Before appearing on Neighbours, what sort of acting work did you have?
Professional acting work began the year I left drama school in London - The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Before that I’d spent a summer season with The National Youth Theatre.
I started very modestly, and typically of most actors at that time, with T.I.E. (Theatre in Education), working with Theatre Centre, London, and touring schools across the country. I appeared at The Bristol Old Vic in the coveted role of “Panda-Monium”; (dressed up in a Panda suit from head to toe, at one point I sent a wooden bucket unintentionally hurtling into the audience of children!) While working there I approached the Artistic Director, Richard Cottrell, and asked if I could be considered for casting. When I came back to my dressing room that afternoon, there was a little note offering me the role of the comic maid, ‘Lovewell’, in the Restoration comedy, The Provok’d Wife. I was delighted.
The following year I also toured with The Loughborough Arts Theatre, singing and playing an Italian mistress of the poet Byron in Trust Byron. I also recorded a couple of plays with BBC Radio Drama.
These early steps towards a career in England were cut short by a whirlwind romance. I met my Australian husband-to-be while on a brief visit to Canada, and shortly afterwards emigrated to Australia. There it took a year or two before I found a way into theatre, television and, again, radio drama.
I worked with the Melbourne Theatre Company and ABC radio drama. I think I first dipped a toe into television as an abused single mother in Prisoner, (or Cell Block H, as it was known in the UK). The year after arriving in Australia I also had my first on-going TV role in Cop Shop as Detective Jennifer Grant. There followed quite a gap, into which came my first daughter, born in 1982.
In 1985 I played the jilted English wife of pilot Bill Lancaster in the TV mini-series The Lancaster-Miller Affair, and was then cast as single mother and High Country cattle farmer, Jo Regan, in the romance feature film, Cool Change. This was an incredible experience for me. There was some shock that a “Pom” had been cast in this role. I spent a few weeks with co-star (the late) Jon Blake learning how to ride Aussie-cattleman style, crack a whip, and ride after the “brumbies”, (wild mountain horses). I could already ride, thankfully; although it had been so long since I had, that my first ride on horseback felt like I imagined it would feel to ride a camel – very rocky! I also had to listen very carefully to the Australian locals around me to find an authentic voice.
Neighbours followed almost two years later, in 1987.
Professional acting work began the year I left drama school in London - The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Before that I’d spent a summer season with The National Youth Theatre.
I started very modestly, and typically of most actors at that time, with T.I.E. (Theatre in Education), working with Theatre Centre, London, and touring schools across the country. I appeared at The Bristol Old Vic in the coveted role of “Panda-Monium”; (dressed up in a Panda suit from head to toe, at one point I sent a wooden bucket unintentionally hurtling into the audience of children!) While working there I approached the Artistic Director, Richard Cottrell, and asked if I could be considered for casting. When I came back to my dressing room that afternoon, there was a little note offering me the role of the comic maid, ‘Lovewell’, in the Restoration comedy, The Provok’d Wife. I was delighted.
The following year I also toured with The Loughborough Arts Theatre, singing and playing an Italian mistress of the poet Byron in Trust Byron. I also recorded a couple of plays with BBC Radio Drama.
These early steps towards a career in England were cut short by a whirlwind romance. I met my Australian husband-to-be while on a brief visit to Canada, and shortly afterwards emigrated to Australia. There it took a year or two before I found a way into theatre, television and, again, radio drama.
I worked with the Melbourne Theatre Company and ABC radio drama. I think I first dipped a toe into television as an abused single mother in Prisoner, (or Cell Block H, as it was known in the UK). The year after arriving in Australia I also had my first on-going TV role in Cop Shop as Detective Jennifer Grant. There followed quite a gap, into which came my first daughter, born in 1982.
In 1985 I played the jilted English wife of pilot Bill Lancaster in the TV mini-series The Lancaster-Miller Affair, and was then cast as single mother and High Country cattle farmer, Jo Regan, in the romance feature film, Cool Change. This was an incredible experience for me. There was some shock that a “Pom” had been cast in this role. I spent a few weeks with co-star (the late) Jon Blake learning how to ride Aussie-cattleman style, crack a whip, and ride after the “brumbies”, (wild mountain horses). I could already ride, thankfully; although it had been so long since I had, that my first ride on horseback felt like I imagined it would feel to ride a camel – very rocky! I also had to listen very carefully to the Australian locals around me to find an authentic voice.
Neighbours followed almost two years later, in 1987.
What inspired you to pursue acting?
