Neighbours: May I Return (To the Beginning)…?

Tragically, the Neighbours cast and crew, not to mention us as devoted fans are counting down the days until our beloved show comes to a hopefully temporary end on 1^st August, with a huge double episode. But by now, most of us will have heard of some major cast returns and some of them are SERIOUSLY exciting!

Harold Bishop (Ian Smith)

The first person to be mentioned, several weeks ago was Harold Bishop, such a classic character that the café is still named after him, long after his departure. He is so loved that the show wasn’t even capable of killing him off without bringing him back to life! Nobody would ever be able to forget the beautiful love story that was Harold and Madge (Anne Charleston) – the humour and the tragedy. It could not end without him. If only Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver), his old sparring partner was returning with him!

Joe Mangel (Mark Little)

We will also see Joe Mangel (Mark Little) with whom I am very much hoping we might also see his daughter Skye and her wife, Lana (Stephanie Mackintosh and Bridget Neval). Joe was always a loveable character and it was one of the show’s most memorable and tragic episodes when wife, environmentalist, Kerry was shot and killed. We saw Skye, a police officer return a couple of years ago a marry teenage love, Lana, finally getting closure on the relationship that started all those years and had to end abruptly due to homophobia. It was the show’s second gay marriage and really showed just how far Neighbours has come in terms of diversity and celebrating the LGBTQ community.

The Kennedy Family

Benjamin McNair as Mal Kennedy
(Digital Spy)

There are so many iconic families on Ramsay Street and Neighbours are clearly doing their best to represent as many of them as possible in the characters they are bringing back, as well as making sure they keep the current, radiant cast shining. It is a joy to hear that Mal Kennedy (Benjamin McNair) will be winging his way back to his parents from where he ‘lives’ in London. If only Libby and Billy (Kym Valentine and Jesse Spencer) would drop in too. They could pose for a new portrait! My wife has been tuning in for these last few months and she was shocked to see it still hanging in Karl and Susan’s lounge!

Also on her way back to Erinsborough is Elly Conway (Jodi Anasta), Susan’s niece, prompting the hope that after everything they have been through over all these years, #Chelly might finally get their happy ever after. I did like Chloe and Nicolette for a while and this Kiri seems quite nice but Chloe and Elly were the original couple. Nobody ever quite moved on from them, did they?! Next week, we will be seeing Pierce Greyson (Tim Robards) return, in line with his son Hendrix’s tragic diagnosis but let’s hope that doesn’t mean a reunion for him and Chloe because quite frankly that never worked for me. Just saying.

The Rebecchi Family

Morgan Baker as Callum Rebecchi
(Digital Spy)

Poor Toadie has been through so much during his life on Ramsay Street. He lost his first wife, Dee Bliss. He found true love with Sonya until she died from cancer in possibly the saddest ever storyline the show has ever aired. Then there was the whole Dee/Andrea insanity, which I was hooked on from start to finish! And it has taken a respectful amount of time but he has finally found love again with Melanie Pearson. So, it is lovely that his mother, Angie and his and Sonya’s son, Callum (Leslie and Morgan Baker) will be here for the end.

The Willis Family

Kate Kendall as Lauren Willis
(Digital Spy)

Paige Brennan (Olympia Valance) is also due to return again, although not with husband, Mark as far as we know. I’m not the biggest Mark fan but with the Brennan family having made such a huge impact on the Street, it would have been amazing to see Mark and Tyler (and Tyler’s partner, Piper) reunite on screen with their siblings, Chloe and Aaron – not to mention Piper and half-sister Paige back together again.

However, Paige’s mother, Lauren Willis (Kate Kendall) will return! And so will Ned Willis (Ben Hall), who has barely left. Ned has got himself into quite a lot of bother recently, having cheated on girlfriend, Amy with Harlow. He must take after his father. Deciding he needs to start afresh, Ned decided to head off to Sydney but it has been confirmed that both he and ex-girlfriend – and clearly the love of his life – Yashvi Rebecchi (Olivia Junkeer) will both return for the finale. So, does this mean they will get their happy ending after all?

Ned and Yashvi – reunited?
(Digital Spy)

But most importantly, Ned is heading to Sydney to spend time with his mother, Beth Brennan (Natalie Imbruglia) – no relation to Mark etc. Natalie recently won The Masked Singer UK and added her voice very loudly to the #SaveNeighbours Campaign so could it be possible that she might also return?! This would be amazing! Especially with Lauren, the third Mrs Willis back on screen, albeit played by a different actress, but still the same character who had an affair with Brad when Beth was in a relationship with him way back in the 90s. Neighbours, you need to make this happen. Three Mrs Willis’s on screen at the same time: Beth, Terese and Lauren! Ramsay Street actually could explode after all!

Will Beth make one last return to Ramsay Street…?
(ITV)

Also returning as part of the Willis clan are Kyle and Roxy Canning (Chris Milligan and Zima Anderson). They too have only left the show very recently. With Kyle only just recovering from testicular cancer, these two are a couple of the level of Scott and Charlene in terms of just how much they love each other. I’m not a TV wedding crier by any stretch of the imagination but I got very emotional at this one. And now, despite the odds, they are expecting a baby!

