Michala Banas has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late father John on what would have been his birthday, one month after his tragic death.
The McLeod’s Daughters star, 47, shared a precious gallery of photos to social media on Monday which captured her and her late father spending quality time together.
One sweet photo showed the pair beaming brightly at the camera and another captured John having fun at a local bar with a drink in his hand.
She captioned the pictures with some bittersweet words: ‘Happy birthday Dad. I desperately wish you were here.
‘But, I bought you some sunflowers and will toast you with a glass of wine tonight. Miss you and love you beyond words.’
Many of Michala’s celebrity friends took to the comments section to offer their words of support.
Michala Banas has paid a heartbreaking tribute to her late father John on what would have been his birthday, one month after his tragic death. Pictured together
‘Happy Birthday John. Sending biggest love to you Micha,’ wrote Australian actress Bridie Carter.
Meanwhile, reality TV star Shaynna Blaze shared a praying emoji.
Last month, Michala took to social media to announce the death of her father, UK-born writer John Banas.
In the emotional post, the actress shared images of John, and said he died ‘suddenly’, but did not reveal the cause of death.
Beginning his 40-year career as a writer, director, and actor in NZ, John relocated to Australia and went on to create Seven’s long-running crime series City Homicide.
Sharing the sad family news on her Instagram, Michala included a moving tribute to her father.
‘Yesterday, my Dad John died suddenly,’ she began.
‘I am utterly heartbroken and in complete shock. And even though I’m a grown woman, the kid in me wants the world to stop and know how amazing he was.
The McLeod’s Daughters star shared a precious gallery of photos to social media on Monday which captured her and her late father spending quality time together
One sweet photo captured the pair beaming brightly at the camera and another showed John having fun at a local bar with a drink in his hand
‘Did I say he was amazing? You need to know that. All of you. Love you beyond words Dad.’
Michala included several black-and-white throwback photos of John from his days as a stage actor in Wellington four decades ago.
The NZ On Screen website shared an obituary of John, whose writing credits include the Australian TV series Blue Heelers, Water Rats, All Saints and Stingers.
Born in Nottingham in the UK, John was raised in NZ.
Beginning his career on stage in Wellington in the 1960s, John began performing in theatre revues with famed Kiwi comedy superstar John Clarke. He also wrote drama for radio.
The pair later starred in New Zealand’s first-ever sitcom, Buck House, which ran for two seasons between 1974 and 1975.
In the 1980s, he turned to writing and worked on NZ dramas like The Immigrants, Mortimer’s Pitch and In Their Hands and went on to pen more than 200 hours of TV.
Late in the decade, John was one of the creative forces behind Network Ten’s long-running soap E Street (1989-1993).
He also worked as a director, including the children’s series Mirror, Mirror, which starred his daughter Michala.
Michala, who was born in Wellington, is best known to Aussie audiences for playing the lead role in Seven’s Always Greener (2001-2003) and in 2004, she joined the cast of Nine’s soap McLeod’s Daughters (2001-2009).
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