Shane Withington

Shane Withington (born 22 August 1958) is an Australian actor, notable for roles in theatre, television, and film.

Withington is best known for roles in TV serials, with two famous character portrayals.

These include his role as Brenden Jones, a farmer, nurse, and subsequently the Deputy Matron of the fictional Wandin Valley in the television series A Country Practice from 1982 until 1986.

Withington co-starred in the play The Boys Next Door in 1992.

Withington was born in Toowoomba, Queensland to a cowgirl mother, who was the daughter of a drover and an English father who worked in food processing and was a nightclub singer and champion first grade soccer player in Queensland.

After being expelled from school, Withington worked as a horsesman and jackaroo, before auditioning an acting scholarship with the Elizabethan Quest Scholarship at 16.

He toured with the Twelfth Night Theatre.

Withington is married to actress Anne Tenney, who played his character's wife Molly Jones on A Country Practice.

He had a guest star appearance in the film Strange Bedfellows in 2004.

In 2008, he was in the BBC drama Out of the Blue, playing the detective in charge of investigating a murder.

Withington first appeared in TV serial Home and Away as a guest character called Colin, before being given the permanent role of cranky but warm-hearted surf lifesaver and patrol officer John Palmer in 2009, initially as a 3-month stand-alone stint; he'd been in the role for ten years by 2019.

He has also featured in Willing and Abel, as Abel Moore, and the sitcom The Family Business.