Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as the sister of original character Max Ramsay (Francis Bell). She soon becomes the main matriarch of the Ramsay family. Madge arrives with her marriage in tatters, her son in prison, and her daughter a runaway teen; she rolled up her sleeves and got a job in The Waterhole to support the family as a single mother. She departed on 27 November 1992, before making a return on 7 November 1996. Madge died on 6 April 2001 from terminal pancreatic cancer. Charleston reprised the role for the show's 30th anniversary celebrations on 4 March 2015, and for the finale on 28 July 2022. Casting Actress Anne Charleston was appearing in the television series Possession when she auditioned for Madge. A few days later, she received a phone call to say she had won the role. Her casting was publicised in the 30 November 1985 edition of TV Week, where she revealed that she had signed to the show for six months. Writer Patrice Fidgeon speculated that she would continue beyond that. Charleston admitted that she did not watch the early episodes of the serial, but when she did eventually tune in, she liked what she saw and became "hooked." She found that the domestic situations in the show were "very believable" and it worked well. Shortly after her introduction, Charleston became one of the show's most popular actors. She quit Neighbours in 1992, but when she suffered financial difficulties following a failed lawsuit and debts, she returned in 1996. Of her return, Charleston said "When Neighbours asked me back, I didn't have any option. It was the only way to get back on my feet." Development Characterisation Madge was introduced as Max Ramsay's (Francis Bell) sister, who comes to Erinsborough after learning he has separated from his wife Maria Ramsay (Dasha Bláhová). Charleston explained: "When Madge hears from a mutual friend that Max's wife has left him, she hops on a plane and arrives on his doorstep, complete with 24 pieces of luggage." Madge becomes convinced that Max needs looking after and she decides that she is the person to do that, much to his horror. Charleston joked that Madge was "a real cow",