Erik Thomson and Rebecca Gibney on TV reboot Back to the Rafters. Video / Amazon Prime Video / NZ Herald
When the stars of Packed to the Rafters reunited for the first read-through for the long-awaited reboot, there were hugs and tears.
"It was pretty amazing," recalls Kiwi actress Rebecca Gibney, who returns to her beloved role as Australia's favourite TV mum Julie Rafter. "It didn't feel like it had been six, seven years."
The new series Back to the Rafters is launching on Amazon Prime this month, after the original ended in 2013 after six seasons.
Looking back, Gibney, 56, says the timing was right - but she and her co-stars knew there would be a reunion someday.
"Since then we've been able to go off and do other things and play other roles and have fun. So I think all of us needed to do that, to then be able to come back and dive in," she tells the Herald.
Scottish-Kiwi actor Erik Thomson, returning to Gibney's side as husband Dave Rafter, agrees.
"The show was such a big success and not just a flash in the pan," he says. "But it was just starting to feel old and tired and we were getting that way ourselves. We needed to go to fresh pastures."
Years later, the Kiwi actors' chemistry as Dave and Julie Rafter hasn't changed.
"It's the most comfortable I've ever been probably with anyone on screen," says Gibney.
"And it's so lovely to work when you've got chemistry and you've got a friendship and it's just lovely - it makes going to work just a joy."
The series picks up several years later in the lives of the Rafter family, as Dave and Julie adjust to a new life in the country with their youngest child Ruby (Willow Speers).
The Rafter family reunite in Back to the Rafters. Photo / Amazon
Julie struggles with being away from the rest of her children, while Dave embraces the country lifestyle. But a trip back to Sydney to celebrate Dave and Julie's 35th wedding anniversary sees history repeat itself and the family ends up together once again.
"I think Julie's whole journey throughout this particular series is, 'Who am I?'" Gibney reflects.
"She doesn't really know who she is anymore. So I think she has undergone a bit of a change. And I don't think Dave really has - Dave's just become more settled and more happy and more grounded with who he is."
"It certainly brings up issues," Thomson agrees. "Like, do you and your partner, if you've been together for a long time, still have the same goals in life? And what if you don't? That's kind of what we explore in this."
Years later, Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thomson's on-screen chemistry hasn't changed. Photo / Amazon
In the first episode of the series, young Ruby has climate change on her mind - another sign Rafters has had an update.
"Climate change was the hot topic, and then it wasn't!" jokes Gibney - filming had to pause when the pandemic hit.
But, as she says, the series has always tried to deal with contemporary issues.
"We've got Ted's dementia, the couple trying to have babies, and so we're trying to deal with normal issues that everyone faces. That's what people expect from this show - having people that they can relate to."
They hope that although the TV landscape has changed drastically since the original series aired, Back to the Rafters will resonate with a new audience.
"Back then there was no Netflix, there was no Amazon, there was nothing. The only way you could watch drama was in commercial television and appointment viewing, and the whole family would sit around together," Thomson recalls.
Willow Speers joins the cast as the youngest member of the family, Ruby Rafter. Photo / Amazon
"But now everyone is in their own rooms watching their own things on streaming services. So I'd be surprised if it has the same kind of event television feel.
"But at the same time, it'll just reach far more fans. I think they'll love to see it."
Gibney thinks that for fans of the original, watching the reboot will be like "catching up with old friends".
"There's a level of comfort you can get from it because of the world today, because we are in a bit of a sad place. So I think people are looking for those characters or those events that made them feel good.
"People are gonna go, 'Oh, I remember that. That was when things were really fabulous. I want to go back to that family and see them, because that's going to make me feel better.'"
• Back to the Rafters premieres exclusively on Amazon Prime Video on September 17