Chris Milligan and Zima Anderson as Kyle and Roxy Canning

Other Notable Characters

Also back for the finale are: Shane Ramsay (Peter O’Brien), Des Clarke (Paul Keane), Joel Samuels (Daniel MacPherson), Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingwaighte) and Amy Williams (Zoe Cramond).

The Robinson Family

Melissa Bell has returned as Lucy Robinson
(Digital Spy)

The final family with returning character are the Robinson family. Paul can expect two of his many children to return: Elle and Andrew (Pippa Black and Jordan Patrick). Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) is already on screen, attempting to rescue the mess Paul has made – and is blaming Terese for – of the fashion show. She is due to be joined by gay best friend and father of her baby, former resident, Chris Pappas (James Mason) who moved to live with her in New York. As far as Paul and Terese are concerned, they remain together in the credits, so I hold out hope that by 1^st August, they will be back together, where they belong.

Scott and Charlene (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue)

Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue as Scott and Charlene Robinson
(Metro)

And of course, the return that everyone is talking about… Scott and Charlene Robinson, played by the legendary Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, who began their careers in Neighbours in the 80s and went onto become global superstars. This has been the ultimate dream cast return for decades and I can hardly believe it is actually happening! Scott and Charlene have been mentioned regularly throughout the years with their extended family still living on Ramsay Street. In fact, Jason’s real life daughter plays Harlow! In the fictional world, Scott and Charlene have been happily married all this time and remain one of those couples and make you believe in true love! Their wedding was watched in the UK by 20 million people!

They went onto have two children (off screen), Madeline and Daniel, both of whom turned up on Ramsay Street as adults. Daniel arrived in 2014 and eventually married Imogen Willis, daughter of Terese, who eventually married Paul, brother of Scott! I am secretly hoping that Daniel and Imogen (Tim Phillips and Ariel Kaplan) might also find their way back home for the end!

Of course, everyone knows that since departing Erinsborough, Kylie went onto have an incredible pop career and became a huge gay icon and ally. She has lent her voice to the cause and is cherished by the LGBTQ community the world over. So, there is something particularly special, I think, that she is returning not just to the show that began her career but to the show that has developed itself from a soap that competed with all the others, to a soap that celebrates diversity in such a magical way – far beyond any others. And I watch them all! When Kylie and Jason were Australia and the UK’s sweethearts, there were no gay characters. Through the years, they tried and failed with characters such as Skye and Lana and had successes with others such as Chris. Now, we have Aaron and David, who even have a child and have been accepted as foster parents. We have Nicolette. We have Chloe. We have had the privilege of following Mackenzie through her journey as a beautiful, graceful transgender teenager. I believe we’re about to meet a non-binary character in the coming weeks. Aaron and David had the first gay wedding on Neighbours and walked down the aisle to ‘Especially for You’ by Kylie and Jason themselves! So, to have them back is an amazing thing, despite the circumstances.

Although, I am dreading that final episode and having to say goodbye to one of my most favourite ever programmes, I admire the dignity with which all the cast and crew have approached things. I also salute every single fan, who with true Ramsay Street Spirit, has campaigned for the show to be saved. I am proud to have been tweeting away, desperate to save the show we love and I have really enjoyed making those connections. I am excited for all the cast members who love the show so much that they wanted to be part of its celebrations and goodbyes. And I will also never lose the hope that even though the show will be rested, it will return.

Rainbows and Affirmations

The incredible Leah Bracknell as Zoe Tate

I remember watching the soaps when I was a closeted teenager, in awe of the likes of Zoe Tate, who was such a rare gem on 90’s TV. Not only had she been out and proud since the early nineties, but her sexuality was also only part of her story. She was a powerful, even formidable character. She had money and knew how to use it. She had her own career as a vet, that she loved. She had a wicked streak. In later years, actress Leah Bracknell portrayed the most heartbreaking scenes as Zoe battled Schizophrenia. When people think back to the nineties in terms of the presence of LGBTQ characters, their minds immediately flashback to Beth Jordache and ‘that kiss’, which is of course important but Zoe came out a year before this and was the first lesbian character in a British Soap. She was also the first gay character to have a wedding/blessing, many years before Civil Partnerships or equal marriage were even dots on the horizon for any of us. I was genuinely saddened in 2019 when Leah passed away from cancer.

Flash forward to present day and this past June when many of us have been marking Pride month with such gratitude that we are here, that so many things have changed and that we have the capacity and strength to try and change the things that still need changing. I have seen so many things online that remind us of why we still need Pride so much. One of things that struck me hardest was a post about while we live in a world where kids are still sat at home believing they would be better off no longer in this world than being gay, then we still need Pride. Pride isn’t a party. Pride is a march of survival. It’s a moment in time where we embrace every single ounce of ‘different’ inside and let it sing. Even if we sing out of tune.

