‘Devastation beyond comprehension’: Home and Away's Melissa George mourns co-star Dieter Brummer

Melissa George has reflected on the early days of her fame on Home and Away particularly her time with her late co-star Dieter Brummer. 

She shared on Stellar’s podcast Something to Talk About that she often rewatches the earlier episodes to relive the magic of Shane and Angel, one of the star couples of the show, played by Brummer and George, respectively. 

The 49-year-old recalled the fame she experienced at such an early age and stage of her career, selling out Westfield shopping centres and having five levels of fans waiting to see Shane and Angel in the flesh.

“I do watch [the show] often because Dieter is no longer with us, which is just a devastation beyond comprehension,” she said of the late actor, who died in 2021 at the age of 45.

“I did rewatch the scene when he passed away on the rock – the final scene of Shane – and it was absolutely heartbreaking.

“I think about him, I think about the past, I think about being grateful for the opportunity to have had such a great part.” 

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The In Treatment actress also spoke about missing the actor himself, sharing, “That’s just too many years of him suffering that was overlooked. And when you suffer in silence and you don’t reach out, I think that’s when it got to a point where it’s too much for him. 

“It really breaks my heart because he was a beautiful man. It’s very sad.”

After playing Angel in the hit Aussie soap, George moved to the US and made a name for herself. 

She starred in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror, and then began carving out a career in horror movies with the thriller Derailed (2005), 30 Days of Night (2007), and Triangle (2009).  

George also appeared on TV in the recurring role of Lauren Reed on ABC’s Alias (2003–2004), HBO’s In Treatment (2008), for which she was Golden Globe nominated, and in both the Australian and American versions of The Slap.

She won the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actress for her work in the Aussie version.

She has three children; Raphaël, 12, and Solal, 10, with her ex, French entrepreneur Jean-David Blanc, as well as Lyor, now two. Due to French custody laws, she lives in France with her sons and splits custody with her ex.