Neighbours

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Neighbours
Neighbours Logo © Grundy Productions.
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Neighbours Logo © Grundy Productions.

Format Soap opera
Run time 25 min per episode
Creator 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 - Kyal Marsh - Natalie Bassingthwaighte - Tom Oliver - Blair McDonough - Patrick Harvey - Alan Fletcher - Jackie Woodburne - Stefan Dennis - Andrew Clarke - Caitlin Stasey - Matthew Werkmeister - Daniel O’Connor - Pippa Black - Brett Swain
Country Australia
Network Network Ten
Original run March 18, 1985 – Present
No. of episodes 4845 as of 4 November 2005

This article is about the soap opera Neighbours. For the 1952 film of the same name, please see Neighbours (film)

Neighbours is a long-running Australian television soap opera, running daily episodes of 25 minutes, time 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 (an anagram of 'our neighbors') 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 and Waratah Heights.

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 and Delta Goodrem. 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 is currently celebrating its 20th Anniversary in 2005.

Contents

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.

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).

Current controversy

In a court case currently being heard, former cast member Shane Connor is filing for wrongful dismissal. Evidence presented in court describes on-set problems such as arguments with cast and crew and lateness and absenteeism, possibly connected to the actor's period of drug usage after the death of his brother. 1

Storylines

Main article: Storylines of Neighbours
Lara Sacher (Serena Bishop) and Damien Bodie (Dylan Timmins) in a 2005 episode of Neighbours
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Lara Sacher (Serena Bishop) and Damien Bodie (Dylan Timmins) in a 2005 episode of Neighbours

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 Ramsay. Their Romeo and Juliet style romance culminated 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.

Both the Ramsays and the Robinsons have 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. Also, 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, Bishop and Timmins 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 theat 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.

Spoiler warning for British viewers: The following paragraph reveals a major plot development that has yet to be broadcast in the UK.

Late in the 2005 season came a highly dramatic storyline where a large contingency of Ramsey 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. At least David, Liljana and Serena were killed. Susan was missing for a few days but eventually rescued. Dylan and Connor, who believe Dylan is wanted for armed robbery, survived washed up on a desolate beach and have decided to fake their own deaths by assuming new identities.

The identity of the bomber has yet to be uncovered. [[1]]

Current characters

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)

  1. Paul Robinson [1]*
  2. Harold Bishop [415]*
  3. Lou Carpenter [694]
  4. Joe Mangel [786]*
  5. Sky Mangel [888]*
  6. Karl Kennedy [2242]
  7. Susan Smith [2251]
  8. Toadfish Rebbechi [2328]
  9. Lyn Scully [3418]
  10. Stephanie Scully [3418]
  11. Stuart Parker [3919]
  12. Connor O'Neill [3985]
  13. Boyd Hoyland [4018]
  14. Max Hoyland [4074]
  15. Oscar Scully [4308]
  16. Isabelle Hoyland [4316]
  17. Scott Timmins [4434]
  18. Janelle Timmins [4609]
  19. Dylan Timmins [4649]
  20. Janae Timmins [4691]
  21. Bree Timmins [4691]
  22. Alex Kinski [4783]
  23. Rachel Kinski [4789]
  24. Zeke Kinski [4791]
  25. Ned Parker [4799]
  26. Elle Robinson [4811]
  27. Kim Timmins [4841]

Bishop/Mangel family:

Ian Smith as Harold Bishop
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Ian Smith as Harold Bishop
  • Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) (1987-1991, 1996, 1997 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 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. He recently 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 grand-daughter Serena.
Stephanie McIntosh as Sky Mangel
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Stephanie McIntosh as Sky Mangel

Sky Mangel (Miranda Fryer) (Stephanie McIntosh) (1988-1991, 2003 onwards) - Harold's teenage granddaughter, daughter of Joe Mangel and Kerry Bishop (deceased), 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, of whom she is now seeing. Sky and Dylan managed to find dirt on Affirmacon, the company who contaminated Lassiters Lake and want to build the Erinbrough 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.

