Neighbours
 |
| Neighbours | |
|---|---|
| Created by | Reg Watson |
| Starring | (current cast) Ian Smith - Stephanie McIntosh - Janet Andrewartha - Ingo Dammer-Smith - Nell Feeney - Damien Bodie - Eliza Taylor-Cotter - Sianoa Smit-McPhee - Ben Nicholas - Ryan Moloney - Stephen Lovatt - Carla Bonner - Aaron Aulsebrook-Walker - Kyal Marsh - Natalie Bassingthwaighte - Tom Oliver - Patrick Harvey - Alan Fletcher - Jackie Woodburne - Stefan Dennis - Caitlin Stasey - Matthew Werkmeister - Daniel O’Connor - Pippa Black - Dichen Lachman - Adam Hunter |
| Country of origin | Australia |
| No. of episodes | 4965 as of 12 May 2006 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 22 min |
| Original release | |
| Network | Seven Network |
| Release | March 18 1985 – Present |
Neighbours is a long-running Australian soap opera, running daily episodes of 22 minutes (excluding commercials). It originally aired on the Seven Network in Australia in 1985; however, they cancelled the series later that year. The series was immediately picked-up by rival Network Ten. It began screening on that channel in early 1986 and has remained popular with its core teenage audience ever since. The show was created by Reg Watson and is produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation.
The series follows the daily lives of several families who live in the fictional Ramsay Street, Erinsborough – although in fact it is restricted to the small cul-de-sac of six houses at the end of the street – and includes the usual soap staples of births, deaths, and marriages. The show features a regular turnover of attractive young actors mixed in with the more stable cast of older people. Though it is not commonly mentioned so as to not alienate viewers in other Australian cities, Erinsborough (nearly an anagram of 'Our Neighbours') is undoubtedly supposed to be a suburb of Melbourne. The show is filmed in Melbourne, and for street scenes uses Pin Oak Court in Vermont South, a suburb in eastern Melbourne. Erinsborough is often contrasted with the neighbouring, and equally fictitious, suburb of Eden Hills. Other locations often mentioned (and sometimes seen) in the show include West Waratah, Waratah Heights and Anson's Corner.
Many successful Australian actors and singers had some of their earliest work on Neighbours, including Kylie Minogue, Jesse Spencer, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe (brief extra appearance), Natalie Imbruglia, Jason Donovan, Holly Valance, Mark Little, Radha Mitchell, Delta Goodrem and Natalie Bassingthwaighte of the band Rogue Traders. Actor Alan Dale who had previously starred in The Young Doctors, played the central character of Jim Robinson for the show's first seven years and is now a recognisable star in US series such as 24 and The O.C.. One of the most enduring characters currently on the show is Harold Bishop, played by actor Ian Smith who has also written many of the scripts for the show.
Neighbours celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2005 with a special episode which featured appearances from several former members of the cast.
Neighbours internationally
The show is also popular in the United Kingdom where it quickly gained a cult following after it began to be broadcast there in 1986. BBC One began by screening it at lunchtime, but it was soon given an early evening repeat slot by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter. In the late 1980s it regularly had a UK audience in the tens of millions and was sometimes watched by more people than the population of Australia at that time. The episodes in the UK are now generally shown between one and three months after they are seen in Australia, as the BBC often removes the show from its schedule during major sports tournaments such as Wimbledon and bank holidays in order to take into account the fact that the show usually takes a four week break over the Christmas/New Year in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere summer. Accounting for the duplication of viewers across its two UK showings a day, the show rates on average over five million viewers a day, making it arguably the highest rated commonwealth import on British television.
It also airs every evening on Irish TV station RTÉ Two at 5.30. These episodes are also about three months behind the Australian network.
The show has also been sold to networks in many other countries. Episodes from 1999 were aired for a six-week trial basis on the American channel Oxygen in March of 2004. At first, it was shown in the afternoon opposite higher-rated American soaps such as The Young and the Restless and All My Children, which gave the show anemic ratings from the first airing; the people who would be most interested in the show were watching other, more established serials. After a couple of weeks, the show moved to a late-night time slot and eventually left the air entirely. It was the sixth Australian soap opera to be aired in the United States (The Sullivans, Prisoner, Home and Away, Paradise Beach and Pacific Drive are the other five).
It has been long aired by Television New Zealand and screens twice daily at 5:05am and 5:00pm.
Storylines
In the beginning, the show mainly focused on two families, the Robinsons and the Ramsays (after whom "Ramsay Street" is named) who were as the name of the show suggests, neighbours. The show initially gained notoriety for its depiction of the teenage romance of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell. Their Romeo and Juliet style romance culminating in a wedding was keenly anticipated by viewers and is still fondly regarded today as being one of the high points of the series. Another popular couple in the show's early days was the pairing of Des Clarke and Daphne Lawrence, a couple who also lived on Ramsay Street alongside the Ramsays and the Robinsons. Daphne's death in 1988 is still considered as one of the most emotional moments on the show.
Until recently, both the Ramsays and the Robinsons had been written out of the series, with the sole exception of the Bishop family (who are related to the Ramsays through the marriage of Harold Bishop to the late Madge Ramsay). However, one of the original characters, Paul Robinson, made a return to the show in the final episode of 2004 and became a regular character in early 2005. Today the show revolves around the Scully, Hoyland, Timmins and Kinski families, along with several other residents who live in Ramsay Street.
In the late 1990s, Neighbours gained the reputation as being a somewhat conservative soap with topics such as sex generally not being included in the storylines due to its early evening timeslot in Australia and the United Kingdom (Earlier storylines involving controversial topics such as incest and teenage sex were often censored by the BBC in the UK, which may account for the reluctance on the part of producers to depict controversial issues). In the past two years this has started to change, with the show now regularly featuring its teenage characters discussing issues such as sex and contraception in a manner which has not been seen on the show since the mid 1990s. Recently, the show has depicted a lesbian storyline involving Sky Mangel and Lana Crawford. There was also not one but two incest storylines; the first involving Serena Bishop and Luka Dokic, who embarked on an intimate relationship, blissfully ignorant of the fact that they were half-siblings, sharing a mother, Liljana Bishop. The second storyline to touch on this taboo subject was the plotline in which Harold Bishop became obsessed with a younger woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to his deceased daughter, Kerry (in fact, the character was played by Linda Hartley-Clark, who did indeed play Kerry Bishop years earlier.) The pair went as far as sharing a kiss, which ultimately made Harold 'snap out' of his obsession. The character of Sindi Watts has also been involved in storylines involving stripping and more recently prostitution.
