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 1st 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)

Ian Smith as Harold Bishop
(Metro)

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)

Mark Little as Joe Mangel
(BBC)

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.

#Chelly

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 1st 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.

Everybody Needs Good Neighbours!

Like many, I read the news this weekend that Channel 5 are dropping Neighbours from its schedule later this year.  And like many, I am absolutely devastated.  This is even worse than when it was dropped by the BBC, back in 2008, as the show itself was never under any threat.  Channel 5 were heroes then for rescuing us and picking it up and now they are robbing us by taking it away.  But worse because now, with the show’s popularity largely relying on its UK audience, if it has nowhere to air over here, it may have to end production altogether.  I mean, if Channel 5 murder one of the most iconic programmes in television history, it will never be forgiven!  I’m not entirely sure what home grown and exciting drama they think they’re going to serve up to replace it.  Or what audience they think they’re going to attract in Neighbours’ time slot.  Whoever came up with this decision has made a huge mistake.  I just hope they’re not too proud to retract it.

Classic 90’s wedding: Brad and Beth (sadly, he’d been cheating on her with Lauren!)

It has been brilliant to see online, all the calls to #saveneighbours.  This show has been part of so many peoples’ lives for such a long time.  Especially for people of my generation, it was part of our childhood.  It was part of our routine.  You got home from school.  Then a 5:10pm, Home and Away was on ITV, followed by Neighbours at 5:35pm on BBC1.  When I started secondary school, I remember, we did an ‘ice breaker’, where we had to go round the class, introducing ourselves to each other – mingling, if you will – and asking each other questions from a list.  We had to have a different name down to each of the questions.  The only question I remember was, “Find someone who doesn’t watch Neighbours.”  I remember it because it was so hard!  Finally, someone found one girl in the entire class who didn’t watch it!  One out of thirty!  Because it was 1995 and everyone watched Neighbours.  Everyone watched it.  Everyone talked about watching it.  And everyone loved it.

Scott and Charlene: One of the most famous TV weddings ever!

And clearly, people still love it.  It’s part of the fabric of our childhoods.  It has launched the careers of so many people.  I mean, come on!  Without Neighbours, we would not have Kylie.

I am going to repeat that: Without Neighbours WE WOULD NOT HAVE KYLIE.

Can you even imagine that?  A world without Kylie?  I can’t even bring myself to think about it.  Awful!

Finn Kelly is one of Ramsay Street’s most notorious killers and was a huge part of the show’s 35th anniversary story

And to bring the discussion and my strongly worded objection into present day, Neighbours is no longer stories about dogs having dreams and dead characters who were washed away, turning up with amnesia anymore (although they aren’t averse to the odd dead character reappearing still but what soap isn’t?  You only know a character in Hollyoaks is dead if you’ve seen the body!)  Of course, it has its sense of fun and silliness.  It’s Neighbours.  They’ve also done massive stories that have the flare of slightly over the top Aussie soap drama but are so incredibly absorbing and entertaining, such as the Finn Kelly murder plot or when Andrea Sommers arrived, the spitting image of ‘dead’ Dee Bliss (and played by the same actress).  But it is so much more than that.

In recent years, it has tackled so many important stories: Huntington’s, testicular cancer, grief, fostering, alcoholism, just to name a few.  I don’t think I have cried more in a soap than when Sonya Rebecchi died of cancer, after everything she and Toadie had been through together in their marriage.  It’s been years and I am still not ready for him to move on…. But that’s my issue…

Aaron and David are one of the best soap couples ever!

Anyway, one of the central most fantastic things about Neighbours is its celebration of the LGBTQ community. They raise the rainbow flag far higher than any other soap, including any of the British ones and so high above Home and Away that they can’t even see it.  The flag is a dot to them!  Neighbours were holding Pride events long before any other soaps were.  They have Aaron and David as one of the most established and stable, not to mention loved couples in the whole show.  They got married on screen (walking down the aisle incidentally to ‘Especially For You’ by Kylie and Jason), they have been foster parents and now have a child of their own through a surrogate.

