Martha MacKenzie (also Stewart and Holden) is a fictional character from the Australian Channel Seven soap opera Home and Away, played by Jodi Gordon.

Upon her return in March 2005, Martha's storylines saw her surviving a helicopter crash, having an abortion and a miscarriage, battling alcoholism, being diagnosed with breast cancer and becoming a widow after her husband was shot.

Whilst playing Martha, Gordon was at the center of a number of personal scandals, which put her future in the show in doubt.

[15] Fellow Actor Ray Meagher who plays Martha's grandfather Alf Stewart backed her decision to leave the show, but said he was sad that his character would be left on-screen without any blood relatives.

[20] Of her portrayal, Gordon says that she enjoys the challenge of playing Martha because she gets to shout a lot when showing her crazy and fun side.

Now she has grown into a stylish woman with great taste in clothes which range from shorts and strappy tops to gorgeous summer dresses.

[23] Although the characters were separated on screen, they had gained a fan base on the Internet that believed Martha should be with Jack and wanted the pair to reunite.

"[6] Gordon also hoped for a happy ending for the two characters if they were to ever leave the serial adding: "If I had it my way, and I got to write the scripts then I'd make it happily ever after, Martha and Jack riding off into the sunset.

[20] The story line began playing out from the 2006 "cliffhanger" episode, when Ash reveals that he is married with children and leading a double life.

[25] Gordon branded Martha as ignorant to the situation she has got herself into: "I think she is so naive, she wants to believe that she's found a great guy and she keeps giving him second chances.

"[25] Martha fails to cope with the situation, as Gordon describes: "It's this whole emotional roller-coaster that, if you don't deal with your life, can be terrible.

Martha begins a downward spiral and is manipulated by new boyfriend Cam,[20] who has a hold over her due to his power and money, and her vulnerable state[23] - he "swept her off her feet".

Gordon took pole dancing lessons for a period of a few weeks funded by Channel Seven, and found the experience embarrassing and physically challenging.

[19][20] She found it hard dancing in front of her fellow cast members, commenting that "There's even one scene when all of the boys turn up at the club and they're looking at me – it's like having your mates seeing you half naked.

"[19] Gordon believed that the storyline was a turning point in Martha's development, as she has to hit rock bottom to realise who she is and what she really wants from life.

Gordon explained that "Roman says he needs to know if he is or isn't the baby's father and Martha has to agree to do a DNA test.

[29] The storyline was introduced just over a year after Gordon's partner, Chris Burkhardt, died from acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 23.

[30] Viewers saw the character discovering a lump in her breast, going against doctors' advice about terminating her pregnancy and subsequently going through with treatment for the cancer.

[31] After falling pregnant by Brett Macklin (Gerry Sont), Ruth Stewart (Justine Clarke) gave birth to Martha.

Her grandfather, Alf, and her great aunt, Morag (Cornelia Frances), came to visit and Martha chose to return to Australia to live with her relatives.

Martha then begins a relationship with Jack's best friend, Corey Henderson (Adam Saunders), after he saves her from a violent man.

Corey begins a hate campaign against Irene Roberts (Lynne McGranger) and starts poisoning her with mercury, leading to her being sectioned.

Peter Baker (Nicholas Bishop) has a stag night at the venue and Martha is caught pole dancing by Jack, Ric and Tony Holden (Jon Sivewright).

[32] Whilst grieving, Jack's cousins, Xavier (David Jones-Roberts) and Hugo Austin (Bernard Curry) arrive in Summer Bay for the funeral and she takes them into her home.

Hugo, who is hiding at Martha's farm, overhears him and recognises him as the cop that he and the others paid off when he was involved in the people smuggling racket.

[36] Gordon was nominated for "Sexiest Female" and "Best Storyline" for Jack and Martha's wedding day at the 2007 Inside Soap Awards.

[40] At the 2009 Australian Cosmopolitan "Fun, Fearless Female Women of the Year awards", Gordon was nominated in the TV category.

[41] Holy Soap describe Martha's most memorable moments as finding out she has cancer and that Jack (whom in their opinion was her true love) had been shot.

[44] The Broadcasting Standards Authority decided to uphold a complaint about a scene between the characters, which saw them sharing a passionate kiss before Martha showed her bra.

They wrote, "Martha holds a special place in the hearts of long-time fans because she was born to the teenage Roo (Justine Clarke) in the show's first year.