Melissa George: who is Dieter Brummer’s Home and Away co-star, what was their relationship - and where is she now?

George played Angel Brooks in the Australian TV soap, while Dieter Brummer, who has died aged 45, played her on-screen boyfriend Shane Parrish

Actor Dieter Brummer, famed for his role in Australian TV soap Home and Away, has died aged 45.

The star, who played heartthrob Shane Parrish on the popular series during the 1990s, was found dead at a house in Sydney on Saturday (24 July) by New South Wales police.

Brummer was one half of one of TV’s most-adored on-screen couples, alongside co-star Melissa George.

Melissa George and Dieter Brummer weren’t on good terms away from the Home and Away cameras (Getty Images)

But although their on-screen chemistry was palpable, the pair were pals in their personal lives away from the camera.

So, who is Melissa George, who did she play in Home and Away and where is she now?

Here’s everything you should know.

Who is Melissa George?

Melissa George became a household name in Australia and the UK after starring as feisty Angel in Home and Away.

She skyrocketed to fame when she was barely 20-years-old.

After her departure from Summer Bay in 1996, she looked to crack America by moving there a year later.

She first landed work in films by well-known directors Steven Soderbergh and David Lynch, and then secured her breakthrough role in TV series Alias.

Ms George has an impressive CV, acting in Mulholland Drive, 30 Days of Night, Triangle and Swinging With the Finkels.

She also appeared opposite Ryan Reynolds in the 2005 remake of The Amityville Horror.

Fans of Friends will recognise her as Ross and Rachel’s nanny, Molly, after she took on the minor role in 2003.

She’s also had roles in critically-acclaimed series, including Charmed, Monk, Grey's Anatomy, and Lie To Me.

Who did she play in Home and Away?

Melissa George played Brummer’s former on-screen girlfriend in the long-running soap.

Bad boy Shane’s romance with Angel became Home and Away’s answer to Neighbours’ Scott and Charlene.

The show showed the couple’s ups and downs over a period of three years, between 1993 and 1996.

The on-screen couple ended up getting married, before Brummer’s Shane was subsequently involved in a hit-and-run motorbike accident, with his beloved character tragically dying of septicaemia.

What was Melissa George’s relationship with Dieter Brummer?

However, the pair weren’t on good terms in real life when the cameras were switched off.

"We may have been love interests on the show but the chemistry was far from real," Mr Brummer told Woman's Day in 2012.

He then went on to say that Ms George didn’t have “much time” for the show’s cast as she wanted to be a “big star”.

“Mel was incredibly ambitious right from the outset," he said, "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."

Mr Brummer is said to have asked show bosses to kill off his character so he could escape the on-set tension, and Shane’s unfortunate death subsequently played out on the soap.

The pair’s co-star Ray Meagher, who played Alf Stewart on the show, also confirmed that they did not “get on personally 100 per cent, 100 per cent of the time."

Ms George later confirmed her feud with Mr Brummer in the Home and Away special, Endless Summer, in 2018, blaming the pressure of fame.

"There was a lot of pressure on us", she said. "We had to look like the perfect darling couple in public."

Where is Melissa George now?

Melissa George is still acting, decades after she first appeared as Angel in Home and Away.

Her current role is in Apple TV’s The Mosquito Coast, in which she plays Margot opposite Justin Theroux.

She has lived in Paris since starting a family in the French city with former partner Jean-David Blanc.

Is Melissa George married?

The Home and Away star has been married and divorced.

In 2000, she tied the knot with Chilean film director and furniture maker, Claudio Dabed, but they divorced 11 years later.

Ms George then met entrepreneur Blanc and the couple had two children together.

But they separated in 2016 after Ms George accused Blanc of domestic abuse and was hospitalised with neck and shoulder injuries.

Both Ms George and Blanc were handed domestic abuse charges and were ordered to pay each other damages.