I’ve been that kid, sat at home, scared for my future because I didn’t fit in, because while all my friends were watching the boys on TV, I was watching the girls. And it has been a long road in terms of being and out and proud soap addict to watch these shows change their characters, their storylines and their attitudes towards their characters and their storylines over the past twenty five years or so, when I first started tuning in and I started consciously battling my sexuality.

Lindsey fell for best friend, Shelley in Brookside

I remember, back in the day, that occasionally, a soap would have two dimensional gay man in it to back up another character and have no plot of their own. They certainly wouldn’t have a love life. Then there came the phase of the scandal storylines to boost ratings, where quite frankly, the characters and the LGBTQ viewers were badly mistreated. There was the random storyline of Lindsey Corkhill falling in love with her best friend, Shelley who actually had a thing for her mother in Brookie. Then there was that time that Todd kissed Nick in Corrie purely to pull viewers in to witness a ‘shock, gay kiss’ between two attractive men. And more recently, Tracy Barlow slept with Paula for literally no reason.

Charlie and Joey had a short lived romance in Home and Away #CJ

But Willow and Alex got a happy ending! #Willex

Over in Australia, back in 2009, Home and Away’s Charlie Buckton had a dalliance with Joey Collins, which I confess I got completely sucked into. It ended when Charlie cheated on her with some bloke and Joey left, never to be seen or heard of again. Charlie (the police officer) slept with one criminal bloke after another before she got shot and died. Delightful. They did redeem themselves recently though with Willow and Alex’s relationship, which I also fell in love with – they actually got a happy ending. Off screen, of course. Well, you can’t have everything.

The landscape of how soaps have presented the LGBTQ characters and relationships have definitely changed in a positive way over the years, I think. So many of the partnerships people have grown to love and adore, have not been heterosexual ones. Once upon a time, a soap would have to handle every aspect of gay relationships with ‘sensitivity’, in case they offended the homophobes when really, people like me and fellow members of the LGBTQ community were just desperate to see ourselves and our lives (or the lives we wanted to live), validated on TV.

Lana and Sky finally got their happy ending in Neighbours

I remember back in the day when in Eastenders, Tony left Tiffany for her brother, Simon. It was a scandal, not because of the affair but because of the sexuality aspect. I remember Shannon and Mandy falling in love so subtly that you could have missed it. Neighbours attempted to have Lana and Sky get together but the homophobia was so strong, they abandoned the story. They were so proud that for their 35^th anniversary to be able to rectify this and have the girls get married. It had always felt for the show and for the actors like an unfinished storyline.

Christian and Syed lived happily ever after in Eastenders (in Birmingham, actually)

Ben and Callum are one of Eastenders’ most popular couples today #Ballum

I also remember the huge story that Eastenders took on when they got Christian and Syed together. It was amazing! Not only were they addressing Syed coming to terms with his sexuality, he also had to work out how this fitted with his religion. And despite the complaints, they became such a loved and popular couple. Since then, one of the show’s most popular couples are ‘#Ballum’ – Ben and Callum – who got together in a very similar way to Christian and Syed (an affair in the lead up to a wedding). And one of the most special moments in the show’s history was the moment that Johnny came out to his Dad, Mick and received nothing but pure love and acceptance in return – no hesitation.

Robert and Aaron were made for each other in Emmerdale #Robron

Throughout the soaps, there have been some amazingly popular couples and characters, which show the strength of writing, performance and on-screen chemistry. Who can forget Robert and Aaron – #Robron – in Emmerdale? Not my favourite, granted, but massively popular and there were a lot of devastated fans out there when Robert was sent to jail. Their counterpart, if you like, are Vanessa and Charity (who I much prefer). I am very hopeful that when Michelle Hardwick (Vanessa) returns from maternity leave, a reconciliation will be on the cards! Charity herself was initially one of those ‘ratings bisexuals’ when she had a random affair with Zoe Tate in the early noughties. So it was brilliant when they revisited this and created what has become a fantastic relationship with Vanessa. Until it all went badly wrong. Oh and let’s not forget that once upon a time, Charity’s daughter, Debbie, had a fling with best friend, Jasmine, played by Jenna Coleman. Jasmine went to prison. I don’t think she’ll be coming back…

I still believe in Charity and Vanessa! (Emmerdale) #Vanity

John Paul and Ste belong together (Hollyoaks)

One of my favourite Hollyoaks pairings is John Paul and Ste. Between them, they’ve had more relationships than hot dinners and many would say that John Paul’s true love is Craig and Ste’s true love is Brendan. But personally, I never subscribed to either of those relationships. Neither of those men ever treated John Paul or Ste very nicely. Brendan was violent and Craig dangled John Paul on a shoestring for most of their relationship. But although I have adored people like Doug and Keiron (RIP) and James and Harry (RIP) have been great players thrown into the mix, I firmly believe that Ste and John Paul belong together.

