Yahoo Lifestyle 
Home and Away star reveals Britney Spears almost appeared on the show
From Ed Sheeran to Jessica Mauboy, Lleyton Hewitt to David ‘Kochie’ Koch, Home and Away has featured a number of random celebrity cameos throughout its 34 years on-air.
Now, one former cast member has revealed that pop superstar Britney Spears almost made an appearance on the long-running soap opera but “pulled out of it last minute”.
Speaking on Hobart’s Hit 100.9 with Dan & Christie, Christie Hayes claimed that the Toxic hitmaker was “a fan of Home and Away” when she was in the UK.
“It was never on in America, but they said that she was a fan of watching Home And Away when she was in England, and she expressed interest to be on the show,” she said.
RELATED:
Home and Away's most ridiculous storylines through the years
Spoilers: Home and Away's Alf set to leave Summer Bay: 'Stubborn'
The actress, who played Kirsty Sutherland in the series between 2000 and 2009, went on to say that the show’s producer held a meeting with the cast to hear their thoughts on Britney making a cameo.
“Everyone said ‘yes’,” she recalled. “There was one person who was like, ‘Oh, probably not a great idea’ and that was Ray [Meagher], because he knew it would ruin the illusion of the show.”
‘I still remember the scene’
Christie said that the writers ended up including Britney in a small scene in the diner, and her character’s name was simply ‘Beautiful girl’.
“I still remember the scene,” she said. “She was sitting down in the diner having a burger and the characters Nick and Seb, who were my friends on the show, we were all meant to just walk past her.
“And they were going to check her out and be like, ‘Hey, what are you doing in Summer Bay?’ and then she was like, ‘Yeah it’s just a pretty town, I’m just dashing through’ and then that was going to be it.
“I was going to be in the scene with her, it was scripted, but then she pulled out of it last minute because sadly 9/11 happened.”
She added that although everyone was “so bummed” by the turn of events, it would have made “no sense” for her to appear on the show.
While she never ended up making a cameo on Home and Away, Britney has made a number of memorable appearances on other TV shows throughout her career.
In 2008 she guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother, bringing the sitcom its highest ratings ever, and in 2015 she appeared as a fictionalised version of herself on Jane the Virgin.
She’s also made appearances on The Simpsons, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Will & Grace and Glee, and hosted two episodes of Saturday Night Live.
Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.
Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.
