18 years after leaving Home and Away, Ella Scott Lynch continues to be a firm hit with fans – but what exactly is her life like off screen and what is she up to now?
Ella Scott Lynch played Hayley Rose Smith on Home and Away from September to November 2005, and even though she was only there for three months, her performance solidified her place in our memory.
Rebecca Cartwright, an actor, had played the part for seven years before Ella took over in the fall of 2005 after Rebecca quit the show for personal reasons.
Ella stepped into the role with ease while she was away, and the characters Scott Hunter (Kip Gamblin) and Kim Hyde (played by none other than Thor actor Chris Hemsworth) even engaged in a hot love triangle.
However, Ella bore no physical similarity to Hayley’s initial appearance, so neither the cast nor the viewers at home could entirely adjust to the dramatic casting shift.
Gordon Farrer of The Age wrote about the move at the time, describing how challenging it was for the actors and viewers to adjust to a new actress in the part.
While still wearing the medical uniform, he observed, “she’s now a redhead with a completely different nose, and… you want to leap up and shout at the television, “SHE’S AN IMPOSTER, MATE, DON’T GET SUCKED IN, SHE’S UP TO NO GOOD”.”
Likening the change to something more reminiscent of US soap Days of Our Lives, Gordon admitted it was a hard change to stomach and compared it to going “mad.”
After only three months on our screens, Ella quickly moved on from the part of Hayley to explore other endeavors, which included a number of TV and movie roles, including Charlotte’s Web and Monkey Puzzle.
She switched to a new drama role, though, when she was cast as nurse Claire Anderson in the medical drama All Saints in 2008, a position she played for two seasons.
She was interestingly reunited with Kip Gamblin, her Home and Away co-star, who once again co-starred with her, much to the joy of viewers at home, while playing this role.
Ella has had important appearances in the television series Love Child, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, and NCIS Los Angeles.
Ella experimented with more comic parts in addition to her dramatic ones when she participated in Tim Minchin’s comedy series Upright from 2019 to 2022.
Toby Schmitz’s daughter Ziggy and son Ezra, who was born in 2021, are two of Ella’s gorgeous children, whom she has been parenting in addition to her professional activities.
Ella posted the following on social media when Ezra was first born to announce his happy arrival: “He fell to Earth at 4.24am on 15/6/21, 2 weeks earlier than expected, narrowly missing Donald Trump’s birthday by 4 hours,” she started.
“He has healed so much already including a mama who didn’t believe a birth could happen like his.”
“Thank you for entrusting yourself to us long toed baby alien. You’re already loved and now you are home.”
She is currently in a relationship with composer and sound designer Steve Toulmin, who is both a proud father to Ezra and doting step-dad to Ziggy.
