Dieter defends window cleaning

Dieter Brummer became a window cleaner
after leaving Home And Away

The actor was just 15 when he was cast as Shane Parrish in the soap for four years, and though some critics belittled his decision to become a window cleaner when he left in 1996, he insists it is an art in itself.

Dieter told TV Tonight: "People say that I'm just a window cleaner, in reality it's substantially more involved than that - working at heights, it's a relatively specialist trade."

He added: "I just wanted to get a bit of real life experience under my belt, but I'd always intended on coming back to the acting game at some point.

"It was a pretty intense time coming out of high school to receive all this fame and adulation. As great as it was I wanted to prove to myself I could get my hands dirty and sweat for a buck as easily as standing around on set, being primped and preened."

The 33-year-old is now returning to acting as Detective Trevor Haken in the second series of Underbelly, after seeing some of his former Home And Away co-stars make acting comebacks.

Dieter revealed: "I figured Les Hill can do it, Daniel Amalm can do it, and so did quite a few people from the first series I had either worked with or known in the past. I think the Australian public enjoys seeing faces that they might not have seen for a long time. Fingers crossed it does well for those of us who have been around for a while or are rehashing our careers."