Soap star Melissa Bergland admits to 'itchy feet'

Zoe Tuckwell-Smith, Melanie Vallejo, Virgina Gay and Melissa Bergland / Pic: Channel 7 Source: The Daily Telegraph

The Daily Telegraph reports

The women behind the gal pals of Winners & Losers have vowed to stay with the well-received soap but one is struggling to relate to her on-screen character.

After the season two finale won the ratings on Tuesday night with 1.172 million viewers, cherry-coiffed Melissa Bergland said she hoped to continue on the Seven show "as long as we're all having a good time" but wasn't much like her bumbling alter ego Jenny Gross.

"I'm so far removed from all of the stuff she is going through," the Adelaide native told Confidential. "I'm not at the point where I relate to the whole settling down and wanting to have a family thing - I always have itchy feet. I like to travel and change house."

Bergland's co-stars, Virginia Gay, Melanie Vallejo and Zoe Tuckwell-Smith, began filming season three in October without former Big Brother star Blair McDonough, whose character Matt O'Connor died in a gas explosion this week. "It's good to have a story arc, get to where you want to go, then shock everyone," the one-time Neighbours actor said.

Bergland said "everyone is keen to keep going" with the family favourite.

Hard luck story for winning Sophie Wong

Melanie Vallejo plays Sophie in the popular Melbourne drama Winners and Losers. Picture: Andy Drewitt Source: National Features

Colin Vickery, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Sophie Wong has always been the most controversial character on Winners & Losers.

In last year's first episode of the Channel 7 drama, it was revealed Sophie, played by Melanie Vallejo, had a cocaine habit.

It was a risky storyline for a supposedly warm and fuzzy show that centred on four female friends who win the lottery.

Now Sophie has split the Winners & Losers audience with her decision to have an abortion.

In last week's show, she revealed to boyfriend Doug (Tom Wren) that she was pregnant - but didn't want to keep the baby.

Sophie gave Doug no say in the matter. It was a done deal.

Doug, who desperately wants to get married and have children, is devastated.

The shock storyline has been a challenge for Vallejo. The 33-year-old married Matthew Kingston in May last year and is keen to start a family.

"It (terminating a pregnancy) is a huge decision for any woman," Vallejo says.

"It (the abortion storyline) sparked a lot of conversations with friends.

"It helped me to work through why would Sophie make that decision because that is not what I would do.

"(I realised that) a lot of people have babies because their relationship is not doing so well, but that's a horrible reason to bring another person into the world.

"It (abortion) is a completely valid choice (for Sophie). It would be ridiculous for her to have a child to Doug at this point in her life."

The first series of Winners & Losers was accused of being soft. Sophie, Frances James (Virginia Gay), Jenny Gross (Melissa Bergland), and Bec Gilbert (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith) spent most of their time bonding after being bullied years earlier by Tiffany Turner (Michala Banas).

This year things have deepened and Sophie's decision to have an abortion has topped a string of controversial storylines.

"Sophie doesn't really know what she wants," Vallejo says.

It is a very different story for Vallejo, who says marrying Kingston was "the easiest decision of my life" and that she wants to "have babies and lots of them".

"Channel 7 hired four women in their late 20s and early 30s to be in the show, so someone's going to get knocked up."

Vallejo, meanwhile, is tight-lipped about the looming season finale of the show.

What is known is that tragedy will strike with the death of one of the characters.

Seven has sent out previews of the episode with the final 10 minutes missing. It doesn't want any leaks.

The on-air promotion - "Who Will Lose Their Life?" - suggests a number of possibilities.

Sophie, Brian Gross (Francis Greenslade), Doug, Bec, Matt, and Frances are the possible candidates.

Viewers are teased with scenes of a gun, someone crossing the road, Bec driving erratically, furniture being smashed, Brian stepping in front of a bus, a motorcycle swerving, and a possible building accident.

Whatever happens will have a major impact on the storylines for next year's third season.

"Series three of Winners & Losers is all about re-building," a Seven spokesperson says.

"It's time for everyone to start over. Relationships, careers, aspirations will all be turned on their head."

-- Winners & Losers, Channel 7, Tuesday, 8.30pm

Winners & Losers put Melanie Vallejo off baby plans

Focused on her career: Actor Melanie Vallejo from TV show 'Winners and Losers'. Source: The Daily Telegraph

Zoe Nauman, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

Winners & Losers star Melanie Vallejo says preparing for her role as a dutiful step-mum on the show has put her off having children of her own.

As Sophie Wong on the Seven hit, the actor has been getting to grips with her best friend Bec O'Connor (Zoe Tuckwell-Smith) giving birth. And it was this that made Vallejo go from clucky to disinterested. "We thought it would be good to do some research before the labour scene, so we got out a home birthing video," she says.

"After watching that home birth, I wasn't so clucky.

"This woman gave birth in a paddling pool to twins, and it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. But I thought I don't want babies. There has to be a better way. Who wants to go through that."

The actor says she was initially concerned about the triangle of Sophie's boyfriend Doug (Tom Wren) having a child with her best friend Bec.

"It's a difficult situation in the beginning - I was struggling with it and I was thinking: 'Is it too crazy or too Jerry Springer?' I think as the season went on, it's not that crazy. I actually think it has been a good spanner in the works for the dynamic of the four girls," she says.

Vallejo, who married Matt Kingston last year, says they watched the birth episode and it did prompt a discussion.

"The plotlines always start a discussion and we talk about them. The pregnancy thing did get thrown up, but after that, definitely not for while, I can tell you."

Melissa Bergland's a winner as show finally sees light

Melissa Bergland from Winners and Loosers. Picture: Rob Leeson Source: Herald Sun

Luke Dennehy, The Sunday Herald Sun, reports

The second series of Winners & Losers was all wrapped up in April and the cast of the show is relieved the series is finally going to air.

The show has been a launching pad for Melissa Bergland, who has her own sense of style and is a real star on the rise.

She went into the audition with her signature red hair after being platinum blonde and producers loved it so much they kept her look as part of her character, Jenny.

Bergland said the cast was a pleasure to work with, especially her three co-stars, Virginia Gay, Zoe Tuckwell-Smith and Melanie Vallejo.

"It's gotten to the point now we can drop the polite act and we are genuine friends now," she said.

"I see them all separately on a fortnightly basis."