Aaron and David are the perfect couple in Neighbours

Over in Australia, Neighbours has excelled itself in waving the rainbow flag. For me, they have outshone every soap. Years ago, it dipped its toe in the water with the character of Chris and from there, more and more gay characters arrived. Now, it can celebrate one of the best partnerships the show and in fact, soap, has ever seen in David and Aaron who are not only legally married (and walked down the aisle to Kylie and Jason!) but have also been foster parents and are expecting their first child. Aaron’s sister, Chloe is also bisexual and not just telly bisexual where she’s actually straight and goes off with a girl now and again to boost ratings. Chloe is such a vibrant character and has brought so much diversity to show in terms so showing someone who can love and have relationships with people for who they are, not for what gender they are.

In more recent years, Doctors have created some great character development with Emma who now identifies as pansexual after being very surprised to find herself falling for a female friend. Since then, she has had relationships with either gender and a couple of years ago, the show had an extremely harrowing storyline where Emma and her then girlfriend, Jasmine experienced a homophobic attack. It was not dissimilar to that awful story of the girls on the bus in London a few years ago.

Neighbours has taken Pride further in recent years with the amazing trans activist, Georgie Stone, who plays Mackenzie. Following Mackenzie’s story has been so emotional and so enlightening. She has been the Hayley Cropper of the millennial generation. But joking aside, it has been incredible to watch this young person, both the actress and the character, essentially explain her journey. She has not only portrayed the character but also been involved in the writing and story lining and I have genuinely wept during parts of her tale, as she had undergone surgery and struggled with acceptance from her family.

Hayley Cropper, Coronation Street. The Original.

I remember years and years ago, attending a transgender workshop and the first thing the trainer said was that they would love to say their charity was responsible for the education regarding trans people but it was actually Coronation Street. Everyone laughed because it was funny and also because it was a little bit true. This is the far reach of soaps and also the heavy responsibility they have to make sure that as well as entertaining people, they are socially responsible. I remember when Hayley first turned up in Corrie and it was such a scandal. I was about thirteen years old and still trying to get my head around my sexuality. I had no idea about gender diversity or anything and I had never heard of being transgender before. But the idea of someone not quite fitting, not feeling like they were who or how they were meant to be, completely connected with me. And Hayley turned out to be this angel, the kindest woman to ever walk the cobbles and they put her together with Roy, the kindest man to ever walk the cobbles… Well, the magic was made.

Since then, of course, Sally has turned up in Hollyoaks and the actress who plays her helped Coronation Street create Hayley so even though Hayley is gone, it’s kind of like she lives on. So even though Corrie was extremely late in bringing in the L, the G and the B, they did lead the charge with the T, something other soaps haven’t always been that eager (or that good) at doing. Currently, it’s only Emmerdale, (alongside Neighbours)who have Matty with any trans visibility. His story is particularly special as we actually knew his character as Holly, years ago. This hasn’t been done before. What’s also been a turning point in recent years with LGBTQ characters is that most of the actors who are playing the roles are members of the LGBTQ community.

So, at the end of this June – Pride Month – I am happy to reflect on how hard our soaps have worked to become inclusive and reflect the society we do or should live in. I am happy that I have all manner of characters and pairings to discuss, enjoy and dislike amongst all the different soaps. I love that I don’t have to cling to the single character that exists in each soap just because they’re gay. Firstly, there are plenty to choose from (except in Home and Away) and secondly, they are written so well that actually, sometimes they’re just not very nice. Because not all gay people are nice! Not all gay men are camp and fluffy. And gay women come in all variations too! Imagine!

Swooning (over) Shannon in Home and Away

When I was growing up, that just wasn’t how it was. You only knew Shannon liked Mandy because she talked about her incessantly. A bit like I talked about Shannon, actually! You were lucky if Zoe could hold hands with her wife. And two guys together were a rare scandal. Now, homophobia on screen is rare and definitely dealt with. I am reminded of a scene in Eastenders where Callum’s Dad was vile to him and Ben and Phil Mitchell to stood up for them. It was such a fantastic and affirming scene.

All the while people are not safe in the world because of their gender or sexuality, there is a lot of work to do. All the while there are people who don’t feel they belong in this world because of their gender or sexuality, there is a lot of work to do. But just for a brief moment in time, it is nice to reflect on how far this small corner of our society has come, even in my lifetime. When I was a teenager, I absorbed every message that these shows delivered to me and I am overwhelmed at how the messages have changed. You couldn’t pay me any money in the world to be a kid today with social media and mobile phones constantly beeping at me and recording my ever move and mistake. But I do think the positive approach to diversity and acceptance is a special thing that I definitely didn’t have twenty (ish) years ago. Soaps are intended to reflect life. They beam their way into our homes on a daily basis and right now, I praise them for doing a good job of positively affirming us, the LGBTQ community.

Neighbours: The Affair Begins…

Tuesday 20^th October – Friday 6^th November 2020

It looked ever so briefly like love was in the air for Toadie and Rose but alas, it wasn’t to be as Rose drifted back to her corrupt husband, James. Oh well, she was nice but she will never be Sonya. We will have to wait for someone worthier to come along.

