Peta Janossi

Infobox soap character
name = Peta Janossi
series = Home and Away
portrayer = Aleetza Wood
first = May 27, 1999
Episode 2624
last = July 14, 2000
Episode 2875
cause =
creator =


caption1 =


caption2 =


caption3 =
nickname =
alias =
gender = Female
born = 1983
death =
age =
occupation =
title =
residence =
parents =
siblings = David Janossi(brother)
spouse =
romances =
children =
grandchildren =
grandparents =
aunts/uncles =
nieces/nephews =
cousins =
relatives =
color = Television colour|Home and Away
color text =
species =

Peta Janossi was a fictional character in the Australian soap opera "Home and Away".Portrayed by Aleetza Wood, she was a regular on the show from 1999 until 2000.

Character history

Peta was first seen when Hayley Smith was approached by a classmate, Heather, who wanted her to be her partner in a competition for two friends to advertise skin care products.Peta, Heather's friend, accused Hayley of taking Heather off her but when she found out Heather had made the approach and Hayley learned that Heather had considered Peta too plain to be her partner, Hayley and Peta decided to ditch Heather and enter the competition together.

Although she was initially uncomfortable with the idea, Peta's glammed up appearance for the pair's entry was enough to attract the attention of Hayley's older brother Will.He asked her out but when Hayley mistakenly believed he was only getting her out of the way so she and her boyfriend Sam Marshall could spend time together Peta went off in a huff.Hayley then realised her mistake and she and Sam worked to get Will and Peta together.

Will and the others were puzzled by Peta's home life-she apparently lived with her grandmother but none of them had seen her and Peta was both reluctant to let them come to her house and free to stay out as late as she liked.In reality, Peta's grandmother had died on a trip to Poland.Worried they would be split up and sent to foster homes, Peta and her older brother Dave had failed to report her death and continued to live off her pension.When Peta received a letter saying her grandmother had been selected for jury service while Dave was away working in the city, she had no choice but to confide in Will.She then came up with a convuluted scheme whereby they took Annie, an elderly bag lady with bronchitis, to local doctor James Fraser, told him it was her gran and got him to write a letter saying she was unsuited for jury service.

Unfortunately, Annie settled into the role of Peta's gran a little too well, going along to parent-teacher evenings at school and making up stories about her childhood for her friends.Not wanting to send her back out onto the streets, Will and Peta instead decided to track down her estranged daughter, Frances Kennedy, and reunite them.They succeeded but with the worst possible timing-Frances turned up just as Irene Roberts was visiting the house, blowing the whole scam.

Irene was sympathetic but couldn't turn a blind eye to Peta living alone.She arranged her temporary foster care with Travis and Rebecca Nash but they were due to depart the Bay shortly.Fortunately Travis' brother Joel and his wife Natalie, who had already agreed to take over the house, also agreed to become official foster parents and keep an eye on Peta and Justine Welles, the other remaining foster child.

Although Will and Peta were still an item, she was uncomfortable with his continued closeness to his old girlfriend Gypsy Nash. She also refused to sleep with him, which annoyed him.When most of the Bay's teenagers were caught taking Irene's boyfriend Anthony Doyle's car for a spin, Peta and Hayley were annoyed when Will covered for Gypsy but not the rest of them, supposedly because her father was a police officer.Eventually, Will and Peta split and he got back together with Gypsy.

Around the same time, Edward Dunglass arrived in the Bay and he and Peta became an item.When she told him she regretted not being able to attend her gran's funeral, he arranged an improvised memorial service at the cemetery, although she was mortified when they were interrupted by Colleen Smart, convinced they were up to no good.She learned that his father had died of Huntington's Disease, meaning he could well have inherited it, and was somewhat concerned by his "live for the moment" attitude, including diving off the infamous Jump Rock.She told him he would have to stop the stunts or they would break up.Initially, he took the second option but later changed his mind and they were reunited.

When two boys from school took one of Edward's books and threatened to throw it into the sea, Peta was understandably annoyed that he offered to let them throw her in instead and ended up having to get the book back herself.She enrolled the pair in self-defence classes but Edward dropped out after one lesson, although he agreed it was a good idea for Peta to continue.

Meanwhile, Natalie had become pregnant and when rumours began spreading that Joel wasn't the father Peta initially believed them until Joel reassured her.Peta then got into a catfight with a classmate, Claire Rodgers, while defending Natalie.In the end, the rumours turned out to be true and Joel and Natalie split up.Peta remained in the Bay with Joel and Gypsy.

Peta was shocked when Edward made a half-hearted attempt to seduce her right before Joel walked in.He then suggested they get married and they ended up reciting impromptu vows at the caravan park before finally consummating their relationship.Edward then insisted he and Peta move in together and although no-one else was entirely happy with the idea his mother Judith eventually agreed to let Peta live with them.Peta noticed that Judith and Joel were spending a lot of time together and tried her hand at match-making by sending Judith some flowers anonymously, knowing she would ask Joel about them and it would get them talking.

Shortly after, Edward was officially diagnosed with Huntingdon's and after initially putting on a brave face he broke down in Peta's arms. He dropped out of school, planning to spend his remaining years travelling, and after some initial reluctance Peta did the same.Judith arranged for them to go and stay with her sister in Rome as a first step and after coping with his mood swings and deteriorating condition Peta left the Bay determined to support the boy she considered to be her husband.