I was a quiet, imaginative child. A little bit too caught up in my own imagination. My headmaster dropped me into the lead in the school musical. That must have been rather a risk, I imagine. Anyway, I found I could sing, and loved acting. I’ve been hooked ever since. Had he known I’d have actually tried to make a living at it, he may have thought twice.
You first appeared on Neighbours in 1987, what was it like to join the cast at that time? Where you prepared for the increasing popularity of the show?
Frankly, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. It was already popular, and I found myself dropped right into the vortex of it all. It was just before my second daughter’s first birthday. (Interestingly, I had decided I wanted to go back to work when she was a year old.) My agent sent me along to audition for a six-week role. When he gave me the news, he said, “Well, Lisa, they don’t want you for six weeks”, and he paused. I thought, “Oh well, that’s that then”. “No”, he said, “They want you for a year.” Wow. That was more than I had expected to be coping with. Liv, my husband, and I, thought very carefully about it, and then we decided to get the necessary child care help and go for it.
What neither of us was prepared for was the effect it had on our private lives. In the first few weeks of my role going on air we innocently accepted the invite of a friend’s daughter to go to her school play. We took our own kids along. We had to escape with the children carried on Liv’s shoulders to avoid the scrum of children surrounding us. It was a real shock!
I remember clearly the sudden change of life between the first six weeks, before I was seen on air, and the seventh week, when I started to be recognised. I actually found it quite disturbing at first.
I was a quiet, imaginative child. A little bit too caught up in my own imagination. My headmaster dropped me into the lead in the school musical. That must have been rather a risk, I imagine. Anyway, I found I could sing, and loved acting. I’ve been hooked ever since. Had he known I’d have actually tried to make a living at it, he may have thought twice.
You first appeared on Neighbours in 1987, what was it like to join the cast at that time? Where you prepared for the increasing popularity of the show?
Frankly, I had no idea what I was letting myself in for. It was already popular, and I found myself dropped right into the vortex of it all. It was just before my second daughter’s first birthday. (Interestingly, I had decided I wanted to go back to work when she was a year old.) My agent sent me along to audition for a six-week role. When he gave me the news, he said, “Well, Lisa, they don’t want you for six weeks”, and he paused. I thought, “Oh well, that’s that then”. “No”, he said, “They want you for a year.” Wow. That was more than I had expected to be coping with. Liv, my husband, and I, thought very carefully about it, and then we decided to get the necessary child care help and go for it.
What neither of us was prepared for was the effect it had on our private lives. In the first few weeks of my role going on air we innocently accepted the invite of a friend’s daughter to go to her school play. We took our own kids along. We had to escape with the children carried on Liv’s shoulders to avoid the scrum of children surrounding us. It was a real shock!
I remember clearly the sudden change of life between the first six weeks, before I was seen on air, and the seventh week, when I started to be recognised. I actually found it quite disturbing at first.
Are there any similarities between you and Beverly?
More differences than similarities I think. Although Beverly was a hopeless cook, seemingly without a domestic bone in her body - at the time I came a close second to that! Now I just tend to graze on salads and healthy snacks, and though I’m organized I’m no domestic goddess. So yes, I guess Beverly and I did have some things in common.
Though Beverly was rather an intense soul. I like to think I have more fun than she ever could.
Seeing as Beverly went on to marry Jim Robinson, what was is like working with Alan Dale and Anne Haddy?
I think Alan and I were rather reserved with each other at the time; although there was no bad feeling. We met again a couple of years ago and felt much more relaxed.
Anne was always friendly, but I think wanted us to remain aware that she was the most experienced of the cast. There was a certain sense of distance and of authority about her, I felt. Only in researching for this interview did I discover she was so dogged by ill health. She certainly never made a song and dance about that, or expected special treatment in any way, (other than being first in the make-up chair in the mornings!).
Beverly may have arrived after the wedding of the century, but Scott & Charlene were still a central piece to the show. What was it like being on the show during their era?
At the time, neither of them had the star status we associate with them now, particularly Kylie. They were a young, talented, hardworking and very approachable couple of people; as Jason is today. (I haven’t seen Kylie since I left the show.) They didn’t separate themselves from anyone else. Both of them did frequent public appearances in shopping centres on the weekends, (I joined Jason in a couple).