Aaron, David and Nicolette bonded after a drunken party and the boys invited Nicolette to stay with them permanently. Hooray! I like this friendship. And I like Nicolette, although there is clearly a slightly viscous side to her as she took genuine pleasure in informing Pierce that she was staying put. Oh well. I have never liked him anyway.

Karl and Jane stashed all their bulk buying rubbish on Aaron and David’s roof, causing it to fall in. As sick of the storyline as I am, Susan laid down the law – no more bargain basement hoarding or Jane has to move out. Now, can we move onto a story a little worthier of characters such as Karl Kennedy and Jane Harris? This one has been pretty insulting, quite frankly. Then the story moved onto Susan feeling crowded by Jane…

Thanks to a photo Aaron put online of him, David and Nicolette, an old friend of Nicolette’s suddenly pitched up in Erinsborough and the boys made her much more welcome than Nic did. Her name was Audrey and she turned out to be an ex-colleague of Nicolette’s. They both looked after a patient called Marco who was severely neglected by his horrible family. When he died, they cashed a winning lottery ticket of his and split the winnings. While Nicolette clearly had no issues spending the money, Audrey has been wracked with guilt all this time and not spent a cent until recently, when she bought a fancy handbag and then completely panicked. She now wants to confess and give the money back. Nicolette does not agree and spent the rest of the week trying to stall her.

Working at the hospital together, Audrey dropped Nicolette in it about visiting London two years ago when Jane had no idea she was there. Karl and Jane became concerned about what was going on between Nicolette and Audrey. Susan was concerned about Jane taking over her house. Karl searched through Nicolette’s records and concluded that she had been working in London, just as Audrey had said.

Ned’s life was in tatters as Scarlett continued to make complaints about him to the police and Yashvi’s trust in him was broken. She did agree to attend Ned’s exhibition, along with the rest of the residents in order to support Ned. He ended up winning the Osbourne Prize but not with the portrait of Yashvi that he submitted but with the destroyed portrait of Scarlett that she swapped, ready for the big unveiling right at the climax of the exhibition. She then appeared and announced that he had been stalking her before running off. Ned gave chase, ignoring his loved ones begging him to let her leave. Roxy was left to explain the whole debacle to Paul and Terese.

He chased Scarlett back to the maze, haunted by memories of the stabbing. Yashvi found him (not by the maze), asleep in his car with a cut on his head and no recollection as to what had happened the night before. While Ned suffered nightmares and flashbacks about what had happened, including holding his bloodied pallet knife and someone being locked in his boot, Scarlett was declared missing. CCTV footage then transpired of Scarlett being thrown to the ground by a mystery assailant.

While Ned’s loved ones were certain Scarlett had set Ned up, Ned was traumatised by his ‘memories’ and confessed to murder. The Detective who wrongly charged Tyler of murder, arrived to run the case and correctly stepped Yashvi down. Why on earth was she allowed to get involved anyway?! Ned was charged with murder and let out on bail thanks to Paul and Terese.

Ned is arrested…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

All the while Ned’s life was falling apart, believing he had killed Scarlett, she was actually hiding in The Hive, listening in on his oblivious friends talking all about what had happened. Once Ned had been bailed, she sneaked into the garage and tampered with a car. Meanwhile, Yashvi was certain that Scarlett’s journal, which had been critical in the case of her stalking Ned in the first place. Desperate to help, Shane attempted to get hold of it, only to get caught stealing it and charged for the offence by Levi. This of course landed him in a huge amount of trouble with Dipi, Toadie and Yashvi. Shane then infuriated Dipi further by suggested she be in charge of his decisions so he didn’t screw up again.

Chloe returned from visiting her mother, having reached a decision. She cannot think about the long term future due to her Huntington’s, which is understandable. She needs herself and Pierce to live for now. She and Pierce endured an awkward double date with Shane and Dipi, with Chloe and Shane unaware that their partners have shared a kiss.

When Aaron mentioned that Nicolette had a friend visiting, Chloe was jealous. There is no other word for it. I hope she realises soon that Nic is a much better match for her than Pierce. He was furious to overhear her admitting she missed her friend. When he then thought he saw Nicolette threatening Audrey, he decided to wade in and speak to Audrey himself which only landed him in trouble with Chloe.

Once she had calmed down, Chloe was ready to talk but she was set off again when rather than talking, Pierce presented her with a diamond necklace, feeling like he was trying to buy his way out of their marital woes.

Chloe was not impressed with Pierce’s diamond gesture…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Dipi was upset when Shane decided to quit University and persuaded him not to cancel his future. And that was the moment she and Pierce found solace in each other at the hotel. And I have to say, it was all a bit weird. I know they had to do it social distanced but it was a bit like someone pressed the wrong button and cut in an advert for their affair in the middle of the ‘moment’. However, judging by the obligatory half naked Pierce scene, alongside Dipi in her towel, we can safely assume they are supposed to have now slept together. Determined that it was a one off and they have now got each other out of their systems, Pierce and Dipi were determined to focus on their marriages.

