Rhiannon Bannenberg, 31, spent nine months away from home working on the new teen mystery series Dive Club, produced by the Steve Jaggi Company (responsible for Rip Tide and Back Of The Net - both filmed in the Illawarra).

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The writer/director wasn't able to see her family for most of 2020 but she couldn't complain about the idyllic environment of Port Douglas and being able to support the local tourism industry there which had been decimated.

"The rest of world shut down, but we were still able to shoot things there and able to have an all Australian cast," Bannenberg said, noting it was a great opportunity for emerging actors.

"Tourism was devastatingly impacted up there, but we were able to bring in some business ... and with no-one around we also got access to different locations that we may not have been able to get [prior to COVID]"

The downsides, she said, were being away from her family, filming in the suffocating heat and humidity, and the hungry predators who came out of hiding with lack of tourists.

"The crocodiles literally started encroaching on the town," the creative said.

"We were in the water a lot and the Irukandji [jellyfish] came out from the rivers."

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The idea for the teen drama began in 2019 with its development "touch and go" due to the pandemic, but the hard work paid off with the series now streaming on Netflix to 190 countries.

It has featured in the top 10 most popular series list in more than 30 countries - including the United States, Germany, Brazil, and Italy - and featured in the top 10 most popular kids' titles in more than 50 countries.

The story surrounds Cape Mercy, an idyllic existence that's suddenly shattered when battered by a cyclone and Lauren goes missing.

The mystery of her disappearance, the arrival of a new friend, Izzie, and with suspicious holes in the official investigation, a group of friends are plunged into a desperate search of their own that raises more questions the deeper they dive.

Bannenberg directed six of 12 episodes, and was also a writer on two of them.

The creative is excited to spend this Christmas at home in the Illawarra with the ones she loves, before jetting back to Queensland to work on a new project - a Christmas romance film set for release in late 2022.

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