The break up of long time married couple Karl and Susan Kennedy and soon after Joe and Lyn Scully has also been a great source of interest to viewers, especially since it has led to a long running storyline in which Izzy Hoyland duped Karl into believing that he was the father of her unborn child continuing the charade long after she tragically miscarried in November 2004. After over a year of manipulation, Izzy's lies came to light in a spectacular fashion, and despite a last ditch attempt by Izzy to gain Karl's sympathy by falsely claiming that she was raped, Karl finally dumped Izzy for good.
Late in the 2005 season (broadcast in January 2006 in the UK) came a highly dramatic storyline where a large contingency of Ramsay Street regulars went on a joyflight on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft over Bass Strait. A time bomb had also been planted in the plane's undercarriage. During the flight Izzy discovered a note to her saying 'To my one and only... think about your life and everything you've done.'
The bomb soon went off, sending the plane crashing into the ocean below. David, Liljana and Serena were killed, although only David's body has been recovered. Paul, Elle, Izzy, and Sky were quickly found and taken to hospital. Susan was missing for a few days but eventually rescued. Dylan and Connor, who believed Dylan was wanted for armed robbery, survived washed up on a desolate beach and decided to fake their own deaths by assuming new identities, but they recently came back to Erinsborough. Robert Robinson, Paul's son, was revealed to be the bomber on March 28 through a flashback.
Current characters
Template:Spoiler Spoiler warning: This list is based on the Australian cast, and will sometimes reflect arrivals and departures which have not been broadcast in the UK.
These are the current main characters, who each appear in two or three episodes every week, apart from fairly rare breaks for the actors' other real life commitments. (The actors all get a month off at the same time for their main holidays). Most main characters feature for at least two years, but only a fairly small minority last for more than five years.
The list on the right shows the current (Australian) cast in order of seniority by first appearance. The characters marked with asterisks have had more than one spell on the show, with gaps of several years between them. The table is based on their first ever appearances, the episode number of which is shown in brackets.
| Order of Arrival of Current Characters
(in Australia; episode of arrival in brackets) |
|
Bishop/Mangel family:
- Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) (1987-1991, 1996 onwards) - former coffee-shop owner (before it burned down), General Store co-owner, devout Christian, Salvation Army member, tuba player, slightly naïve, often comic relief, widower of the late Madge Bishop, father of the late David and Kerry Bishop, grandfather of Sky Mangel and Serena Bishop. Harold was given up for dead in 1991, when it was thought he had been washed out to sea. Five years later, however, in one of the show's more unlikely storylines, Harold reappeared in Erinsborough as a Salvation Army worker named Ted. Since then he suffered a stroke, but has since recovered. However, the stroke brought out some elements of his personality which had been previously hidden from his loved ones and the audience. During the crash of the joy-flight plane in 2005, Harold lost his son David, David's wife Liljana, and granddaughter Serena. In the last episode of 2005, Harold attempts to strangle Paul Robinson. Meanwhile he treats the unsuspecting Paul with apparent concern and kindness. He then left Erinsborough for a short while before coming back and confessing all to Paul.
- Sky Mangel (Miranda Fryer) (Stephanie McIntosh) (1989-1991, 2003 onwards) - Harold's teenage granddaughter, daughter of Kerry Bishop (deceased) and step-daughter of Joe Mangel, ex-girlfriend of Boyd Hoyland, to whom she lost her virginity, currently dating Dylan Timmins. Became best friends with Lana Crawford after they initially hated each other, and Sky helped Lana come out of the closet. Developed a close personal friendship with Gabby Walker, because of the similarity she had with her mother. She and Boyd broke up after Boyd found out she kissed Dylan while he was in hospital and Dylan soon became her boyfriend. Sky and Dylan managed to find dirt on Affirmacon, the company who contaminated Lassiters Lake and want to build the Erinsborough Mall, and with the help of other residents managed to bring Affirmacon down. Sky was recently involved in the 2005 plane crash, but recovered with no injuries. Has recently started uni and performed an on air radio station strip tease. She was recently involved in a storyline where she kissed her art teacher. She spent the night with him and Dylan found out so he dumped her.
Scully family:
- Lynette "Lyn" Scully (nee O'Rourke) (Janet Andrewartha) (1999 onwards) - Recently split up with her long-time husband, Joe. Mother of Stephanie, Jack, Felicity, Michelle and Oscar. When Oscar was born, she got post-natal depression and even left Oscar alone in the car once. Has slight problems with shoplifting. Dated Andy Tanner, who left his wife for Lyn, but ended it shortly afterwards. Janelle and the other Timmins are currently living in her house with her. She was romantically involved with Bobby Hoyland, until she found out he had cheated on her with Susan, and is now engaged to Joe Mangel. Joe and Lyn decide to free-fall and give their relationship a go. However, their celebration is cut short when Toby (Joe’s son) calls and requests Joe’s help in setting up a new farm he’s bought. Joe is torn, but Lyn finally makes him see that he has to prioritise his son and that, if they were meant to be, Joe will come back to her. She is mildly neurotic and worked for Gino until she was fired so has taken up a job with Paul Robinson, against all her morals, as he is the only person who would employ an unqualified woman of her age. Her duties have ranged from stock checking, debt collection and serving an eviction notice to Harold. Lyn is currently putting all her energy into looking after her grandson Charlie Hoyland and her daughter Stephanie, who has cancer. Lyn's fussiness over both Steph and the baby has lead to suggestions from Max and Susan that Lyn is trying to wrongfully overcompensate for Joe's absence and her missing out on Oscar's early days because of her depression.
- Oscar Scully (Ingo Dammer-Smith) (2003 onwards) - infant son of Lyn and Joe Scully. His mother had post-natal depression when he was born, but once diagnosed, she was able to recover. His godparents are Lyn's mother Valda, Harold Bishop (for helping the Scullys through many situations), Susan (for being a good friend) and Gino (Lyn's employer at the hairdressers). Originally, Karl was to be Oscar's fourth godparent, but was replaced by Gino.