During the week Kylie was more likely to be found curled up on the sofa in the green room having a nap, than trying to be anyone to feel in awe of. She also had quite a strong Australian accent. She was totally different at that time to the sophisticated, quite English-sounding woman she has become. They were both already focused and self-disciplined though. Jason was already passionate about music, and taking singing lessons on top of the gruelling schedule of the up to 5 episodes a week show – and that was made up of 10 separate episodes: one week of exterior shots, and one week of studio shots, so you may have to be across 10 episodes of storyline for your own character at any one time. This applied more to the most popular characters like Scott and Charlene, so Jason and Kylie were really working flat out; particularly with the addition of their weekend appearances.
More differences than similarities I think. Although Beverly was a hopeless cook, seemingly without a domestic bone in her body - at the time I came a close second to that! Now I just tend to graze on salads and healthy snacks, and though I’m organized I’m no domestic goddess. So yes, I guess Beverly and I did have some things in common.
Though Beverly was rather an intense soul. I like to think I have more fun than she ever could.
Seeing as Beverly went on to marry Jim Robinson, what was is like working with Alan Dale and Anne Haddy?
I think Alan and I were rather reserved with each other at the time; although there was no bad feeling. We met again a couple of years ago and felt much more relaxed.
Anne was always friendly, but I think wanted us to remain aware that she was the most experienced of the cast. There was a certain sense of distance and of authority about her, I felt. Only in researching for this interview did I discover she was so dogged by ill health. She certainly never made a song and dance about that, or expected special treatment in any way, (other than being first in the make-up chair in the mornings!).
Beverly may have arrived after the wedding of the century, but Scott & Charlene were still a central piece to the show. What was it like being on the show during their era?
At the time, neither of them had the star status we associate with them now, particularly Kylie. They were a young, talented, hardworking and very approachable couple of people; as Jason is today. (I haven’t seen Kylie since I left the show.) They didn’t separate themselves from anyone else. Both of them did frequent public appearances in shopping centres on the weekends, (I joined Jason in a couple).
During the week Kylie was more likely to be found curled up on the sofa in the green room having a nap, than trying to be anyone to feel in awe of. She also had quite a strong Australian accent. She was totally different at that time to the sophisticated, quite English-sounding woman she has become. They were both already focused and self-disciplined though. Jason was already passionate about music, and taking singing lessons on top of the gruelling schedule of the up to 5 episodes a week show – and that was made up of 10 separate episodes: one week of exterior shots, and one week of studio shots, so you may have to be across 10 episodes of storyline for your own character at any one time. This applied more to the most popular characters like Scott and Charlene, so Jason and Kylie were really working flat out; particularly with the addition of their weekend appearances.
Were there any story lines or scenes that you particularly enjoyed, or disliked, filming?
Being an outdoorsy type of person, I have particularly fond memories of spending an afternoon with Alan and crew trying to look like I was successfully fly-fishing. (I wasn’t, but it was lovely being by the lakes!) But that was actually leading into the birth of Daphne’s baby. I think the fly-fishing was more demanding than “delivering” the baby, actually!
The wedding to Jim was enjoyable. Very low key, really, but an enjoyable day. Bev was light and happy, for once.
I also remember very clearly bursting into tears when “Helen”, (Anne Haddy’s character), was ill. I found it rather hard to stop crying after the cameras stopped rolling. I think that was a combination of memories of my father’s death being brought to the surface, (he’d died of stomach cancer when I was 24), and pure tiredness. After the first year on the show I had a teething two year old to cope with – lots of night-shifts combined with early morning starts….. Supplies of daily fresh carrot juice still didn’t seem to pep me up enough to energise me fully.
Are there any cast members you wished to of worked with more?
Yes, I would have liked to have got to know both Jason and Kylie better. Craig McLachlan was a lovely person - with a very naughty sense of humour. He could always make me laugh. Guy Pearce was thoughtful and quite reserved. I enjoyed the company of so many of the company, but I had little to do with them socially, partly because of the demands of a young family, and also because I was ten years or more older than most of the cast, and at that time, that was a big gap.
Beverly departed Ramsay Street for a short time in 1989, what led to your decision to leave the series?
Well, I think I’ve already given you a pretty clear picture of how demanding the schedule was. Add to that a teething two old, and an active six year old - both of them needing their mum, (and their mum missing them), and I’m sure you’ve got a pretty good answer straight away. I felt that my youngest, in particular, was becoming more the nanny’s child than mine, and that felt very sad. But the story lines of Beverly had also become quite domestic. It felt like the best was past, but that may have been temporary, had I stayed. I don ‘t know.
The producer sat me down very kindly and reasoned with me, asking me to stay with the show, but I can be exceedingly determined when I make me mind up to do something. I’d made up my mind to go, and that was that.
