Home and Away star Dieter Brummer has sadly passed away at the age of 45.
He was best known for playing heartthrob Shane Parrish on the Australian soap from 1992 to 1996.
Dieter’s character left viewers swooning with his good looks and bad boy persona, and became known for his floppy hair and romance with Angel Brooks, played by Melissa George.
The pair found love and went on to get married, but Shane was eventually killed off when he contracted septicaemia after cutting himself on a wire on their wedding anniversary.
However, despite their loved-up relationship on the soap, it seems that Melissa and Dieter’s relationship couldn’t have been more different.
(Image: WireImage)
16 years after his on-screen death, Dieter revealed that he’d asked soap bosses to kill off his character after deciding he couldn’t work with Melissa anymore.
He told Woman’s Day in 2012: “We may have been love interests on the show but the chemistry was far from real!
“Mel was incredibly ambitious right from the outset. I think she wanted to be the next Kylie Minogue.
“She was a big fan and she aspired to be a big star just like Kylie. I don’t think she had much time for the cast of Home and Away.”
(Image: Scope)
Melissa confirmed the tension between the pair, saying: “There was a lot of pressure on us.
“We had to look like the perfect darling couple in public.”
Their feud was reignited years later when Melissa shared her frustration at being called a “Home and Away” actress on Australia’s The Morning Show.
She raged: “My next call will be to Home and Away to ask them to pay me because nobody does more promotion for that f***ing show than me.”
(Image: Seven)
Melissa said to Melbourne’s Herald Sun: “I don’t need credibility from my country anymore; I just need them all to be quiet. If they have nothing intelligent to say, please don’t speak to me anymore.
“I’ve never spoken out about it because I have to be the loyal good Aussie, who goes away and comes home.
“But I’m a really hardworking woman and people have to respect me for what I’ve done.”
After her comments, Dieter hit out at her for her “unnecessary and a bit ridiculous” comments, but added: “But then that’s Mel.”
(Image: Channel 5)
Whilst Melissa went on to find fame in Hollywood on shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Amityville Horror, Dieters’s career took a different path.
He decided to retire from acting and set up his own window cleaning business, saying about his job change: “As great as it was I wanted to prove to myself I could get my hands dirty and sweat for a buck as easily as standing around on set, being primped and preened.
“People say that I’m just a window cleaner, in reality it’s substantially more involved than that. Working at heights it’s a relatively specialist trade.”
(Image: Getty Images)
He also admitted in 2014 that he feared that appearing on Home and Away may have hindered his career rather than helped it.
Dieter said to TV Week: “You get typecast. It’s hard for producers or casting agents not to remember. I’m still ‘that bloke from Home and Away’ 20 years later,” he previously told TV Week.
“Sometimes you sit back and think, ‘I wonder what it would’ve been like if I didn’t get that job at 15?'”
Dieter was found dead in his home in Glenhaven, near Sydney, by police after they carried out a welfare check.
(Image: Seven Network)
His family gave a statement following his death, saying: “On behalf of my family, We post this today with a heavy heart,’ the Facebook post began. ‘We lost our handsome, talented, funny, complicated and beloved Dieter on Saturday morning.
“He has left a massive hole in our lives and our world will never be the same. Our thoughts go out to all of you who knew him, loved him, or worked with him over the years.
“We appreciate you respecting our privacy at this terrible time.”
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
