‘No one can find him’: Round the Twist star Mathew Waters says actor Rian McLean, who played Pete Twist, has ‘vanished off the face of the earth’ – dashing hopes of a reunion movie
Classic Australian children’s TV show Round the Twist won’t be having a cast reunion anytime soon, says actor Mathew Waters.
Mathew Waters, who played troublemaker Bronson Twist in seasons three and four, has revealed they can’t possibly reunite because one cast member has ‘vanished’.
Rian McLean, who played Bronson’s brother Pete Twist from 2000 to 2001, apparently can’t be contacted because no one knows where he is.
‘No one can find him’: Round the Twist star Mathew Waters (right, as Bronson Twist) has said that actor Rian McLean (left, as Pete Twist) has ‘vanished off the face of the earth’ – dashing hopes of a reunion movie. Pictured on the ABC show in the year 2000
When asked on The Babble podcast this week if he still keeps in touch with his co-stars, Mathew, 31, said he hasn’t spoken to Rian since the show ended 19 years ago.
‘Rian McLean has vanished off the face of the earth, no one can find him,’ he said.
‘I have multiple times tried to see where he is on social media and if there’s any way of chatting to him but can’t get in touch.’
While he hasn’t been able to catch up with Rian, Mathew has spoken to Ebonnie Masini, who played his older sister Linda, twice since filming wrapped in 2001.
He also keeps in touch with Tom Budge, who played Tiger Gleeson, one of the ‘Gribble Boys’ who would bully his family on the show.
Living off the grid? Mathew (right, in a recent photo) has tried to track down Rian (left, together on Round the Twist) on social media to discuss a potential Round the Twist reunion movie, but hasn’t been able to track him down
Family: Mathew now has a wife (left) and two children and continues to act, mainly in musicals
Rian would be 36 now, but his decision to ‘vanish’ from the public eye effectively dashes all hopes for a Round the Twist reunion movie, which Mathew says he has written a script for.
‘A few years ago I had some pretty thick notes put together for a film, for a Round the Twist film, where kind of brought all of the original or I guess my original cast back,’ Mathew said.
‘Mr Gribble’s son has kind of filled Gribbs’ shoes and he’s trying to do something with the lighthouse and one of the ghosts comes and gets us to save the lighthouse. So then, our family and their family come back.’
Mathew has tried to acquire the right to Round the Twist but said the ABC was ‘just so tight’ with licensing because the show is ‘priceless’.
Flashback Friday! Speaking on The Babble podcast,, Mathew also reflected one of the show’s most famous episodes, The Whirling Derlfish, in which Bronson eats a fish that turns his ‘you know what’ into a propeller when it touches the water, allowing him to swim and even fly
He also reflected on one of the show’s most famous episodes: The Whirling Derlfish.
In that episode, Mathew’s character eats a fish that turns his ‘you know what’ into a propeller when it touches the water, allowing him to swim and even fly.
Round the Twist originally aired on Channel Seven in 1990 before ABC took over the show in 1993. It also aired in Britain on the BBC, earning a cult following.
There was then a seven-year hiatus before the show returned in 2000, which is when Mathew, Rian and Ebonnie became the new Twist kids.
Bronson to the rescue! The younger Twist brother (right) saved Pete (left) from drowning in the ‘Whirling Derlfish’ episode by using his ‘whirly willy’ to fly