Being an outdoorsy type of person, I have particularly fond memories of spending an afternoon with Alan and crew trying to look like I was successfully fly-fishing. (I wasn’t, but it was lovely being by the lakes!) But that was actually leading into the birth of Daphne’s baby. I think the fly-fishing was more demanding than “delivering” the baby, actually!
The wedding to Jim was enjoyable. Very low key, really, but an enjoyable day. Bev was light and happy, for once.
I also remember very clearly bursting into tears when “Helen”, (Anne Haddy’s character), was ill. I found it rather hard to stop crying after the cameras stopped rolling. I think that was a combination of memories of my father’s death being brought to the surface, (he’d died of stomach cancer when I was 24), and pure tiredness. After the first year on the show I had a teething two year old to cope with – lots of night-shifts combined with early morning starts….. Supplies of daily fresh carrot juice still didn’t seem to pep me up enough to energise me fully.
Are there any cast members you wished to of worked with more?
Yes, I would have liked to have got to know both Jason and Kylie better. Craig McLachlan was a lovely person - with a very naughty sense of humour. He could always make me laugh. Guy Pearce was thoughtful and quite reserved. I enjoyed the company of so many of the company, but I had little to do with them socially, partly because of the demands of a young family, and also because I was ten years or more older than most of the cast, and at that time, that was a big gap.
Beverly departed Ramsay Street for a short time in 1989, what led to your decision to leave the series?
Well, I think I’ve already given you a pretty clear picture of how demanding the schedule was. Add to that a teething two old, and an active six year old - both of them needing their mum, (and their mum missing them), and I’m sure you’ve got a pretty good answer straight away. I felt that my youngest, in particular, was becoming more the nanny’s child than mine, and that felt very sad. But the story lines of Beverly had also become quite domestic. It felt like the best was past, but that may have been temporary, had I stayed. I don ‘t know.
The producer sat me down very kindly and reasoned with me, asking me to stay with the show, but I can be exceedingly determined when I make me mind up to do something. I’d made up my mind to go, and that was that.
After your departure, Beverly was recast. What did you think about this decision and what did you think of Shaunna O'Grady’s portrayal?
I think my departure put the story liners in a very difficult position, so it was understandable that they should re-cast the role. Although at the time, yes, it did surprise me, and it felt very odd to have someone else continue as Beverly. But Shauna very wisely found her own interpretation of the character rather than trying to fit into the role I had created. She found her own voice and her own sense of reality within it.
Are you still in touch with any of your former co-stars?
Sadly, no: although I did bump into Jason a couple of years ago in a lift at the BBC! He was in Strictly Come Dancing at the time, and was on his way to record It Takes Two with his dance partner, Kristina Rihanoff. He didn't recognise me at first, but when he did he gave me a friendly hug. Jason is a warm and gracious man, with a great deal of courage. I was always aware of his courage. He found public appearances absolutely nerve-racking, for example, but that didn't stop him going through with them.
I also met up with Alan (Dale) a few years ago, as I mentioned. We went and had a meal together, and I enjoyed his company very much. That was the first time we had been in touch since we were working together.
You left twenty-five years ago, what have you done since moving away from Ramsay Street?
I took a number of diverse acting roles in television until I left Australia to return to the UK in 2003. I played a farmer’s wife in The Flying Doctors, a mother who attempted to smother her disturbed daughter in A Country Practice, wife of a Senior Police Sergeant in Police Rescue 2, and a lawyer in All Saints. I also appeared at The Playbox Theatre, Melbourne as an English wife who drowns herself when her husband runs off with another woman in Coralie Lansdowne Says No.
Since returning to the UK I’ve worked almost exclusively in theatre, including quite a few comic roles, such as Alice in the two-hander The Secret Lives of Henry and Alice; understudy to Celia Imrie at the Duchess Theatre as the Cockney madam of a Gay bar, London in Plague Over England; and in No Expense Spared playing opposite Joe McGann as the M.P’s eccentric housekeeper. More serious roles have included the brooding American waiting woman in The Outside, (Glaspell Shorts) at the Orange Tree Theatre, who regains her voice after twenty years of silence; Dame Sybil Thorndike, (also as understudy to Celia Imrie) at The Duchess Theatre; and more recently the mystic Margaret in J.B. Priestley’s Summer Day’s Dream at the Finborough Theatre. I’ve also taken roles in a couple of short films, which I’ve loved.