Mackenzie has been such a wonderful addition to the show

They have a wonderful bisexual character in Chloe – who is actually bisexual, not heterosexual but got given a gay storyline once, as happens so often on television.  Plus, they have a lesbian character.  Plus, they have a trans female character, who is played by trans activist Georgie Stone, who has put so much work into her character in order to educate and connect the audience with her journey and experience.

For all of these reasons and more, Neighbours needs to stay on air.  Channel 5 should be grateful to Neighbours and the diversity, humour, education and drama it provides, not sling it off the shelf.  It does get decent viewing figures and it is a well-loved show.  It means a lot to people, as can be seen from the outpouring online after the announcement that it would be dropped.

So please, Channel 5, reconsider.  You might find something else to replace it but it will never be Neighbours.

Neighbours: Freedom!

(Tuesday 2nd – Tuesday 9th June 2020)

Shane attempted to contact Grant for Mackenzie, only to discover that he has been injured at work and is in a lot of trouble both with his health and financially.  He confided in Dipi but kept things secret from Mackenzie and against Dipi’s wishes, sent money to Grant to help him out.  In one sweet moment, Dipi had a photo from Mackenzie’s party framed and put in pride of place, confirming her as a member of their family.  I adore Mackenzie and I am so happy she is a fully fledged member of the cast with such great relationships with so many characters, including the Rebecchi family, Harlow and Roxy.  Now she has turned eighteen, I think we’re about to go on a hugely educational journey as she embarks on having her operation and all the different challenges that will involve.  I love Neighbours for doing this story and I love Georgie Stone (who plays her) for prompting them to create this character.

Harlow became despondent after the party, feeling like she and Hendrix are too different in their interests and are therefore doomed.  She then decided to rebel and behave badly but Hendrix didn’t like the idea at all, pointing out that he didn’t want to date himself, he wanted to be with her.  Could these two get any cuter?  However, we’ll soon see if he is up to the task of creating a memorable (in a good way) eighteenth birthday for her like Ritchie did for Mackenzie…  No pressure!

Toadie and Dee finally decided it was time to be intimate.  After a lot of faffing about, not to mention some tears at the enormity of being together after so many years apart, they finally did it.  I mean, I am starting to accept this.  Dee is nice and I want Toadie to be happy.  He deserves it.  But I just…  I miss Sonya, okay?

Chloe and Aaron overheard Claudia talking in the hotel lobby with a guy who turned out to be a dodgy policeman (thanks to a call to Mark) about getting rid of evidence, which they immediately concluded must mean that Claudia was behind the fire during Finn’s trial.  Now, I’m sorry.  I love Neighbours.  It is one of my most favourite soaps.  But I take so much issue with this.  Why on earth would Claudia be chatting away to a dodgy contact in a busy hotel lobby?  And more than this, why on earth would she be chatting about the fire now?  That whole thing was done and dusted a million moons ago.  So many things have happened since then, not least that Finn has regained his memory, gone bonkers and murdered two people and accidentally drowned in a grave intended for Susan.  Why be chatting about the fire now?  Why would it happen?  Apart from a lazy way to move the story on.  And an unnecessary way.  There were so many ways for the truth to be unearthed.

Anyway, Aaron opted to confront Claudia who rather outlandishly attempted to buy his silence by offering to ‘get’ him and David a baby!  Despite their utter shock, they kept Claudia talking while Chloe, Bea and Susan took the opportunity to search her hotel room for any possible evidence that she is rancid with guilt.  When she did return, she bumped into the women stepping out of the lift, all of whom were terrible at giving a reason as to why they were there.  I mean, you’d come up with a reason ahead of time, just in case, wouldn’t you?  She became even more suspicious when she saw a couple of things out of place, phoning Sam in panic as she had just had a phone call from the police – Mark had reported the dodgy cop Chloe and Aaron saw her with earlier.

