Briony Behets (born 21 July 1950)is an English-born Australian actress who initially found fame acting in television soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s.
She is known for her early roles in serials Birds in the Bush, Number 96, The Box, Bellbird, and Class of '75. Behets was also a weather presenter on ATV-10 Melbourne's news bulletins during the mid-1970s.
She received an AFI Award nomination for her role in The Trespassers (1976), and starred in telemovie Skin Deep in 1984.
Later roles include Eve Cambridge in Possession, Amanda Harris in Neighbours, which she reprised in 2025, Margaret Bennett in E Street, Diana Stevens in British soap opera Families, and Elizabeth Regnery in The Saddle Club.
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Early and personal life
Behets was born in London, United Kingdom in 1950. Her father worked as a civil engineer, which took him around the world and as a result much of Behets' childhood was spent in Germany and Sierra Leone before returning to England. At age 17 she was accepted into the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, studying there for three years. After completing the course, she travelled to the United States as part of a student exchange project, working there as a nightclub dancer.
After moving to Australia, Behets lived in Melbourne. She was an experienced horsewoman and owned several horses in Mornington.
Career
Behets made a few appearances in stage plays while she was in college. She came to Australia, aged 19, to travel around the country. She firstly became a model, before securing a role in the comedy series Birds in the Bush in 1972.
Behet's subsequently enjoyed several high-profile television roles in Australia. She was an original cast member of soap opera Number 96, playing a heavily pregnant young wife Helen Eastwood in 1972. Who moves into the back of flats with her schoolteacher husband Mark, but then losers the baby after falling down a flight of stairs, after discovering her husband is having an affair with Rose from the deli. Behets felt she was "terrible" in the role, as she was inexperienced and did not know anything about having a baby.
She also appeared in a stage production of Don's Party as Sue, and a J. C. Williamson's production of Private Lives.
Behets was a member of the original cast of another adult soap The Box, as Judy Donovan, starting in 1974. The character was popular with viewers and Behets received a lot of fan mail from housewives and young men. After leaving The Box, she appeared for a short stint in Bellbird, before taking an ongoing role in the school-based teen soap Class of '75 as sports mistress Jorja Jones.
Behets was also a longtime weather presenter on ATV-10 Melbourne's news bulletins during the mid-1970s.
She had guest roles in numerous Australian drama series, including Homicide, Matlock Police, Bluey, Cop Shop, The Young Doctors, Boney, and Chopper Squad, also in the 1970s. In 1979, she portrayed Susan Rice, the unbalanced wife of a popular celebrity, in the women's prison soap opera Prisoner.
Behets' film roles include Night of Fear (1972), the joint lead with Judy Morris in The Trespassers (1976) for which she was nominated for the AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Raw Deal (1977), Inside Looking Out (1977), and Long Weekend (1978). In 1984, she starred in the Nine Network telemovie Skin Deep, followed by a role in Cassandra in 1986.
Personal life
Behets was married to Australian writer and director Colin Eggleston. She starred in several of his movies including Long Weekend (1978) and Nightmares (1980).