Kiwis invade Oz hit show

Jessica Marais. Photo / Getty Images

Packed to The Rafters is now packed with Kiwis - two more New Zealand actors have joined the cast of the hit Aussie drama.

Go Girls actress Zoe Cramond and Wellington-born Camille Keenan are in season four of the show, which charts the ups and downs of the Rafter family.

Cramond, who has also appeared in Shortland Street and Outrageous Fortune, plays Emma, who befriends the Rafters when she moves into the neighbourhood with her mum.

Keenan will play Bree, a cousin of the Rafters, and says her character "stirs things up" in the family.

The 28-year-old was shocked to get the part because her last role was in a police drama and she had never seen Packed To The Rafters.

"It wasn't until last Christmas that I sat down and watched the show ... I thought I wouldn't get it because it is so different from anything I've done before."

The pair have moved to Sydney to join the cast, led by Kiwis Rebecca Gibney and Erik Thomson, who play parents Julie and Dave Rafter.

"I moved up from Melbourne and prior to that I was in LA so I've just found my feet in terms of accommodation, geography, making friends and the job," said Keenan.

She said the opportunity was exciting and daunting.

"It's a real challenge joining an established cast on such a popular show...it's a test of my confidence as an actress."

Cramond, of Papamoa, has worked in Sydney before but found the new job overwhelming at first. The duo will fill gaps in the cast left by the departures of Jessica Marais (Rachel Rafter) and Zoe Ventoura (Mel Rafter).

The fourth season is screening in Australia. New Zealand fans are up to the third.

Packed to the Rafters, TVOne, Wednesday, 8.30pm