I’ve also recorded many stories for shortstoryradio.com since I’ve been back in the UK, including my own, (The Snowflake). I’ve recorded comic voices for animation for CBBC, and taken part in a variety of other voice projects including e-learning and corporate video. I now have my own home studio, and have learnt to self –record and edit. I think that side of my work is set to really grow and will be a good support to allow me to work in other areas. So, oddly, I’ve swapped from tv and film in Australia, to theatre and voice overs in the UK.
So I am still very much in the acting game. Although I have also done a number of different jobs, from working with the unemployed as a “Job Search Trainer,” coaching in presentation skills and setting up my own voice studio, to teaching creative study skills, acting and English as a Foreign Language. I’ve also gained a degree in Creative Writing from Macquarie University, a certificate in NLP, experience in sales, and of course the experience of being a mum: a huge diversity of real life and acting roles, really.
How much input did you have into your storylines? Is there anything you would have changed about the character or her story?
As I recall our input to story lines was virtually non-existent. I became frustrated with the domestic nature of Dr Bev’s story lines in the last few months, but you can’t have one character always in a state of high drama, can you.
It would have been nice to allow more of my own sense of fun into Beverly’s reality. Life was rather intense for the poor soul!
I think my departure put the story liners in a very difficult position, so it was understandable that they should re-cast the role. Although at the time, yes, it did surprise me, and it felt very odd to have someone else continue as Beverly. But Shauna very wisely found her own interpretation of the character rather than trying to fit into the role I had created. She found her own voice and her own sense of reality within it.
Are you still in touch with any of your former co-stars?
Sadly, no: although I did bump into Jason a couple of years ago in a lift at the BBC! He was in Strictly Come Dancing at the time, and was on his way to record It Takes Two with his dance partner, Kristina Rihanoff. He didn't recognise me at first, but when he did he gave me a friendly hug. Jason is a warm and gracious man, with a great deal of courage. I was always aware of his courage. He found public appearances absolutely nerve-racking, for example, but that didn't stop him going through with them.
I also met up with Alan (Dale) a few years ago, as I mentioned. We went and had a meal together, and I enjoyed his company very much. That was the first time we had been in touch since we were working together.
You left twenty-five years ago, what have you done since moving away from Ramsay Street?
I took a number of diverse acting roles in television until I left Australia to return to the UK in 2003. I played a farmer’s wife in The Flying Doctors, a mother who attempted to smother her disturbed daughter in A Country Practice, wife of a Senior Police Sergeant in Police Rescue 2, and a lawyer in All Saints. I also appeared at The Playbox Theatre, Melbourne as an English wife who drowns herself when her husband runs off with another woman in Coralie Lansdowne Says No.
Since returning to the UK I’ve worked almost exclusively in theatre, including quite a few comic roles, such as Alice in the two-hander The Secret Lives of Henry and Alice; understudy to Celia Imrie at the Duchess Theatre as the Cockney madam of a Gay bar, London in Plague Over England; and in No Expense Spared playing opposite Joe McGann as the M.P’s eccentric housekeeper. More serious roles have included the brooding American waiting woman in The Outside, (Glaspell Shorts) at the Orange Tree Theatre, who regains her voice after twenty years of silence; Dame Sybil Thorndike, (also as understudy to Celia Imrie) at The Duchess Theatre; and more recently the mystic Margaret in J.B. Priestley’s Summer Day’s Dream at the Finborough Theatre. I’ve also taken roles in a couple of short films, which I’ve loved.
I’ve also recorded many stories for shortstoryradio.com since I’ve been back in the UK, including my own, (The Snowflake). I’ve recorded comic voices for animation for CBBC, and taken part in a variety of other voice projects including e-learning and corporate video. I now have my own home studio, and have learnt to self –record and edit. I think that side of my work is set to really grow and will be a good support to allow me to work in other areas. So, oddly, I’ve swapped from tv and film in Australia, to theatre and voice overs in the UK.
So I am still very much in the acting game. Although I have also done a number of different jobs, from working with the unemployed as a “Job Search Trainer,” coaching in presentation skills and setting up my own voice studio, to teaching creative study skills, acting and English as a Foreign Language. I’ve also gained a degree in Creative Writing from Macquarie University, a certificate in NLP, experience in sales, and of course the experience of being a mum: a huge diversity of real life and acting roles, really.
How much input did you have into your storylines? Is there anything you would have changed about the character or her story?
As I recall our input to story lines was virtually non-existent. I became frustrated with the domestic nature of Dr Bev’s story lines in the last few months, but you can’t have one character always in a state of high drama, can you.