Pierce and Dipi believe they’re getting their feelings out of their system… yeah, right!
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

Dipi was jealous when Pierce began to launch a new wine brand and named it after Chloe. However, Chloe was crestfallen when she discovered the wine was called ‘Chloe Greyson’. She chose not to change her name from Brennan and couldn’t help but listen to Nicolette’s opinion that the wine was Pierce’s way of stamping his mark on her after he believe she was trying to take her away from him. Chloe challenged Pierce about the name, prompting a big row and him staying at the hotel yet again.

Chloe sought Nicolette’s friendship over her latest row with Nicolette, prompting Dipi to stand up for Pierce. Dipi reported back to Pierce and the pair raged about their respective partners, Pierce for Chloe’s rejection of the wine and friendship with Nicolette and Dipi for Shane’s latest balls up with the police. Of course, they ended up in bed again.

Meanwhile, Clive tried everything to get back together with Sheila, even dressing up as a gnome, with Kyle getting burned on a barbeque in the process. But when she finally explains her reasoning and confessing to messing with Levi’s results, he agreed that their relationship was over for good.

Neighbours airs Monday – Friday, Channel 5 @ 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Neighbours: An Illicit Kiss

(Monday 12^th – Monday 19th October 2020)

Chloe and Pierce struggled to communicate, both handling their grief over the miscarriage in different ways. Wanting to give her daughter time and space to focus on her own life, Fay headed back to Adelaide but not before she stopped to kindly ask Nicolette to keep her distance from Chloe in order to let her focus on her marriage. Unfortunately, the conversation was overheard by Pierce, revealing the Chloe knew about Nicolette’s feelings all along.

More revelations were to come when Pierce challenged his wife and she admitted that she had been having doubts about their marriage and about the baby – and that she had confided in Nicolette about it all. With the couple wanting to resolve their marriage woes, Pierce suggested doing something fun: Dipi’s cooking class. The look on Chloe’s face suggests that she did not think that was fun.

And she was right. The class was a disaster for everyone, including poor Hendrix who had turned up to partner Susan, with whom he has developed a lovely relationship. Things became very intense between his Dad and Chloe as she wanted to forget their troubles and he wanted an intense conversation. Shane turned up to help Dipi, despite Pierce warning him off and as ever, his help was more of a hindrance. Shane and Pierce got into a nasty row and everyone got upset.

After the class, both couples argued. Chloe refused to talk to Pierce who stormed out. Across the road, Shane blamed Dipi for his addiction, prompting her to also storm out, throwing her and Pierce together in their distress. While Pierce gave Dipi a complimentary room at the hotel for the night, Toadie spent the night at home, talking Shane down from using drugs. This set Dipi off again, straight into Pierce’s arms and the pair shared a long expected kiss, which they both regretted immediately and decided to keep a secret. While Yashvi blamed Shane for everything going wrong, a chat with alcoholic Terese helped her become more supportive of her Dad. You’ve gotta love, Terese. And I did feel sorry for Shane, especially when he apologised to not only Dipi but Pierce as well.

Dipi and Pierce share a secret kiss…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

When Chloe sought out her brother, she ended up chatting to Nicolette again (who lives with him and David) but got caught out by angry Pierce, setting everything off all over again. But it was Hendrix’s words that forced Chloe to sort things out with Pierce in the end. When did he get so wise? Probably when he got together with Harlow. Chloe went ahead with the marriage counselling and also ended her friendship with Nicolette before heading off to Adelaide to make sure Fay had settled in okay. Alone and needing space. Possibly not a good idea to leave her husband unattended right now but then, quite frankly, she’s better off without him.

On Nicolette’s advice, Levi got another medical assessment, independent of Clive so nothing looked suspicious and he didn’t end up pushing himself beyond what he was medically capable of. While Levi was understandably upset with his Gran, Sheila ended her relationship with Clive, having broke the single condition he set when they got back together – no deceit.

Now, Nicolette really was a busy girl this week, dishing out help not only to Levi and Chloe but also to David and Aaron by putting them in touch with a friend who once acted as a surrogate. I am so desperately disappointed with this storyline. I thought it was amazing that they were fostering and providing a home for vulnerable kids. I think it’s absolutely crap that they ran that story once and now it’s all about having a biological baby. Don’t get me wrong, I love Aaron and David; they’re my very favourite Neighbours couple and one of my favourite couples in soap history. That’s probably why I’m so annoyed about it. They could have been the Pippa and Tom of Ramsay Street!

Anyway, the upside is that the story did give way to one of my favourite scenes in a long time. They mentioned to Paul about paying a surrogate from abroad, which would be legal but would not be legal if they had a local surrogate. They also claimed it would be ethical to pay for it that way, although I’m not entirely sure what difference the location makes in terms of morals but whatever. Anyway, mentioning money to Paul is like a red rag to a bull and he immediately visited Nicolette and offered to pay her friend (and her) if her friend would have the baby for the boys. Getting drunk with the boys that night, Nicolette revealed her conversation with Paul, which led to a drunken phone call with ‘Paulie’ to tell him off for meddling, which was overheard by a very angry Terese. Very funny.

