Gina Austin
| Gina Austin | |||||||||||
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| Home and Away character | |||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Sonia Todd | ||||||||||
| Duration | 2009–13 | ||||||||||
| First appearance | Episode 4776 26 January 2009 |
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| Last appearance | Episode 5725 18 April 2013 |
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| Introduced by | Cameron Welsh | ||||||||||
| Classification | Former, regular | ||||||||||
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| Occupation | Principal of Summer Bay High (2009–13) | ||||||||||
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| Brothers | Tony Holden |
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| Husband | Jeremy Austin John Palmer (2010–13) |
| Sons |
Hugo Austin Brendan Austin Xavier Austin |
| Stepdaughters | Shandi Ayres |
| Nephews |
Lucas Holden Jack Holden Harry Holden |
Georgina "Gina" Palmer (née Holden, previously Austin) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Home and Away, played by Sonia Todd. The character debuted on-screen during the episode broadcast on 26 January 2009. Gina is the older sister of Tony Holden and the mother to three sons; Hugo, Brendan and Xavier Austin. The character departed Home and Away on 18 April 2013, following Todd's decision to leave.
Todd made several guest appearances as Gina in 2009. In September of that year, it was announced that she had joined the regular cast after impressing Seven's drama executives. Todd told Inside Soap that she was largely attracted to Home and Away as it films in Sydney, where she lives.
Of Gina, the serial's official website said "Gina is a loving mother, and she knows she has made terrible mistakes with her eldest and youngest boys. But she did her very best [...] She's been worn down by the way her life unfolded, but blames no one and tries not to indulge in self-pity. It is what it is, and she just has to get by." Soap opera reporting website Holy Soap describe Gina as a "down-to-earth, warm woman who has spent her whole life looking after her family at the expense of her own needs and desires." Todd states the thing she likes most about Gina is the fact that she has three children that are all boys. In a 2011 interview, Todd explained that Gina had had a tough life and she was a bit downtrodden, but she had now grown nicely since her arrival.
While interviewed by TV Week, Todd said Gina is "a mum struggling to bring up three boys whom she loves very much." Her son Brendan (Kain O'Keeffe, suffers from learning difficulties. Todd said Brendan's disability is a "double-edge sword" because it puts a lot of "stress and pressure" on Gina, however, because of this the Austin's share a "close and lovely" bond. Todd revealed that Gina's husband Jeremy walked out on the family, which left Gina in a "fight or fight" situation which she manages to stay throughout.
In one storyline Gina's eldest son, Hugo (Bernard Curry) is put into witness protection. When he breaks his cover, Gina, Xavier (David Jones-Roberts) and Martha MacKenzie (Jodi Gordon) are kidnapped by Killer (Mirko Grillini) and entrapped in a water vat. Luke Jacobz who plays Angelo Rosetta told TV Week the reason Hugo was put into protection was to keep Gina "out of the way of his many enemies". Network Seven used the storyline to keep viewers guessing who would die, by confirming there would be a death and refusing to reveal their identity. However, Gina survives.
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