Foreign Exchange

Foreign Exchange is a television series produced by Southern Star in association with Irish public broadcaster RTÉ (Raidió Teilifís Éireann). It aired on Nine Network from 5 November to 27 December 2004. The series starred Lynn Styles as Hannah O'Flaherty, a feisty Irish girl, and Zachary Garred as Brett Miller, a sun-drenched Australian boy. The pair are brought together from opposite sides of the world, due to a transfer portal. The series of 26 episodes was created by the Australian author John Rapsey and directed by Annie Murtagh-Monks and Gillian Reynolos. Synopsis Foreign Exchange had two major sets, one in Galway, Ireland, and the other in Perth, Western Australia. Brett Miller and his family live underneath their restaurant, only to find a rock that opens a portal into the basement level of O'Keeffe's College, an Irish boarding school (which is in reality Castlehackett House, near Tuam, County Galway). There he unexpectedly bumps into Hannah O'Flaherty, a student from Galway, who is delighted to learn that when she turns a similar rock on her side of the portal, she can escape the grey and winter of Ireland to the sun and summer of Australia. The show revolves around these two characters, who are the only two to know and use the portal with the exception of Cormac MacNamara, who learns about the portal near the end of the season. Characters Brett Miller (Zachary Garred): A young Australian surfer who finds a portal that takes him to Ireland, in the basement of a boarding school, O'Keeffe's College. He becomes the best friend of Hannah, and they never tell anyone about the portal. Originally an only child, his mother Jackie remarried to Craig and he now has a little sister Meredith. Also living in the home is Wayne, his big brother. In Ireland, Brett finds work as a janitor's assistant. Initially in love with Tara, over the course of the series, he realises that his true passion is Hannah. Hannah O'Flaherty (Lynn Styles): An Irish student at O'Keeffe's College, best friend of Brett. She boards at the school as a roommate with Tara. Hannah is smart and a close friend of Cormac, the local genius. The school's director, Miss Murphy (Barbara Griffin), is suspicious of her disappearances (when she goes to Australia). Hannah loves Brett's family and vice versa. In Australia everyone thinks she is a surfer. Cormac MacNamara (Robert Sheehan): One of the smartest students at O'Keeffe's College.