Scully family:

  • Lynette "Lyn" Scully (nee O'Rourke) (Janet Andrewartha) (1999 onwards) - mildly neurotic hairdresser, works for Gino. 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. Recently 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 involved with Joe Mangel.
  • 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.

Timmins/Rebecchi family:

Nell Feeney as Janelle Timmins
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Nell Feeney as Janelle Timmins
  • Janelle Timmins (nee Rebecchi) (Nell Feeney) (2004, 2005 onwards) - Mother from Colac, to Dwayne, Dylan, Brandon, Janae, Scott "Stingray", and Bree. Husband of Kim, Big Kev's sister, Lyn's apprentice at The Salon. A bitter, lazy woman who used to make money from injury scams. Trying to provide for a family of six children on her own, since her husband left her. Had a small fling with Bobby Hoyland. Wrote a novel about her life in Ramsay Street. Lyn recently kicked her and her family out onto the streets to live in a caravan park, but recently let them back into her home.
  • 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.
  • Dylan Timmins (Damien Bodie) (2005 onwards) - 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 cops in an attempted robbery of "Scarlet Bar". When he and Sky tried to save some animals that had been poisoned in the contaminated Lassiters 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 is currently missing, presumed dead. He did survive, however, and is in hiding from the police after becoming involved in an armed robbery somewhere on the northern coast of Tasmania with Connor O'Neal.
Eliza Taylor-Cotter as Janae Timmins. This image first appeared in an Australian ad for "stranger danger". Eliza is being led off by an unknown man who will presumably molest her. It was her performance in this ad that caught the eye of Grundy and landed her the role of Janae Timmins.
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Eliza Taylor-Cotter as Janae Timmins. This image first appeared in an Australian ad for "stranger danger". Eliza is being led off by an unknown man who will presumably molest her. It was her performance in this ad that caught the eye of Grundy and landed her the role of Janae Timmins.

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, nemises 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. Is now trying to crack onto Boyd. She has counselling sessions with Karl, in which she eventually developed a dependance on Karl, which led to Janelle thinking that Karl was taking advantage of Janae, almost destroying Karl's career.

Sianoa Smit-McPhee as "Wheel of" Bree Timmins.
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Sianoa Smit-McPhee as "Wheel of" Bree Timmins.
  • Breeana "Bree" Timmins (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) (2005 onwards) - The youngest of the Timmins children, friend of Summer Hoyland, Rachel Kinski and Zeke Kinski, who she has a romantic interest in. She seems like a sweet little girl, but she is actually very sneaky and helps Janae in her schemes. 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.
Ben Nicholas as Scott "Stingray" Timmins.
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Ben Nicholas as Scott "Stingray" Timmins.
  • Scott "Stingray" Timmins (Ben Nicholas) (2004 onwards) - teenage cousin of Toadfish, and "favourite" son of Janelle Timmins. Diagnosed with ADHD. Boyfriend of Serena Bishop. Has 3 brothers and 2 sisters (Dwayne, Brandon, Dylan; Bree, Janae). Used to go out with a girl named Shazza, to whom he lost his virginity, but soon broke up with her. Had split up with Serena for a while, but has now got back together with her, but broke up with her again after Boyd and Sky broke up, because he had found about Serena and Boyd's fling.
Ryan Moloney as Jarrod Rebecchi.
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Ryan Moloney as Jarrod Rebecchi.
  • Jarrod "Toadfish" (or "Toadie") Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) (1995 onwards) - The Rebecchies were once one of the main families on Ramsay Street, but only Toadie remains. The Timminses are his cousins. He is a sometime tearaway, now a respectable lawyer and part-time wrestler called "The Lawman", former co-host of the wrestling show "Choke-Hold" with Connor, currently owns to bikini store called "Bounce", which was given to him by a client. Was married to Dee Bliss (for about twenty minutes, before she went missing after their car careened off a cliff after the ceremony, presumed drowned), ex-boyfriend of Sindi Watts. Is currently dating Eva, who is a wrestler, primary school teacher and jazz singer, in a long distance relationship.