Drunk Aaron told Nicolette that Chloe missed her friendship. He and David told her that they didn’t want her to move out. Hooray! Also, Aaron’s stubble is officially turning into an actual beard.

Ned fought his demons enough to complete the portrait of Scarlett, only for her to declare it a rush job and destroy it, terrifying him. He decided that it wasn’t worth the trauma of being around her and told Yashvi the truth. Understandably, she felt utterly betrayed. Meanwhile, Roxy met Scarlett’s oblivious fiancé, who was under the impression that Ned had been Scarlett’s stalker, not the other way around. And in the meantime, Scarlett made a complaint to the police of the same vein. But surely her history of stabbing him would prove that that wasn’t true?! And Bea and Roxy took on the role of Ned’s bouncers by handed back to ruined painting to Scarlett and warning her off. This story is a bit weird, to be honest. Scarlett Part One was quite good but I’m not sold on Part Two. Sorry.

Scarlett destroys Ned’s painting…
*(photo credit: Digital Spy)*

After some pressure from Mackenzie, Toadie decided to do the right thing and warned Rose not to sign her divorce settlement, telling her where to look for evidence over where her ex-husband, James has hidden his assets. After some interference from Susan (it’s usually Karl’s job), Toadie and Rose ended up on an accidental date and admitted that they liked each other. Yay! I do hope this works out. I know she’ll never be Sonya (RIP) but Toadie deserves some happiness.

Then there’s this slightly strange storyline where Karl and Jane have raided one of those Costco places and have so many bulk buy items they can’t store it all. They ended up having to pay Nicolette, Aaron and David a fee for storing it under their house. Yes, that’s an actual plot. I guess the writers took panic bulk buying to heart in lockdown…

Neighbours airs Monday – Friday, Channel 5 @ 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Neighbours: Mothers and Daughters

(Wednesday 5^th – Wednesday 12^th August 2020)

Jane’s daughter, Nicolette Stone turned up in Erinsborough, almost tragically eager to see her mother and hoping that she had asked Terese to contact her. Of course, Jane is still in Perth and hasn’t done anything of the sort. So, the story goes that their relationship is pretty fractured. When Nicolette came out as gay, although Jane was supportive, she kept her deep in the closet as far as Mrs Mangel was concerned, which I totally get was hurtful to Nicolette. It made her feel like Jane wasn’t supportive at all. And it drove a huge wedge between them, especially knowing the relationship we know that Jane and Mrs Mangel had. But thinking that Jane had asked for her, Nicolette came rushing and was crestfallen to realise her mother wasn’t even there.

Terese pointed out that if Jane knew that Nicolette wanted to sort things out, she would undoubtedly be delighted but Nicolette was doubtful and also unconcerned about her mother getting her heart broken for the millionth time. In the meantime, she bonded with Chloe and became quite smitten, assuming she was gay and not realising that she would flirt with a post. When she made the bold move of asking her out, Chloe awkwardly explained that she was married – to Pierce. Later, she explained that she was bisexual and she had really enjoyed spending time with her.

Nicolette is smitten with Chloe
(photo credit: Yahoo)

Unhappy Nic accidentally bumped into Paul, letting the cat out of the bag regarding Terese’s communications with Jane. Paul was horrified to hear of the breakup but even more upset to realise that he has been left completely in the dark. He is possibly the biggest busy body soap has ever seen! Terese had no choice but to contact Jane and admit that she contacted her daughter and just as Nicolette is all set to leave town, Terese informed her that Jane was on her way, desperate to repair their relationship. Unfortunately, things didn’t go terribly well as while Jane apologised for throwing her out of the house after Nicolette told her and Des exactly what she thought of their relationship (which prompted the breakup), Nicolette was unrepentant and clearly carrying a lot of hurt from the past. While Nicolette prepared to pack up and say goodbye, Jane asked newly returned Karl and Susan for a place to stay.

Nicolette and Jane have a tense reunion…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Well, I have to say, I am thrilled that Jane has returned as a regular cast member at last and Nicolette definitely has the potential to be a good character, I think. Her first scene with Jane was brilliant. Their relationship will be a very interesting story to tell. And now that Elly is gone and we can see serious cracks in Chloe and Pierce’s relationship, Nicolette could very easily be the answer!

Across the Street, Aaron and David have had all kinds of trouble with Emmett and his brother, Brent but their compassion won out when they realised what it was like for Brent in residential care. They agreed to take Brent on for a week’s trial and to look after the two of them. The first day seemed to be going well with lots of fun, games and doughnuts. However, when Aaron was busy, Brent persuaded reluctant Emmett to climb onto the roof with him. When they were getting down, Emmett struggled and fell! Ouchy.

Sheila finally broke and admitted the truth about what happened to Levi. She had popped out for some milk when some thugs broke in and attacked him as a child, causing a head injury that also caused seizures. She admitted that the thugs had been the lads that Kyle hung around with; she had sent him away to turn his life around and get him away from them. She never told the police, meaning Levi never got justice and so suffered with nightmares for many years. Instead, she sorted things out quietly with the boys’ parents. Kyle was horrified, having had no idea he was responsible for what happened and Levi was devastated that Sheila essentially chose Kyle over him.