Timmins/Rebecchi family:
- Janelle Timmins (nee Rebecchi) (Nell Feeney) (2004, 2005 onwards) - Mother from Colac, to Dwayne, Dylan, Brandon, Janae, Scott "Stingray", and Bree. Wife of Kim, Big Kev's sister, Lyn's apprentice at The Salon. A bitter, lazy woman, used frequently in comical storylines on the programme, who used to make money from injury scams. Had a small fling with Bobby Hoyland. Wrote a novel about her life in Ramsay Street, which Nina Tucker's former singing manager, Melody Jones, would like to publish. Lyn kicked her and her family out onto the streets to live in a caravan park, but recently let them back into her home. She has recently found happiness again with the return of her husband, Kim, after she struggled to provide for a family of six children on her own (4 of which are in Erinsborough, currently), when her husband left her.
- Dylan Timmins (Damien Bodie) (2005-) - Stingray's brother, and boyfriend of Sky Mangel. Was formerly a high-school dropout in juvenile detention. Now released and trying to reform himself, he is constantly being put down by his mother. Dylan is currently repeating year 12, and is also doing part time business work for Paul Robinson. Paul convinced him to set up his friend Roo to be arrested by the police in an attempted robbery of "Scarlet Bar". When he and Sky tried to save some animals that had been poisoned in the contaminated Lassiter's lake, he then got poisoned himself, and is now susceptible to cancer and other ailments. After some help from Paul Robinson, he and Sky, with the help of other residents, managed to bring down Affirmacon. When Paul Robinson's leg was infected and it needed to be amputated, Dylan forged Paul's signature to save his life. After recently being involved in the plane crash at sea, Dylan attempted to stage his own death by avoiding the search and rescue teams in an attempt to start a new life after being charged with armed robbery. He made his way back to Erinsborough and revealed himself at his own wake when he discovered that his brother was likely to be imprisoned too, because he had not blamed the robbery all on Dylan. The two brothers had a brief period in jail, before Stuart went undercover as an inmate and got them released. He started a small food business called Dyl-Dogs as a challange from Paul to double $2000; however, he later gave his business to his father to take over as head chef and manager at Lucinda's café. Since Paul's acquisition of The General Store, Dylan has been co-managing both The Store and Lucinda's, with notable focus of his attention being placed on the former.He then servered his ties with Paul when he was framed by his evil son Robert for an accident in which some shelves nearly crushed Elle.To make matters worse he then found that Sky had slept with her art teacher and dumped her. He then started as a chef at the Scarlet Bar.
- Scott "Stingray" Timmins (Ben Nicholas) (2004 onwards) - teenage cousin of Toadfish, and "favourite" son of Janelle Timmins. He was given his fish nickname normally associated with the Rebecchi side of the family by Toadie, after he complained to his cousin that he thought the Rebecchis didn't respect the Timminses. Diagnosed with ADHD, although this was never fully confirmed. Has 3 brothers and 2 sisters (Dwayne, Brandon, Dylan, Bree, Janae). Used to go out with a girl named Sharon "Shazza" Cox, to whom he lost his virginity, but soon broke up with her. Former boyfriend of Serena, whom he broke up with after Boyd and Sky broke up, because he had found about Serena and Boyd's fling. Scott recently went to court charged with armed robbery as an accomplice of his brother Dylan. He has now been set free and has since found an interest in Rachel Kinski, the two being found in his room late at night after Rachel ran away for the second time due to a disagreement with Katya, Katya forbidding Rachel seeing Stingray stating "That's illegal" even though the two know nothing happened. Stingray has started film school at Eden Hills Uni (Erinsborough campus), after being fasttracked onto the course by a high-powered lecturer that saw one of his films. He is also working at Scarlet Bar, where he persists in drinking beer despite hating it, in order to fit in with his friends and his surroundings. In an upcoming episode, he shares a passionate kiss with Sky who he spends the night with. It is belived that she is pregnant with Stingray's baby.
- Janae Timmins (Eliza Taylor-Cotter) (2005 onwards) - Janelle's daughter, Dylan and Stingray's younger sister, older sister of Bree, ex-girlfriend of Mike Pill (to whom she lost her virginity), former nemesis of Serena Bishop. She is very flirtatious, and in her own opinion, "Janae Timmins is a dead set hottie." She stole Shazza's boyfriend, Mike. She then met up with Chris Cousens who spiked her drink and tried to take advantage of her, but Scott, Dylan and Bree arrived in the nick of time to help her. Mike pressured her into having unprotected sex with him, and she dumped him shortly afterwards. She has counselling sessions with Karl, in which she eventually developed a dependence on Karl, which led to Janelle thinking that Karl was taking advantage of Janae, almost destroying Karl's career. She then started a relationship with Boyd Hoyland. She then discovered she nearly caught a "life threatening illness". Recently, she was obsessively hinting at Boyd that she wanted a child; however, this got to him and the pair split. After what appeared to be a chance at reconcilliation, Janae agreed to not pressure Boyd about children but then drove him away when she wanted him to keep away from his uni friend Sasha, who she claimed was trying to steal him for herself (which turned out to be true). The pair are currently separated and Janae is attempting to become "smarter" by changing her hair and clothes, watching documentary films and reading (albeit not understanding) broadsheet newspapers, as a response to Max Hoyland's comments that Sasha is a better match for Boyd than Janae.In upcoming episodes Boyd asks for Janae back and she says no, she says that she doesent want to get hurt by him any more. Then, soon after Boyd shows up at her doorstep on one knee and asks her to marry him. she accepts his proposal to Janelle's delight and to Max's horror after she had Max think that she was to say no.
- Breeana "Bree" Timmins (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) (2005 onwards) - The youngest of the Timmins children, friend of Summer Hoyland, Rachel Kinski and Zeke Kinski, in whom she has a romantic interest. She is an interesting character, who has aspects both like a sweet little girl and also a schemer. She really enjoys reading. Her mother makes her very nervous, and causes her to vomit. She came first place in the Erinsborough High spelling bee, and then won the national finals, winning her family $15000. She had a short relationship with Zeke Kinski, before dumping him for being a 'dobber'. On Friday 31st March, Karl made a shock discovery: Kim is not Bree's father and it was later discovered that she was actually accidentally switched for another newborn at the hospital shortly after birth, because the midwife had been called away suddenly without having first created ID wristbands for the babies. Bree is also now considering finding her real parents...
