denny Miller (Jessica Grace Smith).
 Critics have stated that the character quickly assumed the role of the show's "hunk" and "bad boy".

Question: What soap opera created by Alan Bateman stars George Mason?
Answer: Home and Away