Meanwhile, Toadie was heartbroken to have to tell Elly that her appeal had failed.  However, he refused to let things lie and investigated the judge who sentenced Elly.  He has overruled the prosecution recommendations a handful of times and each time, Sam was the lawyer involved.  After a bit more digging, he discovered that the judge was indeed being blackmailed due to gambling debts.  Sam and Claudia are now under investigation.  Hooray!

However, this didn’t immediately help Elly, who was still trapped behind bars with Andrea who was making her life hell.  Frightened for her life, Elly hid a weapon under her mattress, which she ended up pulling out when Andrea forced her into a ‘paid’ fight with Patrice.

Susan, Bea and Chloe charged over to the hotel to confront Claudia but she had vanished – with Aster!  Immediately contacting the police, Susan and Bea attempted to track down Claudia to her private plane, fearful that she intended to illegally leave the country with the baby, which of course was exactly what she planned.  At the airport, Claudia was all set to depart when, in the least shocking plot twist to ever happen in the history of soap, who should turn up but… Shaun!  Who would ever have imagined that he wasn’t dead after all?  Apart from… everybody.  It would have been more of a shock if he had actually turned out to have died.  Basically, they ‘killed him off’ so that Elly and Finn could have their ‘Buffy and Angel’ moment in order to turn Finn evil and create this whole story.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved the whole Finn plot.  I am not complaining.  But Shaun being alive was the worst ‘shock’ comeback ever.  Also, he is meant to have been to hell and back and yet he was able to get out of the hospital and fly to Australia from Switzerland all within two days?  Really?!  And he’s not even jet-lagged?  And there’s no physical sign of injury?  Come off it.

However, it was a very sweet moment when he was able to meet his daughter for the very first time.  And he forced his mother to confess all and turn herself into the police.  Susan and Bea (not to mention everyone else) got the shock of their lives to see him – unlike the viewers.  With Claudia having had no choice but to confess, Sam abandoned her like a rat on a sinking ship.  Shaun couldn’t forgive his mother for her actions.

While Toadie succeeded in getting Elly’s sentence reduced back to a suspended sentence, it really was just in time as she was in the middle of having to fight Patrice.  Andrea was utterly livid.  Before heading home to see her daughter, Elly confronted Claudia but her anger dissolved into unwanted pity.  While Claudia continued to accuse Elly of murdering Finn and being an unfit mother to Aster, Elly got the last word – if anyone is unfit, it’s Claudia, look what she turned her son into.  That’s what I’ve been saying all along!

As Elly returned home, she was delighted to see Aster and overwhelmed to see Shaun, although things were not as easy between them as we would have hoped.  Everyone in the Kennedy house has been through so much and everyone is processing what happened with Finn in different ways.  While Shaun offered to leave, Elly asked him to stay.  His family put her family through hell but it wasn’t his fault and he deserves to be a father to Aster.  Now, with Jodi Anasta about to depart the show, perhaps it would be nice for Elly, Shaun and Aster to have a fresh start together?

A family reunion…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

One thing that isn’t going well right now, is Karl and Susan.  Through this whole thing, the gulf between them is getting wider and wider.  They worked on the Elly and Claudia situation separately and although Karl tried to communicate with Susan, she did not want to communicate with him.  And even at the end, she clearly wanted nothing to do with him.  It’s very, very sad.  And it’s also very worrying that his first port of call is to call this Olivia woman and talk to her instead.  Karl and Susan are the best!  I can’t go through them breaking up!  I just can’t!

Dee was deeply concerned when Aaron mentioned that Claudia had paid money into Andrea’s account in prison, prompting her to confront her twin.  Andrea admitted everything, sending her into an angry rant about how easy Dee’s life has been (so easy, driving off a cliff and being ‘dead’ for however many years) and how hard it was for her to be dragged up by a crazy woman and have to fight for everything she has.  Subsequently, she was pulled away by a guard.

