Entertainment

Grant Dodwell’s touching tribute to A Country Practice co-star Penny Cook

Jan 14, 2019

He played Penny Cook's husband on A Country Practice for years and Grant Dodwell has paid tribute to the late actress following her shock death from cancer last month. Source: Twitter.com/DailyEditionOn7.

Weeks after the sad news that A Country Practice star Penny Cook had died at the age of 61 following a battle with cancer, her co-star Grant Dodwell has paid tribute to his onscreen wife.

Fans of the iconic Australian drama will recall Dodwell played Dr Simon Bowen for six years on the beloved soap. The episode where he married Cook’s character Vicky Dean went on to become one of the biggest episodes in the show’s history and made both actors two of the biggest stars in Australia at the time.

Appearing on Monday’s episode of The Daily Edition, 66-year-old Dodwell spoke candidly about his friendship with Cook and how he found out about her death. He explained that he spoke to her about a week before she died and that she didn’t let on that she was dying.

“Penny called me about a week before and in true Penny Cook style, she was an individual, she was a tower of strength, she had a wicked sense of humour and in true Penny style, she didn’t let on at all what was the seriousness of the situation,” the Home and Away actor recalled. “That was Penny. She wanted to keep it quiet. She never grandstanded.”

Former #ACountryPractice star @GrantDodwell remembers the late Penny Cook, and his current work bringing Australian theatre into cinemas across the nation. #TDE7 pic.twitter.com/VYhjA2Npp3

— The Daily Edition (@DailyEditionOn7) January 14, 2019

He said that Cook achieved so much in her life but would often talk about the little achievements, rather than the big moments.

“She’d talk about the homemade jam she made, not about the theatre company she saved,” he said.

Dodwell explained that Cook had called him to let him know she was going into hospital and that he might receive a call from journalists about her health. He eventually did get a call from someone explaining how sorry they were to hear about his former co-star and if he’d heard the news that she had passed away.

“It doesn’t really matter how one hears, the point is that we lost someone way too young,” he added.

The Logie winner went on to explain that Cook provided support to many people, not just those in the entertainment industry, and that that more than 600 people celebrated her life at a service on Sunday. He also remembered her as a funny woman and looked back at the day the pair filmed the iconic wedding episode of A Country Practice, noting they celebrated over a bottle of warm champagne with the rest of the cast and crew.

A Country Practice ran from 1981 to 1993, airing more than 1,000 episodes during its original run. Dodwell appeared in 332 episodes over six years and won three Logies for his role.

Meanwhile, news of Cook’s death broke in December when her family released a statement through her management.

“It is with great sorrow that her family wish to advise that the much loved Penny Cook, beloved partner, mother, daughter, sister, and dear friend, died peacefully last night, of cancer, surrounded by family,” the statement read. “The family wish to express their thanks for all messages of condolence forwarded to them.”