Australian television star Rebekah Elmaloglou has surprised viewers by revealing her unexpected family connections to one of Britain's most celebrated acting icons. The revelation came during a recent episode of the popular reality series I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Australia, where the actress shared details about her famous relative.
A Surprising Family Connection
The 51-year-old actress explained to her campmates that she is related to none other than Dame Judi Dench, the Oscar-winning British actress who has become a national treasure through her decades of remarkable performances. Elmaloglou clarified the exact nature of their relationship, stating that Dench is her mother's cousin, making them first cousins once removed.
'Judi Dench is my mum's cousin,' Rebekah told her fellow contestants during the reality show broadcast this week. 'I'm quite close to Finty, her daughter,' she continued, referring to Dench's daughter, actress Tara Cressida Frances 'Finty' Williams.
An Awkward Television Appearance
Elmaloglou went on to share an amusing anecdote about a time when she appeared on the British television quiz show Pointless, which happens to be one of Dame Judi's favourite programmes. The actress was in England doing publicity for Neighbours alongside her co-star Stefan Dennis when they participated in the show.
'Stefan and I were just hopeless,' she recalled with humour. 'All I could think was: "Oh my God, Judi's going to be watching this, so annoyed that her little Australian cousin is so useless".'
The Distinguished Career of Dame Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench represents one of Britain's most accomplished acting careers, having received widespread critical acclaim and numerous prestigious awards throughout her decades on stage and screen. The 91-year-old actress won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1998 for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love.
Beyond her Oscar success, Dench is perhaps best known to international audiences for her role as M in the James Bond franchise, appearing in seven Bond films between 1995 and 2015. Her remarkable career has earned her eight Academy Award nominations, making her one of the most nominated British actors in Oscar history.
Rebekah Elmaloglou's Television Journey
While her cousin has achieved global recognition, Rebekah Elmaloglou has built her own successful career in Australian television. She first rose to prominence playing troubled teenager Sophie Simpson on the long-running soap opera Home and Away.
More recently, she has become a familiar face to British audiences through her role as Terese Willis on Neighbours, which she joined in 2013. The actress has experienced the rollercoaster of the show's production history, having moved to country New South Wales after the programme was initially cancelled in 2022.
The Neighbours Revival and Return
When news broke that Neighbours would be revived by Amazon, Elmaloglou didn't hesitate to pack up and return to the show's Melbourne production base. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, the actress admitted she felt 'a bit annoyed' about the domestic upheaval, having moved with her husband Kane Baker and son Kai to be closer to her parents on the mid-north coast.
The break from Neighbours turned into months of what she described as 'down time', during which she made an independent film and attended a few auditions. 'We were just grieving,' she said about the show's initial cancellation. 'I was very much like, "I don't care if I'm not working at the moment." So I never got that far into thinking "What if there's no work out there for me?"'
Tragically, Neighbours was cancelled for a second time in 2025, less than two years after its celebrated revival, marking another chapter in the show's turbulent history.
Current Reality Television Venture
Rebekah Elmaloglou is currently appearing on the latest season of I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! Australia, where she is reportedly earning between $90,000 and $120,000 for her participation. The show has provided the platform for her to share this surprising family connection with a wider audience, revealing the unexpected link between Australian soap opera royalty and British acting aristocracy.
The revelation adds an intriguing dimension to Elmaloglou's public persona, connecting her to one of the most respected figures in British cultural life while she continues to build her own successful career in entertainment.