It would have been nice to allow more of my own sense of fun into Beverly’s reality. Life was rather intense for the poor soul!
Even though Beverly was recast, would you ever consider returning to the show? If so, how would you like your character to return?
I think it would be really fun to re-appear in the show. (Take note, please, Neighbours producers!) I would certainly consider returning to the show for a few months or perhaps even up to a year. I think that would be a good experience, and I’d love to have an opportunity to work in Australia again. My ideal would be to work in both countries. In fact, I intend to explore the possibilities of finding an agent in Sydney in addition to my UK agent. I still have a lot of family and friends in Australia, including both my daughters, and I would so enjoy being able to see far more of them, and return to enjoy Australia itself.
Now, how would I like Bev to return? Good question.
It’s a tricky one. Jim dead. Beverly left for Perth, probably to catch up with her ex. I would think she might come back on a journey to put her life back together, after many years of having been away, not only from Erinsborough, but from Australia. She perhaps moved to the UK to be with her new partner, found that didn’t work out, and after a number of years, returns to see if she can pick up the pieces. She finds, however, that many of the old faces have gone. Time cannot stand still, and initially she finds herself at a loss in Ramsay Street. In attempting to regain the old life, she may find herself attracted to some of the remaining residents. Old faces? New faces? Does it work out? Like a teenager, she finds the uncertainty of attraction as disconcerting and confusing as it always was. Being older is no guarantee of a smoother ride! ( OK , storyliners, go go go!)
Were you a fan of Neighbours before you joined the cast? Do you watch the show these days?
No, I wasn’t a fan before I came on the show - too busy with my young children. I rarely watch it now, but find myself becoming quite nostalgic for Australia when I do.
Finally, for a show that nearly didn’t make its first anniversary, it’s amazing to see it approach 7000 episodes and a 30th anniversary. What do you think is the secret of the ongoing success of Neighbours?
I think initially Neighbours offered a kind of magical escape from the rain of Britain. It was colourful, people were really “neighbourly” and there was no problem which didn’t have it’s own solution. There was, and still is I think, a kind of innocence about Neighbours. It also moves at a good pace, with frequent interweaving of storylines, and with the emphasis, still, on the younger cast members, but with enough going on across all age ranges. It’s still an engaging piece of light, daily TV.
So, I wonder what comes next, for Neighbours, and for me? Watch this space.
I think it would be really fun to re-appear in the show. (Take note, please, Neighbours producers!) I would certainly consider returning to the show for a few months or perhaps even up to a year. I think that would be a good experience, and I’d love to have an opportunity to work in Australia again. My ideal would be to work in both countries. In fact, I intend to explore the possibilities of finding an agent in Sydney in addition to my UK agent. I still have a lot of family and friends in Australia, including both my daughters, and I would so enjoy being able to see far more of them, and return to enjoy Australia itself.
Now, how would I like Bev to return? Good question.
It’s a tricky one. Jim dead. Beverly left for Perth, probably to catch up with her ex. I would think she might come back on a journey to put her life back together, after many years of having been away, not only from Erinsborough, but from Australia. She perhaps moved to the UK to be with her new partner, found that didn’t work out, and after a number of years, returns to see if she can pick up the pieces. She finds, however, that many of the old faces have gone. Time cannot stand still, and initially she finds herself at a loss in Ramsay Street. In attempting to regain the old life, she may find herself attracted to some of the remaining residents. Old faces? New faces? Does it work out? Like a teenager, she finds the uncertainty of attraction as disconcerting and confusing as it always was. Being older is no guarantee of a smoother ride! ( OK , storyliners, go go go!)
Were you a fan of Neighbours before you joined the cast? Do you watch the show these days?
No, I wasn’t a fan before I came on the show - too busy with my young children. I rarely watch it now, but find myself becoming quite nostalgic for Australia when I do.
Finally, for a show that nearly didn’t make its first anniversary, it’s amazing to see it approach 7000 episodes and a 30th anniversary. What do you think is the secret of the ongoing success of Neighbours?
I think initially Neighbours offered a kind of magical escape from the rain of Britain. It was colourful, people were really “neighbourly” and there was no problem which didn’t have it’s own solution. There was, and still is I think, a kind of innocence about Neighbours. It also moves at a good pace, with frequent interweaving of storylines, and with the emphasis, still, on the younger cast members, but with enough going on across all age ranges. It’s still an engaging piece of light, daily TV.
So, I wonder what comes next, for Neighbours, and for me? Watch this space.
Interviewed March 2014