- Jarrod "Toadfish" (or "Toadie") Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) (1995 onwards) - The Rebecchis were once one of the main families of Ramsay Street, but only Toadie remains as a main character. He is one of the series most enduring and popular characters. The Timminses are his cousins. While attempting to fake dyslexia in high school to be given preferential treatment in examinations, Jarrod easily passed an intelligence test. With encouragement from school principal Susan Kinski (then Kennedy, neé Smith), he broke out of his lazy approach to his studies and applied himself in order to graduate with top marks (a storyline commonly repeated since.) He has come become a respectable lawyer (and sometime slob)as part of the firm "Tim Collins and Associates" which shares a premises with Dr Karl's Medical Centre. He is also a former wrestler (fighting under the name "The Lawman") and former co-host of the wrestling show "Choke-Hold" (on the fictional Channel 44) with Connor (as "The Shamrock"), as well as having owned a bikini store named "Bounce", which was given to him by a law client in severe debt. The shop closed after minor partner Serena Bishop died in the plane crash, leaving Toadie further out of pocket, despite many attempts to make it a success. He was married to Dee Bliss, but tragically ended up being widowed on their wedding day whilst the happy couple were setting off on their honeymoon (Dee went missing after their car careened off a cliff into the sea, and is presumed drowned), and is ex-boyfriend of Sindi Watts. Since late 2004, he has been a great contribution to the "House of Trousers" (previously just known as number 30 where he has lived since the late 1990's). Members of the "House of Trousers" both past and present include Joel Sammuels (Daniel Mc Pherson), Lance Wilkinson, Connor O'Neill, Stuart Parker and Ned Parker. Bob the dog has also lived there since his owner Sarah Beaumont married and moved to Europe. He also had a relationship with Eva "Destruction" Doyle, his former wrestling partner; however, she had to leave to do a tour of Australia while he had to remain to keep his lawyer job.
- Kim Timmins (Brett Swain) (2005 onwards) - The father of the Timmins family. Seen as a bludging surfer, Kim comes from a wealthy family, but they didn't want him to marry Janelle. Kim rebelled against his family, who in turn offered him a second chance giving Kim and Janelle a big home to live in, with all the comforts. Kim turned his family down, and as a result of this, Janelle left him, blaming him for turning down the one opportunity they had to start a "real family". Kim did not contact any of his children at Janelle's request, but recently turned up in Ramsay Street after the disappearance of Dylan after the plane crash. He and Janelle are now back together, and are planning a second wedding, despite the fact that Kim had a vasectomy in order to stop Janelle from (somehow) having their seventh child without his consent. Kim has worked as a labourer for Paul Robinson but resigned, before taking on a job at Scarlet Bar, from which he was fired for "taking too many liberties". He currently operates the hotdog cart started by Dylan (Dyl-Dogs) but has recently sustituted the hotdogs for illegal pirated DVDs, the money from which he has used to buy a car, many treats for Bree and various expensive DNA tests when he found he wasn't Bree's father.
Hoyland family:
- Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt) (2002 onwards) - father of three,blokey bloke, married to Steph (mother of Charlie, but not Summer and Boyd), son of Bobby and Rosie Hoyland. His first wife, Claire, died several years ago of cancer, leaving him to raise Summer and Boyd by himself. Former co-owner of the pub "Lou's Place" (with Lou Carpenter), before it burnt down. Co-owner of "Scarlet Bar" with his sister Izzy. His father Bobby recently returned to see Max and Izzy, and Max didn't want anything to do with him, but after he decided to accept him, Bobby ran away again. He and Steph were going to adopt a baby girl off Kayla, but eventually Kayla decided to raise the baby with her boyfriend, the baby's biological father. Max was overjoyed to discover, on his 40th birthday, that his wife Steph is pregnant with their first child, who was born Monday 20th March 2006.
- Stephanie "Steph" Hoyland (nee Scully) (Emma Roche) (Carla Bonner) (1999 onwards) - 20-something mechanic and biker chick, overcame cancer and is married to the love of her life, Max Hoyland. Daughter of Joe and Lyn. Was undergoing IVF treatment with Max, but it failed. Involved in car crash whilst on her motorbike with Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine), she collided into Brendan Bell's car; he later died from his injuries. Her ex-boyfriend, Larry "Woody" Woodhouse, returned from the dead after his car exploded, it was revealed it was someone else’s body who was found. Was found guilty of the murder of her biological grandfather Charlie Cassidy (although innocent), but was given a suspended sentence. She managed to appeal her verdict with some money given to her by Bobby, and therefore was able to apply for adoption. Unfortunately, just as she was about to adopt Kayla's baby, Kayla announced that she and Boyd were going to raise the baby themselves. After a few weeks of drama, Kayla finally told the biological father, Anthony, who had been kept in the dark about her pregnancy, that baby Ashley was his and they decided to raise her together, leaving Steph heartbroken once more. Steph and Max were recently overcome with joy after finding out that Steph is, in fact pregnant. Steph recently started having recurring dreams about Drew Kirk. At the start of 2006, it was revealed that Steph's breast cancer had returned. She has just given birth to her first child, a boy named Charlie after her late grandfather.
- Charlie Hoyland (Aaron Aulsebrook-Walker) (2006 Onwards)- Infant Son of Stephanie and Max, born Monday 20th March.
Boyd Hoyland (Kyal Marsh) (2002 onwards) - teenage son of Max, skater and ex-boyfriend of Sky Mangel, to whom he lost his virginity in 2004. Had a dispute with a guy named Travis Dean about space to put up posters, which resulted in Travis threatening Boyd's family. He was put up a grade, but flunked his year 12 exams and got a job at a gym, whose manager persuaded him to take up bodybuilding and take human growth hormones. He was mistakenly diagnosed as having Adolescent Schizophrenia but the symptoms were due to a large frontal lobe brain tumour. This was removed, but the surgery put him in a coma for a short while, but he woke up after his grandfather came to see him. He broke up with Sky after he found out she kissed Dylan while he was in a coma. He offered to help Kayla raise her baby, Ashley, but eventually they realised that it wouldn't have worked, as Kayla was still in love with Ashley's father, Anthony. He has now started a relationship with Janae Timmins. He has decided to pursue a career in medicine, and in his second attempt at his VCEs he came in the top one percent of students in the state to win a place at medical school. He is now engaged to Janae.
- Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) (2003-2006) - sister of Max, ex-business partner of Harold Bishop in the coffee shop, co-owner of "Scarlet Bar" with Max, girlfriend of Paul Robinson. She moved in with Karl Kennedy after he broke up with Susan and for a long period claimed (falsely) that Karl was the father of her unborn baby. Has also had affairs with Jack Scully and Gus Cleary, who was the biological father of her unborn child. She is no longer pregnant, owing to a miscarriage. Recently broke up with Karl, due to an affair with Paul Robinson, but got back together with him shortly afterwards. Darcy Tyler, who knew the secret about her baby and was put into a coma by Izzy, woke up and forced her to give him a favourable testimony at his sentencing hearing in order to keep her secret safe. Susan looked at Izzy's confidential medical records and discovered that father of the baby was unknown. She forced Izzy to tell Karl the secret. Karl kicked her out, and she ran off, leaving Paul Robinson under suspicion for her murder. She was found alive, and Paul's name cleared. She recently overcame a drug addiction, and is now in an open relationship with Paul. Is currently having an affair with Ned which both the mystery stalker and Lou have found out about.
Kinski family:
See also: Karl and Susan Kennedy
- Susan Kinski (previously Kennedy, maiden name Smith) (Jackie Woodburne) (1994 onwards) - Widow of Alex Kinski, ex wife of Karl, mother to Malcolm, Libby and Billy, grandmother to Ben, English teacher and previously headteacher. After the divorce with Karl, she was in a relationship with a former priest named Tom Scully, but he ended the relationship. She was romantically involved with Bobby Hoyland, but eventually found out about his indiscretions with Janelle and Lyn. During 2005, Susan met Alex Kinski, and they formed a fast relationship. Soon to be married, when Susan learned of his terminal illness, the wedding was called off. Plans for it were revived when Alex's condition became stable. Recently a passenger on the joy-flight to Tasmania that ended in a tragic crash, it was thought Susan was lost at sea. She was, however, found three days after the crash with no injury. She and Alex made their marriage vows just before he died.
- Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Alex Kinski and sister of Zeke and Katya. Rachel and her brother were home schooled by their parents until their mother died and they started attending Erinsborough High School. She dated a Year 10 boy named Jake Rinter against her father's will but broke up with him after he made it clear he wanted her to go further than she was willing to. When she found out about her father's illness, she ran away. She broke into her father's university office with Stingray to steal his turtle. She has become fast friends with Bree Timmins. When Max caught the girls trying to grafiti Lassiter's, Rachel tried to take responsibility but Max wouldn't believe her and blamed Bree. Rachel has been starting to get closer to Stingray. She kissed him, just because she wanted a boyfriend, and they decided not to see each other any longer. They have now decided to be friends.
Rachel was electrified by a faulty kitchen appliance which caused Zeke to have to speak again to call the Emergency Services. She later regained consciousness. She has moved in with Katya Kinski but fought with Katya twice on the first night there, and even ran away to see Stingray during the middle of the night; Katya then found them, and believed it was more than it appeared. Rachel then yelled at Katya saying she wouldn't go with her. Due to Lynn and Janelle, Rachel went home with Katya, who then forbade the two from seeing each other. Stingray has now realised he has feelings for Rachel, although is afraid to tell her because of the age difference. It appears Rachel has the same feelings for Stingray, and she doesn't believe the age difference is a "big deal". She has admitted this to Katya. She recently convinced Katya that all three Kinski children should move back in with Susan.
- Ezekiel "Zeke" Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister) (2005 onwards) - Extremely intelligent son of Alex Kinski and brother of Rachel and Katya. He was the boyfriend of Bree Timmins for a while until Bree broke up with him because of his inability to lie to his father. He recently stopped speaking as he thought he killed his father by wishing that he was the one who died instead of his mother, but when his sister was electrified by an appliance, Zeke was forced to speak to an emergency operator and has since resumed speaking as normal. A memorable Zeke moment appeared in episode 4940 in which he dressed as a girl and became hyperactive from drinking Red lemonade at Rachel's sleepover with Summer Hoyland. Zeke has hooked back up with Bree and is feeling threatened by the fame she is now getting, also moved back in with Susan along with Katya and Rachel.
- Katya Kinski (Dichen Lachman) (2005 onwards) - Alex's first daughter, who ran away from home when she was 16 and has recently been found by Rachel and Zeke just before Alex's passing. She is now acting as Rachel and Zeke's guardian. She is working as a nurse at Erinsborough hospital. She is currently forbidding Rachel from seeing Stingray Timmins. She recently started going out with Robert Robinson, thinking he was Robert's twin Cameron. Katya, influenced by Rachel, put on an act to make Susan take them in; Susan did so, knowing this all along. Katya is now living with Susan, with her siblings.
Robinson Family:
One of the original families in the street. After dying out in the 1990s, they have been revived with the return of original cast member Paul.
- Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) (1985-1992, 1993, 2004 onwards) - Businessman. Son of local engineer Jim Robinson and his wife Anne, Paul was born in 1963. His sister Julie was born the year afterwards followed by brother Scott, half brother Glen and finally his beloved little sister Lucy Robinson in 1975. Anne died giving birth to Lucy. Paul's grandmother, Helen Daniels moved into the Robinson house and doted on all the kids. Paul was her self-confessed favorite. In 1985 Paul married Terry Inglis Robinson, but their happiness didn't last when Terry shot Paul in their home. Paul became embittered and was given control of the Lassiters complex by his Aunt Rosemary. While in charge, Paul hired Gail Lewis, who would become his true love before their marriage collapsed due to Gail's emotional disturbance while pregnant with Paul's children (Cameron, Lucinda and Robert). After their divorce, Paul met and married Christina Alessi, then later had an affair with Christina's twin sister Caroline. Paul eventually left Ramsay Street in 1992 to run the Lassiters hotel in Hawaii. He returned in 1993 for Helen's birthday, but the celebration was ruined when he was forced to flee the country on fraud charges. Paul returned to Australia in 1997 after the death of Helen and was sentenced to three years imprisonment. He finally returned to Ramsay Street in 2004. He appeared on the last episode of the year where Lassiters was burnt down (Paul being responsible; however his secret is not yet out in the open, only known by Isabelle Hoyland). His return has been controversial due to what has been regarded as out of character behavior from many long-term fans. He wasted no time in subtly tearing apart the marriage of David and Liljana Bishop, resulting in the brief arrest of David on false fraud charges and a short-lived affair with Liljana. After a deal with the developers Affirmicom fell through, Paul was chased off a cliff by their heavies and had to have his leg amputated. Rosemary and Lucy returned to Paul's side in the aftermath and helped him back on his foot. Recently, he embarked on an ill-advised relationship with Izzy Hoyland who has tricked him into believing that she loves him so that she has a place to live. Izzy's plans have come under attack by the returning Lucinda (Elle) Robinson. The relationship with Izzy appeared to have come to an end in early November with Karl's revelation that Izzy phoned him a week before and declared he was her one true love. After the controversial plane crash, Paul decided to give Izzy another chance knowing however that she does not love him in return. They currently live together with Paul's daughter Lucinda 'Elle'. In the last episode for 2005, Paul Robinson was strangled by Harold Bishop. Although he survived with only minor injuries, he has sworn revenge on his unknown would-be murderer. Has since opened Lucinda's, a restaurant in the Lassiters compound to try and ruin Harold’s business, as punishment for strangling him. He then received a threatening letter for which he blamed Harold, but was unaware that the mystery stalker was actually still at large. This mystery stalker has since been revealed as his long lost son, Robert. Paul has also recently taken over the general store, after opening Lucinda's and taking all of their custom.
- Lucinda "Elle" Robinson (Pippa Black) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Paul and Gail Robinson, and the sister of Amy, Andrew, Cameron and Robert Robinson. She recently returned to Erinsborough to see her father, and had an intense dislike of Izzy until Izzy saved her life during the plane crash. She has a romantic interest in Ned Parker. [Note: Elle should be actually be fifteen or sixteen. However, in a deliberate continuity error, the writers have increased her age to nineteen so that Elle is old enough for the upcoming storylines planned for her.]
- Robert Robinson (Adam Hunter) (2006 onwards) - Son of Paul and Gail Robinson, and the Brother of Amy, Andrew, Cameron and Lucinda "Elle" Robinson. Growing up he was unpopular with his two siblings Cameron and Elle, who kept a diary about him called "The Freak Files". Nicknames given to Robert by them include "RobRob", "Rob Squared", "The Blob", "Ferret Boy" and "The Cat Skinner". As part of an evil revenge plot against his family, he put his identical brother Cameron into a coma and has stolen his identity to get close to Paul and Elle. He is now living in Erinsborough and, using Cameron's identity, has recently started as an orderly at Erinsborough & District Hospital with plans to become a nurse. In conjunction with this he has started to date nurse Katya Kinski.
For more information see The Robinson Family
Other:
- Louis "Lou" Thomas Carpenter (Tom Oliver) (1988, 1992 onwards) - businessman, once mayor, widower to Cheryl Stark, Dungeons and Dragons player, former co-owner of the pub "Lou's Place" (with Max Hoyland) before it burnt down, co-owner of "The General Store" with Harold Bishop and owner of the garage "Carpenter's Mechanics" Has a long-standing chalk-and-cheese friendship with Harold Bishop. He went to jail but was later released after an appeal hearing conducted by lawyer Toadfish Rebecchi. Since being kicked out of his house by Paul Robinson, he was forced to move into Number 30, and now has to live in a tent in a caravan park. Lou has recently been blackmailing Izzy Hoyland with a videotape of her kissing Ned Parker which was intended for Paul from the mystery stalker. But this backfired when Izzy (egged on by Max) told Paul the truth herself, and he ended up losing the store as a result, but took it back on the condition that he turns Lucinda's back into a restaurant
- Connor O'Neill (Patrick Harvey) (2002-2006) - Young, slightly naïve, Irish immigrant, works at "Scarlet Bar" and "Bounce", former co-host of the wrestling show "Choke-hold" with Toadie, boyfriend of Serena Bishop. Romantically linked with Michelle Scully, but had an affair with Lori Lee while Michelle was abroad. Has one daughter, Maddy, with Lori Lee, whom he rarely sees. Was in a relationship with Carmella Camenetti, who was recently stalked by her bodyguard Frank, but she ended it after the stalking incident. His current career is working in the bikini shop "Bounce". After pursuing an open relationship with Serena Bishop (despite age differences) he was thought lost at sea after the plane crash where Serena also lost her life, but as it turns out was actually hiding from confessing to embezzling money from Bounce. Has recently qualified as a private detective, with his first assignment to spy on Karl Kennedy's girlfriend, Jenny.He has recently found out that Carmella went missing on Christmas day and goes in search of her
- Dr. Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) (1994 onwards) - Local GP and frustrated would-be rock star. His thirty-year marriage to Susan hit the rocks after he became involved with his receptionist Sarah Beaumont years ago, but faith was restored soon after. In 2004 he broke up with Susan and became involved with Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland, eventually leaving Susan for her. Nearly died from a heart attack after breaking up with Izzy, and then got back together with her a few weeks later. Went to Africa for a month to work for Médecins Sans Frontières, and has recently come back. He has now found out that he was not the father of Izzy's baby. Was recently accused of taking advantage of Janae after becoming a school counsellor, and his career was almost destroyed, but the matter was cleared up soon afterwards. His recent failed attempt at internet dating also made him realise his feelings for Susan are still strong. He is currently rekindling his relationship with former girlfriend Jenny.
