It has been 14 years since Mandy McElhinney begged her beloved Ketut to “kiss” her on a sandy Bali beach in the much-loved AAMI TV ads, but the character of Rhonda is one that continues to haunt the Aussie actress to this day.
“At least she’s a friendly ghost,” the actress, 55, tells news.com.au.
“I just see her as one of my long list of characters who sort of stayed in people’s hearts because she’s just a decent person and a very humble woman. People just wanted good things to happen for her and everyone has a smile on their face when they talk about her.
“I think of her as a very fond character.”
Even after all of these years – and a few little updates in the campaign along the way to really capitalise on Rhonda and Ketut’s viral appeal – Mandy admits she still gets stopped in public with references to the character.
“You think I would’ve got used to it by now but occasionally I’ll be in my own world in a shopping centre or something and someone will come up and go ‘Rhonda!’” she says.
Talking about all things haunting with the star, who also famously took on the role of Gina Rinehart in telemovie The House of Hancock, seems more than appropriate given her recent gig starring in the Aussie spin-off of cult UK and American franchise series, Ghosts.
“It’s a group of basically dysfunctional housemates who happen to be dead,” she laughs.
“[They] come from different areas of Australian history and a lovely young couple moves in and one of them gains the ability to interact with us. We’ve gone for years and years without being able to talk to the living and so there’s a lot we want to get done, a lot we want to say… and just all the things that this poor woman has to deal with.”
It’s not the first time Mandy has dabbled in the supernatural world, admitting she has been visited by plenty of ghosts herself thanks to her many days and nights working in old theatres.
“I’ve worked in theatre for a lot of years and I think theatres are full of ghosts! It’s their place where very intense experiences have happened,” she admits.
As for any specific moments that have happened to her, Mandy says it’s the little things that tell you they’re around.
“The trick of the lighting and things like that… I’m constantly on stage thinking that I can see someone in the wings and then you turn and there’s not someone there. It could just be the
lighting, but I’m a romantic and I grew up loving Wuthering Heights and things like that, so I like to believe that there are ghosts.
“I like to believe I’ve still got some connection with people that have moved on.I find that very comforting. I get excited by it… I’m not afraid of it.”
Something she is also not afraid of is how die-hard viewers might react to the new Aussie version of Ghosts, a show which already has much-loved British and American versions.
When the trailer for Ghosts dropped online, eager fans were a little torn about introducing an Aussie spin.
“Criiiiiiiiinnnggggggeee,” one person wrote.
“Hhmm might take time to get use to this version,” another agreed.
But plenty were keen to see Australian humour thrown into the series.
“Looking forward to this. I like that every version has it’s own local spin on the story,” someone added.
Mandy says the Aussie version will offer something unique for the already existing fan base.
“I think ours has that particular Australian dry sense of humour. The jokes really fit into the Australian kind of sense of humour which I think they’ve just done so well with – the concept is brilliant,” she says.
Of course, sometimes Australian humour can prove a little tricky with our American mates, so a few tweaks were needed along the way to ensure they could still follow along with the laughs.
“I’ve had to change a few references – you know we use a different language here – so they’ve had to re- record some alternate versions just for them.”
Just like the British and America versions of the series, Mandy describes the show as a whole lot of fun with plenty of ‘good cackle’ moments.
“I think they’ll get it and I think they’ll go: ‘Wow those Australians really know how to make good content!’” she says.
“It reminded me of doing my comedy years when you just spend the day laughing with each other [but] really I’m working with really funny people, really funny material. I love my character so yeah I’m very excited about sharing it with everyone,” she said.
Ghosts Australia will premiere Sunday, 2 November At 8.30pm On 10 and Paramount+.