Hoyland family:

  • Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt) (2002 onwards) - father of two, married to Steph (not mother of Summer and Boyd), son of Bobby and Rosie Hoyland. His first wife died several years ago, 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.
Carla Bonner as Stephanie "Staph" Scully
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Carla Bonner as Stephanie "Staph" Scully
  • 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. 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.
  • 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 body building and take human growth hormone. 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. Is considering pursuing a career in medicine.
  • Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaithe) (2003 onwards) - 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 is the father of her unborn baby. Has also had affairs with Jack Scully and Gus Cleary, who is 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 knows the secret about her baby and was put into a coma by Izzy, has woken up, and forced her to gave 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.

Kinski family

  • Alex Kinski (Andrew Clarke) (2005) - Single father of Rachel and Zeke Kinski. He was recently engaged to Susan Smith, and has recently been diagnosed with leukemia. He turned to Jonathan Verne for alternative treatments, until he was arrested by Stuart Parker and Alex was told by Dr Karl Kennedy of his dark past. Has recently told Susan of his illness and Susan called off the engagement. After returning from the plane crash, he and Susan decided to make the most of their life and are engaged again.
  • Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Alex Kinski and sister of Zeke. Rachel and her brother were home schooled by their parents until their mother died and they started attending Erinsborough High School. She has become fast friends with Bree Timmins.
  • Zeke Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister) (2005 onwards) - Extremely intelligent son of Alex Kinski and twin brother of Rachel.

Robinson Family

One of the original families in the street. After dying out in the 1990s, they have been revived after the return of Paul.

  • Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) (1985-1993, 2004, 2005 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 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. Paul eventually left Ramsay St 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 prison. He finally returned to Ramsay Street in 2004. His return has been controvertial due to what has been regarded as out of character behavior from many long term fans. After a deal with the developers Affirmicon 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 appears to come to an end in early November with Karl's revalation that Izzy phoned him a week before and declared he was her one true love.
  • Lucinda "Elle" Robinson (Pippa Black) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Paul and Gail Robinson, and the sister of 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.

Parker Family

  • Stuart Parker (Blair McDonough) (2001 onwards) - Cousin of Libby's late husband Drew and friend of Toadfish. Former mechanic, now a police officer, husband of Sindi Watts. Lost everything when fleeced by a cult. had previous relationships with Dione Bliss and Felicity Scully, before he finally married Sindi. He was temporarily blind after rescuing Sindi from an explosion in the Lassiters Complex which destroyed Lou's Place, The Coffee Shop and several other buildings, but got his eyesight back after a $50,000 operation. Engaged to Sindi Watts after she proposed to him at the Scarlett Bar. His devout Christian aunt Raylene recently arrived in Erinsborough to see if Sindi was suitable for him, but she left in disgust after she found out they had lied to her about many things, including Connor being a priest. Sindi has since been declared unstable and comitted to psychiatric institution, leaving Stuart devastated.
  • Ned Parker (Daniel O’Connor) (2005 onwards) - Stuart Parker's little brother who has recently returned to Erinsborough to help Stuart through his ordeal with Sindi. He won the "Bounce" Mr. Erinsborough competition.

Other:

Tom Oliver as Lou Carpenter in Neighbours.
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Tom Oliver as Lou Carpenter in Neighbours.
  • Louis "Lou" Carpenter (Tom Oliver) (1988, 1992 onwards) - businessman, sometime 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.
Patrick Harvey as Connor O'Neill
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Patrick Harvey as Connor O'Neill
  • Connor O'Neill (Patrick Harvey) (2002 onwards) - 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 pursuring an open relationship with Serena Bishop (despite age differences) he was thought lost at sea after the tragic plane 2005 crash where Serena also lost her life, but as it turns out was actually hiding from confessing to embezzling money from Bounce.
Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), one of Neighbours' longest running characters.
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Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), one of Neighbours' longest running characters.
  • 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 came 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 counselor, and his career was almost destroyed, but the matter was cleared up soon afterwards.
Jackie Woodburne as Susan Smith
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Jackie Woodburne as Susan Smith
  • Susan Smith (previously Kennedy) (Jackie Woodburne) (1994 onwards) - Ex wife of Karl, mother to Malcolm, Libby and Billy, grandmother to Ben, English teacher and previously headmaster. After the divorce with Karl, she was in a relationship with a former priest named Tom Scully, but he ended the relationship. She was recently 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.