See also: Karl and Susan Kennedy
- Ned Parker (Daniel O’Connor) (2005 onwards) - Stuart Parker's little brother who has recently arrived in Erinsborough to help Stuart through his ordeal with Sindi - despite their parents' wishes, as it was lambing season on their farm in Oakey. He won the "Bounce" Mr. Erinsborough competition. He enjoys acting and musical theatre, and is the current lead in Gino's play. He has difficulties in reading, and remembers his lines for the play with help from Elle Robinson, the girl he later falls in love with and kisses during a rehearsal, in full view of Gino Esposito. Was recently involved in an affair with Izzy Hoyland, only to find out Izzy was using him to keep Elle Robinson in Ramsay Street.
Pets:
- Dahl the galah (1994 onwards) - A galah that originally belonged to Lata Chatterji. Lata gave the bird to her boyfriend Brett Stark when they were forced to break up by Lata's brother Vikram. When Brett left, he gave Dahl to Libby to look after and it has lived in the Kennedy house ever since. However when Karl used to live in the house, Dahl sometimes made him angry.
- Casserole "Cassie" the sheep (1995 onwards) - Casserole the sheep was originally owned by Billy Kennedy, and still lives with Susan, but is rarely seen on screen. When the sheep does make an appearance, it is normally tied up in Susan's back garden.
- Audrey the dog (2002 onwards) - originally owned by Libby Kennedy, named after Audrey Hepburn. Ran away a while ago only to be found when Mal Kennedy accidentally ran her over. She survived, and now lives with Libby's mother Susan. Joe Mangel claims that Audrey has a romantic interest in Bouncer 5.
- Bob the dog (1997 onwards) - originally belonged to Sarah Beaumont. When she asked for him to join her in her new home abroad, Toadie and Stu duped her by sending a lookalike in his place. However, Sarah recently revealed in Annalise's documentary that she knew all along that the dog Toadie sent her was not the real Bob. It is thought by diehard fans of the show that the actor playing Bob has been replaced in recent months.
- Harvey the dog (2000 onwards) - The Scully's family dog. Joe Scully accidentally ran over Harvey, a stray dog, on his building site. He brought him home and it was decided that they would keep him.
Recurring/Guest characters:
Guest characters on Neighbours are played by actors who do not have a long term contract to appear (almost) every week. These can range from single episode appearances, to two or three month stints of weekly appearances, to intermittent appearances over several years. Unlike main characters, they do not appear in the opening titles. The list shows the guest characters who are in the show at the moment.
- Senior Sgt. Allan Steiger (Joe Clements) (2004, 2005) - High ranking police officer often seen around Erinsborough. Used to bully Stuart when Stu was at the Police Academy, but is now good friends with him. Arrested David Bishop for fraud, and was also in charge of investigating Gus's murder, the disappearance of Izzy, and the 2005 plane crash. Steiger is seen as a hard-nosed taskmaster by his young recruits, but has a compassionate inner self. When Stuart was temporarily blinded, Steiger provided him with work as the police station's telephone operator. Steiger cuts a fearsome character in the Erinsborough neighbourhood, and caused massive upset in the Bishop household when he arrived to seize David's computer (Paul had framed David for fraud - embezzling 40,000 dollars from the Helen Daniels trust). He was equally stern and quick-witted in interrogations with Boyd Hoyland (following the death of his father's erstwhile friend, Gus). Steiger again revealed his aggressive side when forced to interview Paul Robinson after the temporary disappearance of Isabelle Hoyland. Steiger has acted almost as a father figure to Stuart Parker, encouraging him to remain in the force and reassuring him when he feared he was becoming paranoid. But Steiger was quick to reprimand Stuart when the young constable defied orders and ran into a gas-filled laboratory to rescue the Kinski children, Rachel and Zeke.
- Mike Pill (Alexander Capelli) (2005) - Shazza and Janae's ex-boyfriend. He dumped Shazza for Janae, but Janae then dumped him after he kept trying to get her to make out with all his friends. with her the next day. He pressured Janae into having unprotected sex with him, and she then dumped him a second time that same day. He learnt kickboxing, and beat up Dylan a few times, until Dylan finally managed to get the better of him. He ran into Janae and her new boyfriend Boyd again at Schoolies, in which his new girlfriend Karen had a few arguments with Janae. In a 2006 storyline, it was revealed Mike tested positive for an STI. It was never revealed what STI he had, but from what Janae Timmins, who had possibly caught it from him had said and was told, it could be passed on through blood, affects the immune system and may eventually kill him, therefore apparently implying HIV.
- Gino Esposito (Claude Stevens) (Shane McNamara) (2000-) - Flamboyant hairdresser in his late 50s who owns the A Good Hair Day salon, Lyn's former employer. Used to be Lyn's enemy, but now they are good friends. While they were hating each other, Lyn read a newspaper article and discovered Gino isn't Italian, and instead is an Aussie whose real name is Ray Murphy. He is one of Oscar's godparents. He is mostly used as a comedy character. He became good friends with Lou during early 2005, and they would go to parties with a lot of beautiful women, which made Harold very jealous. He is now currently running an Erinsborough musical which stars Ned Parker, after he fired Cory for not being gay like he was leading on to be.
- Summer Hoyland (Marisa Siketa) (2002-2005, 2006) - The 14 year old daughter of Max. Used to date a kid named Declan for a while until her friend Lisa stole him off her. She then started going out with a rich kid named Caleb but broke up with him afterwards. She was good friends with Bree and Lisa, and she came second in the Erinsborough High spelling bee. She left Erinsborough to go to a private music school. She returned to Ramsay Street to see her family, and felt left out due to Bree's friendship with Rachel Kinski. She returned for the birth of her half-brother, Charlie.
- Angie Rebecchi (Lesley Baker) (1995-1996, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006) - The larger-than-life mother to Shane, Stonefish, & Toadie. Angie is the wife of Kev and lived in No. 32 during the mid-90s with Toadie & Stonefish. She returns to Ramsay Street in 2006 to deal with the family feud between her and her sister in-law, Janelle Timmins.
Past characters
There is a separate article about past Neighbours characters.
