Craig McLachlan • Andy Penkow

With a career spanning over years, Gold Logie winner Craig McLachlan is one of Australia's most versatile talents.

Craig first appearance as a young actor on Australian television was on the popular Aussie drama series The Young Doctors, where he played a ‘teenage punk rocker’, but it was his portrayal of Neighbours favourite Henry Ramsay that truly brought him into the homes and hearts of television viewers throughout Australia and the UK.  After a number of years happily residing in Ramsay Street, he packed his bags and moved to Summer Bay playing schoolteacher Grant Mitchell in Home & Away, before hitting ‘boot camp’ to train for the critically acclaimed mini-series Heroes. Over the next two decades more mini-series, tele-features and TV dramas followed, including - Catherine the Great with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Omar Sharif, Superfire, Blackjack, McLeod’s Daughters, City Homicide, Always Greener, The Cut, Rescue- Special Ops, Lowdown and the hit UK BBC series Bugs. He enjoyed critical acclaim for his portrayal of Thredbo disaster survivor Stuart Diver in Heroes’ Mountain and was praised for his uncanny depiction of Michael Chamberlain in the re-telling of the Azaria Chamberlain story, from mother Lindy’s perspective, Through My Eyes.

More recently, Craig has appeared in the hit TV series Packed to the Rafters, NCIS - Los Angeles with LL Cool J and Chris O Donnell and created quite a stir playing the ‘Prime Minister’s’ attractive gay gardener ‘Steve’ in the award-winning At Home With Julia. More fun was to be had on Aussie favourite House Husbands; then Craig joined the cast of Redfern Now 2. Craig is most recently best known to TV audiences for his much loved role as Doctor Blake in The Doctor Blake Mysteries! Clocking up five top rating seasons & a telemovie, the Doctor Blake Mysteries is currently screened all over the world.

Craig has notched up feature credits in Let’s Get Skase, Hating Alison Ashley, Savages Crossing and The Great Raid.

As a singer/songwriter, Craig has had global hits, as well as enjoying huge   success in Australia, particularly with his infectious re-working of the Bo Diddley classic ‘Mona’**_,_** which saw Craig take home a coveted ARIA Award.

He continues to compose and produce music for film and television, most recently writing and performing songs for the Australian feature film ‘What About Sal’ which debuted theatrically in 2024.

On stage, Craig has enjoyed leading roles both in Australia and the UK. In 1993 he was invited to play Danny Zuko in Robert Stigwood’s, record breaking production of Grease at London’s Dominion Theatre. 1998 saw Craig again as Danny, trying to win Sandy’s heart in the original Australian production of Grease the Arena Spectacular, returning to lead the T-Birds for one last rumble in 2005. There was also leather and Brylcreem a plenty in Happy Days the Arena Mega Musical with Craig playing the iconic ‘Fonz’. He also played Caracticus Potts in the London Palladium Production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, ‘Bob Wallace’ in the UK premiere production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and ‘Billy Flynn’ in the Australian production of Chicago. But, it all started with Dr Frank’n’Furter in Richard O’Briens The New Rocky Horror Show in 1992. In late 2013, Craig reconnected with his inner ‘sweet transvestite’, cheekily slipping back into Frank’s fishnets for the 40th anniversary production. His hugely popular and acclaimed performance saw him win the 2014 Helpmann Award for Best Male Actor in a Musical.
And due to overwhelming demand, he re-applied his lipstick for return seasons the very next year!

In 2023 Craig was recruited for the grueling reality TV show – SAS Australia.  As recruit ‘Number Nine’ he made it to the penultimate day, surviving being buried alive, shot at, blown up and screamed at regularly by Ant Middleton!