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)
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Bouncer 5 (2005 onwards) - A lazy greyhound that Joe Mangel is unsuccessfully trying to train to become a racing dog.

Recurring/Guest characters:

Natalie Blair as Carmella Cammenneti
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Natalie Blair as Carmella Cammenneti

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.

  • Joe Mangel (Mark Little) (1988-1991, 2005) - Father of Toby Mangel and step-father of Sky Mangel, enemy of Janelle Timmins. Married Kerry Bishop, who was killed by duck hunters, and then married Melanie Pearson, and got divorced a few years later. Has recently returned to Ramsay Street, and is involved with Lyn Scully.
  • 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. Recently arrested David Bishop for fraud, and was also in charge of investigating Gus's murder and the disapearance of Izzy.
  • Mike Pill (Alexander Capell) (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.
  • Gareth Peters (Phillip McInnes) (2005) - A nurse who works at Erinsborough Hospital. He used to steal stuff from Darcy Tyler when he was in a coma. Stuart arrested him for illegal selling drugs to Izzy.
  • Carmella Cammenneti (Natalie Blair) (2003, 2004, 2005) - Overprotected daughter of Rocco and Lucia Cammenneti and ex-girlfriend of Connor O'Neill. Her father originally disapproved of her relationship with Connor. He even had Connor locked in his car boot, but now that he is in jail Carmella can do what she wants. She was also the editor of All Her magazine and Sindi's boss. She was stalked by her bodyguard Frank, and after therapy failed to make her feel better. She got a job as Eva's publicist and is now touring Australia with her. She recently returned to Ramsay Street, to once again try and reunite herself with Connor, though it is unknown if it will be full time. She offered Connor the $50,000 he needs for Maddy's ear operation, in return for spending time with her, something she tried to use to her advantage in her plans to win Connor from Serena. Eventually, when she realised wasn't going to leave Serena for her, she forced Connor to pay him all the money back, something which he had to rob his store "Bounce" for. Eventually, out of guilt, she payed the money back anonymously and left.
  • Jonathan Verne (Oscar Redding) (2003, 2005) - Con man who was the head of the cult/scam "Life Mechanics". Scammed Stuart Parker and many others out of lots of money. Was also conning Alex Kinski into paying huge amounts of money for phoney cancer treatments, but was caught out by Karl and arrested.
  • Reuben "Roo" Hausman (Richard Cawthorne) (2005) - Dylan's friend from Colac who has just got out of jail to come and see Dylan. Is trying to steal Dylan's job with Paul. He pressured Dylan to help him rob "Scarlett Bar", but Dylan set him up and called the cops on him. Recently returned to Ramsay Street and forced Dylan to commit armed robbery as revenge. He then fled, and hasn't been seen since, although Stingray and Sky managed to find out where he may be hiding.

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 set used in Neighbours besides Ramsay Street, and 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 from the shortlived 1981 series Holiday Island into the Lassiter's Complex. The Lassiter's Complex includes:
    • The General Store: The General Store is a Cafe/Post Office, 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 caught on fire and it and "The Coffee Shop" burnt down. 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".
    • 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 Place", 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 got "Lou's Place" rebuilt. Max originally wanted to call it "Max's", 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 Rebbechi, Melanie Pearson, Christina Allesi 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 burnt down in the fire in 2004, but has recently been rebuilt.
    • A Good Hair Day: "A Good Hair Day" is a salon owned by Gino D'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 Smith and Paul Robinson. The current principle is Candace Barkham, and previous principals have been Dorothy Burke and Susan Smith. 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 and Karl Kennedy
  • Grease Monkeys: Grease Monkeys is Erinsborough's fast food restaurant, in which many of the younger members of the cast, dine regulary. 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 Scully 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.
  • Ansons Corner: Ansons Corner is another suburb near Erinsborough.

See also

External links

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