Home and Away legend unrecognisable 25 years after soap debut – and quitting acting

HOME and Away legend Norman Coburn who played Donald Fisher looks very different now, 25 years after quitting fame.

The star, 86, joined the soap in 1988 and remained a fan favourite until his exit in 2007.

A year later aged 71, he announced his retirement from acting and relocated to a small island off the coast of Tasmania called Bruny Island.

The star later delighted fans when he resurfaced for a cameo in Home and Away in 2019.

The beloved actor also cropped up in an episode of Australian comedy Rosehaven alongside his former Home and Away co-star Deborah Lawrence who played Pippa.

Don aka Flathead was the Principal of Summer Bay High School, overseeing the rebuilding of the school following an earthquake.

He often clashed with local tearaway Bobby Simpson before an epic twist revealed he was actually the teen's father - having slept with his sister-in-law years before. 

Not your average teacher, Donald also fell in love and married beautician Marilyn, who was 24 years his junior. 

Other plot highlights included carrying the Olympic torch through Summer Bay. 

Norman was born in Sydney in 1937. He moved to the UK to pursue his dream of acting.

He managed to audition for UK soaps including Coronation Street and Dixon of Dock Green and won small roles in both.

But it wasn't the big break he had been hoping for, and instead he took up normal jobs working in restaurants in London.

Norman also opened up The Mermaid Seafood Restaurant in the 1970s in Cornwall.

He was near the age of 50 when he decided to give acting another shot and returned to Australia, finally winning the role of Donald Fisher in Home and Away.