Kyle is devastated to be partly responsible for what happened to Levi
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Storming out, Levi turned to Bea for support. There is definitely a romance brewing there, I think. And quite frankly, Bea deserves someone nice for a change. Kyle turned to Roxy over his guilt. He attempted to plead Sheila’s case to Levi but the boys nearly ended up fighting instead. While Levi decided to move out, Roxy persuaded Ned to help her cheer Kyle up with some ‘classy’ nude pictures. And she and Sheila finally made amends. Hooray! Sheila admitted to Kyle that she loves him like a son because she raised him like one; essentially she does love him more than her other grandchildren.

Dipi was becoming more confused and frustrated by Shane’s erratic moods. One minute he is pulling and all-nighter and not even calling, the next he is sleeping like the dead, then he can’t concentrate, then he is very grumpy… Alongside the drugs Harlow and Hendrix have now found in the school and Yashvi is investigating rather well for a rookie, plus that weird conversation he and Ritchie had the other day, I’m assuming… well, drugs.

Monday – Friday, Channel 5 @ 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Neighbours: I Love You More

(Wednesday 18^th March 2020)

The 35^th Anniversary episode begins with the original theme tune playing as none other than Des Clarke steps out of a taxi. He looks around as Shane and Dipi frolic in a sprinkler, another throwback to the olden day credits. A voice over, which blends into Susan and Karl reading through her wedding speech for Mark and Paige, throws out so many of the old lyrics we know and love. And I’m sure there are loads of ‘Easter Eggs’ I will have missed throughout the episode but I’ll mention the ones that I spotted.

Des visits Paul who is thrilled to see him and explains the story of the Catfish and that Jane is still in love with him. Des is sceptical. Jane broke his heart and dumped him on the telephone. The last time they saw each other, he was in a bad place and starting to fall for her again and she just vanished without explanation. He isn’t sure that Paul is correct. However, persuasive Paul convinces him to attend Paige and Mark’s wedding to at least create the opportunity to meet up with Jane again and see what happens.

Jack brings Gabe to Erinsborough for the ceremony. My favourite moment of the whole episode comes from the bridal party trying to decide on a wedding song. Ned (son of Beth, played by the legendary Natalie Imbruglia) suggests, ‘Torn’, which Yashvi has never even heard of. Young people!!!

“My Mum used to sing it all the time,” he says.

Mark and Aaron both wear kilts to the wedding (and Aaron has stolen Mark’s underwear!) as the wedding must be in theme with the wedding they’ve replaced (Tom and Ian – a holler to Tom Oliver and Ian Smith who of course, played Lou Carpenter and Harold Bishop). Gabe walks Paige down the aisle and Aaron films everything for Chloe. Paige and Mark are shocked when the wedding goes smoothly. They are just a normal, happy couple, celebrating their wedding day. One particularly cute moment during the ceremony comes from Aaron and David, mouthing to each other:

“I love you.”

“I love you more.”

It melts the hearts of #daaron fans everywhere, including mine.

Afterwards, Paige, Mark and Gabe gather to open their honeymoon box and Terese can only tut when she realises that Paige has swapped the box so that they are going to Palawan instead of Rome. So… who has got the bomb now?

Jane is pleased to see Des again but becomes embarrassed and angry when she realised that his appearance is due to Paul’s meddling and that Paul has read her private emails to Richard. When she tries to walk away from the two men, her heel gets caught and she pulls down a canopy, which topples down on Des, knocking him to the ground!

While Susan is worried about not being able to get in touch with Bea, Shane reports that Toadie has decided to stay on The Island for longer. Susan and Karl inform David of ‘events on The Island’, presumably of Bea and Finn’s breakup.

Jane lets slip that Sky is in Erinsborough for her own wedding, just as her fiancée, Lana Crawford arrives and introduces herself to Shane and Dipi. They explain that as teenagers, Lana had been desperately in love with Sky but Sky hadn’t understood her own feelings. They bumped into each other again and it now feels like they have come full circle. Having been dating six months, they want to get married. The only problem is that Sky’s ex, Dylan has always hoped that he and Sky would get back together. Sky had hoped that Toadie would be able to support Dylan when she broke the news but now, he is on holiday. (Actually, he is potentially dead or dying).

Kind Shane (who has been playing classic cricket on the Street with his family) offers to take on Toadie’s role in supporting Dylan if it means that Sky and Lana can go ahead with their wedding plans and they gratefully accept, phoning Dylan who immediately books a flight to Erinsborough. The girls worry that Dylan has got the wrong end of the stick and thinks that Sky wants to give things another go. Surely nothing is going to get in the way of the love story that the LGBT youth (now LGBT adults!) were denied so many years ago?

Channel 5, weekdays 1:45pm and 5:30pm

Plus Neighbours Late: Endgame 10pm, Channel 5