Tina Bursill

Tina Bursill (born 24 July 1951) is an Australian actress. She played Louise Carter on the television series Skyways (1979–1981) and Sonia Stevens on Prisoner (1983–1984). She played Meryl Knight in the Nine Network drama series Doctor Doctor. Bursill won the AFI (AACTA) Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1987 film Jilted.

Early life Tina Bursill was born on 24 July 1951, in Sydney.

Bursill's father, Keith, worked as an apprentice marine engineer on Cockatoo Island in Sydney Harbour from the age of 15, and joined the merchant marines when Bursill was a baby, travelling for about 14 years. He was diagnosed with asbestosis in the 1980s. Her mother was a talented coloratura soprano, but did not follow her dreams. She had a love of painting, film and theatre and frequently took Bursill to see live shows from a very young age. but later studied there. as Meg Penrose.

Following this were several guest appearances, before she received the role of ambitious assistant airport manager Louise Carter in Seven Network drama series Skyways, for which she appeared in 109 episodes from 1979

In 1982, Bursill appeared in ten-part ABC drama miniseries Winner Take All, as Liz Bell, mistress of the main character Dick Coleman’s mistress, mining company employee. (the mother of characters Ryan and Anita), after having previously appeared in the series a year earlier as TV news reporter, Trish Ferro.

Bursill portrayed Moody family matriarch, Maree, in the 2011 miniseries A Moody Christmas. She then reprised her role as Maree in the series follow-up, The Moodys, in 2014. That same year, during its thirtieth season, Bursill appeared in long-running soap opera Neighbours, in the recurring role of Kathy Carpenter, mother of Lauren Turner (Kate Kendall) and ex-wife of Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver). She had previously appeared opposite Oliver in King's Men.

Bursill took a brief hiatus from acting, to care full time for her ailing father. Six weeks after he died, she auditioned for drama series Doctor Doctor landing the role of Meryl Knight, mayor and mother of disgraced surgeon Hugh Knight (Rodger Corser), in 2016. Steve Bisley played the role of her husband. Bursill's original Prisoner role of Sonia Stevens had been reimagined by Sigrid Thornton, not long prior. She then appeared in Foxtel/Binge drama Strife, also returning for the second season. In 2023, Bursill also had a role in Stan post-war series Ten Pound Poms, playing Mrs Walker, mother of JJ, played by Stephen Curry (making it the second series in which she played Curry's mother). She reprised the role in the show's second season in 2025.

2026 saw Bursill appear in her first children's series Caper Crew, for ABC, playing stylishly dressed grandmother, Queenie. On 27 March 2026, she was named in the extended cast for the third season of Return to Paradise, the Australian spin-off of British crime series Death in Paradise.

Film Bursill made her feature film debut in 1975 when she was cast in The Great Macarthy, a football-based comedy with John Jarratt and Barry Humphries. In 1987, she starred in Jilted, which earned her an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

She has also had roles in several made-for-television films, including biopic Never Tell Me Never (1998) alongside Claudia Karvan and Michael Caton, Aftershocks (1998), a docudrama about the 1989 Newcastle earthquake with Jeremy Sims, Susie Porter and Lynette Curran, and Heroes' Mountain (2002), retelling the true story of the 1997 Thredbo landslide and the plight of Stuart Diver (as played by Craig McLachlan). In 2013, she played the role of Pat in the TV film Jack Irish: Dead Point, opposite Guy Pearce in the title role. This also reunited her with her The Great Macarthy co-star Barry Humphries.

King's Men Policewoman Jaybee Giddings 13 episodes 1979 The Oracle 1 episode 1979–1980 Skyways Louise Carter 136 episodes 1983–1984 Prisoner Sonia Stevens 54 episodes 1984 Special Squad Meredith Episode 25: "The Bribe" 1985 The Fast Lane Felicity 1 episode

Australian Traineeship System Herself Documentary Willing and Abel Margaret Hill 3 episodes Hey Dad...! Det. Sgt. Anne Burke 6 episodes 1989 This Man... This Woman Liz Maddocks Miniseries, 2 episodes

Jackaroo Martha Logan Miniseries, 2 episodes 1991; 1995 G.P. Caroline Lalor / Adele Meyer 2 episodes Under The Skin Julie Episode 9: "Long Way Round" The Ferals White Ant (voice) Season 1, episode 10: "Exam Fever" 1995 Over the Hill 1 episode 1996; 1997 Heartbreak High Trish Ferra / Hilary Scheppers 1 episode / 36 episodes 1999; 2008 All Saints Robyn Simms / Helen Fahey / Margaret Evans 3 episodes 2000 Farscape Empress Novia 3 episodes

Grass Roots Ariadne Totos Season 2, 1 episode Always Greener Lucy Buckingham 2 episodes

Blue Water High Katrina 1 episode Dramatically Black 1 episode

Offspring Marilyn 2 episodes

Rake Miriam Season 2, 1 episode A Moody Christmas Maree Moody 6 episodes

Harrow Alice Hobson Season 2, 1 episode Sarah's Channel Mole Person Web series

Wentworth Eve Wilder Season 8, 3 episodes 2023 One Night Helen 4 episodes

Awards & nominations Year Nominated work Award Category Result Ref. 1987 Jilted Australian Film Institute Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role 2002 Up for Grabs Mo Awards Best Female Actor in a Play 2018 Best Actress