Bridie Carter’s heartbreak after tragedy, on 25th anniversary of McLeod’s Daughters

Exclusive: This week, 25 years ago, Australia fell in love with a little “horse show in Adelaide” that would forever change the lives of its cast and fans.

But the milestone anniversary of McLeod’s Daughters this year comes with heartache, one that Bridie Carter, 55, “can’t even talk about”. That is, without being moved to tears.

“With Rachael [Carpani]’s passing, I was so saddened.” Carter told nine.com.au. She paused, overcome with emotion: “It truly felt like we did lose a sister, a family member.”

Carpani was beloved for her role as Jodi Fountain in the hit Aussie series. She sadly passed in December 2025 at age 45, after a battle with chronic illness.

“We can never think about each other without thinking about Rach, she was our baby,” said Carter on the possibility of cast reunion.

“So, this celebration is bittersweet, I suppose. There’s a lot to celebrate, but there’s a lot of sadness as well.”

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The six-time Logie nominee used the show’s 25 anniversary to “pay tribute to [the] remarkable woman”.

“I thank her for being part of the show, for coming on at the ripe old age of 20. We all celebrated her 21st birthday in season one,” she recalled. “None of us will forget it, none of us will forget her.”

“She will always be part of our story.”

From loosing one ‘sister’ to gaining another, Carter beamed when asked about co-star Lisa Chappell, who embraced the role of eldest daughter Claire McLeod in the series.

“She is my sister, we have the closest relationship,” Carter, who played younger daughter Tess Mcleod for six seasons, said. “We are closer today than we were back then.”

Carter revealed she actually auditioned for the role of Claire.

“I auditioned for both roles and [they] asked, ‘Which role do you resonate with more?’ I said, I think Tess because I loved the journey of change she went on.

“Then when Lisa auditioned, they put Lisa and I together and the rest was history.”

Celebrating 25 years of McLeod’s Daughters is “pretty phenomenal” said the star.

The Australian drama, which premiered on August 8, 2001, went on to win eight Logie awards from a mammoth 41 nominations across its incredible eight seasons.

“I just get blown away by the love that is still very much there today. I think I can speak for every cast member, all the crew, writers and directors that we put our hearts and souls into this show.”

“We were filming 22 to 26 episodes a year, the characters feel like your family,” she went on.

“I still say this was one of the hardest shows I’ve ever shot,” she confessed. “We were isolated as actors, our whole world was this show.”

“It was also the most fulfilling, because we shot entirely on location. I loved it, we all did, and we just gave it everything.”