Back in the 1990s, most teenage girls bedroom walls were plastered with posters of the latest Australian soap hunks.

There was Scott Robinson, Mike Young and Rick Alessi from Neighbours (played by Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Dan Falzon) as well as Shane Parrish and Vinnie Patterson from Home And Away (Dieter Brummer and Ryan Kwanten). But also featuring heavily amongst them was another Aussie face – Home And Away's Blake Dean, played by Les Hill.

Blake first appeared in Summer Bay in July 1990 with his younger sister Karen, looking for Ailsa Stewart who'd been in prison with their mum, Margot.

He was a good-looking, high-spirited teen who was always getting into trouble at school and feeling the wrath of headmaster Donald Fisher.

And although Blake went on to have a relationship with Meg Bowman, things ended in tragedy when Meg – who'd been secretly battling leukaemia – passed away in his arms on the beach.

For actor Les, it was one of his first-ever roles, as he was still at school and only 16 years old when cast as Blake. Yet in just a couple of years, and with Home And Away by then pitted against hugely-popular Neighbours in the same TV time slot, he went on to become one of soap's biggest stars, earning $2,000 for personal appearances.

In 1993, readers of Inside Soap magazine voted him Best Male Character, Best Actor and Sexiest Man In Soap, with the Sydney Morning Herald naming him Home And Away's new poster boy, who "obliterated the memory of Craig MacLachlan," better known as Henry Ramsay in Neighbours.

Blake was even reportedly considered for a role in the huge US TV series Baywatch, but was forced to turn it down due to his Home And Away filming commitments.

But in 1993, the soap bubble has seemingly burst for Les, and he announced he'd quit Summer Bay. A short move to the the UK followed, when he featured in the children's TV series Go Getters alongside stars including Craig Charles, Bruno Brookes, Keith Chegwin and Michaela Strachan. He also appeared in Christmas pantos.

In the 30 years since, Les has featured in numerous TV series and films, including the cult Australian true-crime drama Underbelly – where he played a gangland figure called Jason Moran – the paramedic drama Rescue: Special Ops (starring alongside Craig MacLachlan) and the romantic comedy drama Wonderland.

But he's also found time to reprise his role as Blake, returning to Home And Away in 2002 as part of a special fourteenth anniversary storyline, and again in 2005 as part of the soap's 4,000th episode.

Away from the screen, Les has indulged in his passion of wine making by setting up his own label, Seven Sundays. In 2009, he told stuff.co.nz how it began as a joke, saying: "It started out as a joking ideas between two friends of mine one Sunday afternoon and ended up with us making our own label.

"I'd like to head back to New Zealand, base myself in Wellington, and head out into the Marlborough region see if I can't get a new Sauvignon Blanc for Australian Seven Sundays."

It seems his acting and extra curricular interests have paid off, as in 2020 Les was lucky enough to sell his beachside Sydney home for $2.81 million, just a year after buying it.

And the 50 year old's acting career is far from over, as he's currently appearing in the Australian TV series One Night, following three friends whose lives have been changed by the traumatic events of one particular night, twenty years ago, alongside English Doctor Who actress Jodie Whittaker.

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