Around Erinsborough
Apart from Ramsay Street, there are many other places inside and around the fictional suburb of Erinsborough that have been in Neighbours, including:
- Lassiter's Complex: Lassiter's Complex is the most common location used in Neighbours besides Ramsay Street, and it has been a regular occurrence since 1986. When Neighbours switched from the Seven Network to Network Ten, the producers decided to convert an old set on the Channel Ten backlot that had been built for the shortlived 1981 series Holiday Island into the Lassiter's Complex. The Lassiter's Complex includes:
- The General Store: The General Store is a café/Post Office/Basic Stationery store, that is owned by Lou Carpenter and Harold Bishop. It was originally owned by Daphne Lawrence under the name "Daphne's". Throughout its time it has had many other owners as well, including Madge Bishop and Isabelle Hoyland, and has also gone by the names "The Hungry Bite", "The Holy Roll" and "The Coffee Shop". In the 2004 Season finale, Lou's Place was set alight and burned down, while "The Coffee Shop", although not being totally destroyed, needed major repairs and renovations. Harold and Isabelle ended their partnership, and he started a partnership with Lou. They got the Coffee Shop rebuilt, and renamed it "The General Store". During his midlife crisis, Louis Carpenter insisted upon calling it the "GS", much to Harold's disgust. The General Store was owned by Paul Robinson after Paul opened up a rival cafe within the Lassiter's complex which drove Lou and Harold broke, making them unable to pay the rent for their store.
- Scarlet Bar: Scarlet Bar is a Bar/Restaurant owned by Paul Robinson and leased to Max and Isabelle Hoyland. It has previously been "The Waterhole", "Chez Chez" and "Lou's Pub", and has had such owners as Paul Robinson, Lou Carpenter and Cheryl Stark. In 2004, it was set on fire and burnt to the ground. Max ended his partnership with Lou and started a partnership with his sister Izzy, and they built "Scarlet Bar" on the site that "Lou's Place" had previously stood. Max originally wanted to call it "Max-Iz", but Izzy decided to change the name to "Scarlet Bar" at the last minute.
- Lassiter's Hotel: Lassiter's Hotel was originally owned by Jack Lassiter. Rosemary Daniels and the Daniels/Robinson Corporation then bought the Erinsborough branch, and was owned by Lambert Industries until the destruction of the complex in 2004. It is currently owned by Paul Robinson. It has had such employees as Felicity Scully, Paul Robinson, Toadfish Rebecchi, Melanie Pearson, Christina Alessi and Taj Coppin. Lassiter's Hotel also has branches in Darwin, London, Montana and New York.
- Erinsborough Medical Centre: Erinsborough Medical Centre used to be Paul's office at Lassiter's Hotel, but was then bought by Karl Kennedy and converted into a medical centre. As of 2003 the legal firm "Tim Collins and Associates" has shared the building with the medical centre. It was extensively damaged in the fire in 2004, but has recently been rebuilt.
- A Good Hair Day: "A Good Hair Day" is a salon owned by Gino Esposito. It has had such employees as Felicity Scully, Lyn Scully and Janelle Timmins.
- Erinsborough High School: Erinsborough High School is Erinsborough and West Waratah's high school, which many teenage residents have attended, as well as teachers including Dorothy Burke, Lisa Elliott, Tess Bell, Evan Hancock, Libby Kennedy, Susan Kinski and Paul Robinson. The current principal is Candace Barkham, although V.C.E. co-ordinator Susan Kinski is acting principal whilst Candace is on leave. Previous principals have been Dorothy Burke and Susan Kennedy (as she was known when she was the permanent principal, before her amnesia-resulting accident). The school is also occasionally used for community events, such as the Serbian Youth Night.
- Erinsborough Hospital: Erinsborough Hospital is where the residents of Erinsborough go to if they need major medical attention. Residents who have worked there include Pam Willis, Dee Bliss, Darcy Tyler, Karl Kennedy, Katya Kinski.
- Grease Monkeys: Grease Monkeys is Erinsborough's fast food restaurant, in which many of the younger members of the cast dine regularly. It was originally owned by Madge and Harold Bishop and former employees include Felicity Scully, Tad Reeves and Sky Mangel.
- Carpenter's Mechanics: Carpenter's Mechanics is a garage to which the residents take their cars if they need mechanical attention. It was originally owned by Lou Carpenter and Ben Atkins, since then Drew Kirk bought into the business and Stuart Parker and Steph Hoyland have both worked there.
- Eden Hills: Eden Hills is the rich suburb near Erinsborough. It contains an expensive private school, Eden Hills Grammar and Eden Hills University.
- West Waratah: West Waratah is a poor suburb near Erinsborough. Also home to the caravan park where Lou Carpenter and the Timmins family use to live.
- Ansons Corner: Ansons Corner is another suburb near Erinsborough.
- Elliot Park: Another surrounding suburb of Erinsborough
Shane Connor's sacking
After being fired from the series in 2003, former cast member Shane Connor (who played character Joe Scully) filed for wrongful dismissal. Evidence presented in court in October 2005 described alleged on-set problems such as arguments with cast and crew, lateness and absenteeism. This behaviour has been connected to the actor's period of drug use after the death of his brother.[1]. Connor admitted that he had had problems in the period prior to receiving a final warning in April 2003, but contested Grundy's claims that he has acted unprofessionally immediately prior to his dismissal in September 2003. He won the case and was awarded AUS $196,709 (£84,416) plus interest and costs. [2]. Shane can now be seen in adverts for car insurance company Sheila's Wheels as well as his frequent appearances in University nightclubs throughout the UK.
See also
External links
- Neighbours.com The official Australian Neighbours website, provided by FremantleMedia.
- BBC Neighbours Website This is the official UK Neighbours website, provided by the BBC.
- Neighbours: The Perfect Blend A comprehensive Neighbours resource.
- The Neighbours Messageboard An online community that accompanies Neighbours: The Perfect Blend.
- The Official Manchester Uni Neighbours Society A society where people at manchester uni can come and share their love of Neighbours!
- The Spin Starts Here Weekly Neighbours recaps (contains very strong language).
- GAABoard.com Irish GAA Fans Discussion of Neighbours.
- Neighbours-Source.co.uk
- Erinsborough.com A site containing episode guides, screen captures, character profiles and a forum.
- Neighboursfans.com Into its sixth year on the web (counting server changes), NF.com is one of the show's most-respected forums, visited by fans, cast and crew alike.
- [3] advice on meeting neighbours through street parties