Stefan Dennis was the twelfth celebrity to join the new series of Strictly Come Dancing. The multi-award-winning BBC dance show will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer for its new series this evening, September 20.
The actor is best known for playing Paul Robinson in Neighbours, the longest running drama series in Australian television history. He first appeared on the show in 1985 and appeared in over 6,000 episodes during the 40 years that the show was on air.
Prior to joining Neighbours, he took on a number of other roles in numerous shows such as Prisoner, The Henderson Kids, The Sullivans, Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters, to name a few.
Fans may also recognise Stefan from shows including The Bill, Dream Team, River City and Casualty.
On joining Strictly Come Dancing, Stefan said: “This is an opportunity for me to once again learn to step out of my comfort zone in the world of television. Looking forward to the sparkle and reaching for the sky.”
Stefan is one of many soap stars who have taken on the challenge of Strictly Come Dancing. For some it has paid off, including for Coronation Street star Ellie Leach who won the Glitterball Trophy when partnered with Strictly professional dancer Vito Coppola.
Stefan left Neighbours in 1992 before returning for a brief period a year later. He then reprised his role in 2004 and has played the character since.
The long-standing role will come to an end later this year following Neighbours’ cancellation on Amazon Freevee. It will mark the end of an incredible chapter for Stefan.
However, fans will remember Stefan for the role of Ramsay Street’s villainous businessman Paul Robinson. Neighbours first aired in 1985 in Australia. It came to the UK in 1986 on BBC One and went out twice a day.
Before the final episode is broadcast in December, Neighbours legend Stefan has offered a glimpse of what viewers can expect and disclosed that his character Paul Robinson will feature prominently in the show’s conclusion.
Speaking on Loose Women, the actor said: “I’m going to give it away. I say the very last line in the show”, he further added: “It was a nice tribute Jason, our executive producer, gave to me because he said, ‘You were in the first episode. It’s a no-brainer that you have to say the last thing’.”
He disclosed that he had intended to “semi-retire” following the news that his soap character had been permanently written out, but the chance to participate in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing emerged and changed his plans.
He joked on the ITV panel show: “I always say actors don’t retire, they die. So, I planned to semi-retire, with the intention of maybe getting one good gig a year. That would’ve kept me quite happy. Then, Strictly came along. Bye bye semi-retirement.”
The 66-year-old was born in Tawonga, Victoria but moved with his family to the Gold Coast when he was still only was child. While on the Gold Coast, he developed a passion for the performing arts and made his acting debut at the age of eleven in a local amateur theatre production of Oliver!
Stefan also enjoyed a career in music, as well as acting. In 1989, he released the single “Don’t It Make You Feel Good”, which reached No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart. He released a second single, “This Love Affair”, which reached No. 67 in the UK in October 1989.
Away from his glittering career, the Strictly contestant has had some difficult times in his personal life. When Dennis was a child, his older brother was killed aged 12 by a drunk driver.
Stefan has previously spoken about this, he said: “The repercussions of someone getting behind the wheel on drugs or drink, it’s devastating to the people around them. This happened decades and decades ago, and it still affects me today – I’m more affected today than I was back then.”
Speaking previously to News Corp, he revealed: “The man who killed my brother was going just 30km/h. That’s all it took.”
Stefan said the driver was fined just AUD$50 for the incident, claiming that a driver who killed a koala that same weekend was fined “something like five times that” due to them being a protected species.
The Australian TV star has had several relationships with other stars in the public eye. His first marriage was to model and The Price Is Right hostess Roz Roy after meeting as teenagers. They were married from 1979 to 1989.
During his time on Neighbours, he dated co-star Gayle Blakeney, who played Christina Alessi, and had a romance with Torn singer Natalie Imbruglia when she was in the soap.
Stefan’s current wife is Gail Easdale, they married in 2000, she played his business nemesis Julie Quill in Neighbours in 2016 and then reprised the role in 2021. They share three children: Cameron, Declan and Darci.