Across the Street, Naomi struggled to keep her feelings for Pierce under control almost as much as Pierce struggled to keep his clothes on at inappropriate moments.  Eventually, when Naomi made it clear that she didn’t want to work closely with him, ‘oblivious’ Pierce challenged her, wanting to know what he had done wrong, forcing her to confess her true feelings for him.  I think this situation is going to go from amusing to murky fairly soon…

Things get intense between Naomi and Pierce…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Speaking of feelings, Kyle finally got his act together and ended things with Jess in order to try and make things work with Roxy.  Unfortunately, it’s too little, too late and Roxy had had enough of being heartbroken and gone to stay in Darwin to try and heal her heart.  Kyle, you are a bit rubbish sometimes.  That girl has done nothing but try to be there for you and you’ve treated her so badly.  Let’s just hope she still likes you when she gets home!

Neighbours has returned to filming

Episodes air on Channel 5, Monday – Friday, 1:45pm and 6pm

Neighbours: Sheila VS Susan

(Tuesday 26th May – Monday 1st June 2020)

The Kennedys found Sheila in their back garden, grieving for Gary the Pigeon but once they got hold of Kyle (and she accused them of killing Gary all over again, they realised that he wasn’t dead, just drunk on fermented berries and he was soon restored back to life.  But sadly, things between Sheila and Susan were not restored.

When Claudia brought Aster to see Elly, she let slip her long terms plans for custody, prompting Elly to suggest to Chloe that she did indeed sell her The Island and agree to work with her in order to find out what she was really up to.  Just as an aside, Elly seems to be living it up in jail!  In one day, she saw Claudia and Aster, then Chloe and then Susan.  I mean, that’s more people than most of us have seen in months recently!  Aaron immediately caught Chloe snooping on Claudia but ever the innocent, approached the monster directly about what his sister had found, meaning she was able to easily explain it away rather than allowing Chloe it gather it as evidence!

With The Island plan going ahead, Aaron set up a focus group of Harlow, Hendrix and Mackenzie to help them with ideas going forward.  While the kids were happy to help out, especially for some cash ahead of Mackenzie’s 18th birthday, Susan was not happy to see them spending time with new nemesis, Claudia.  Meanwhile, things at home between Karl and Susan were not improving.  In fact, they seem to be getting worse!  After a row, Karl stormed out, resulting in him staying out all night and chatting to former fling, Olivia Bell from days gone by (and exchanging numbers), although not before asking Dee to go and support Susan at home.  He then suggested that Dee move in with them, which Susan readily agreed to.  Just as an aside, if Karl cheats on Susan again, I will not be in a forgiving mood!

Dipi was just as unhappy as I was about Dee wading in on Sonya’s turf with Toadie and the kids, as if Sonya never existed.  She was also worried about being pushed out herself, when she has been so involved in the kids’ lives for so long.  But there’s a really sweet moment with Nell, which makes her thaw, alongside Dee assuring her that she isn’t trying to take Sonya’s place.  When Toadie and Dee visited Elly and were informed of Andrea’s plans to get custody of Hugo, Dipi was actually the first person to comfort Dee who felt guilty about letting Andrea back into their orbits.  I’m still not sold on Dee myself but it was sweet moment of friendship.

Elly’s life behind bars got somewhat more intense when she realised that her warning for Toadie and Dee had put her firmly on the wrong side of Andrea and that is not where she wants to be!  Andrea began consistently bullying Elly, including having her beaten up, although she knew better than to tell anyone the truth about her injuries.  Not that the Kennedys believed her lies anyway.

Andrea is gunning for Elly…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

With Sheila’s obsession with Gary the Pigeon spiralling out of control, Kyle made an urgent call for help and within moments, who should waltz through the door but Naomi?!  I am so excited!  I adore Naomi!  I was so sad when she left and I hope she is back for a good long while.  She is like a breath of fresh air to the show from the moment she appears.

Naomi Canning returns…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Thankfully, Naomi does not hold Susan responsible for Gary’s death, which is a good place to start in healing her mother’s pain.  Kyle hasn’t been able to make any progress really because a) he is in too much pain himself and b) he blames Susan at least in part for what has happened.  Naomi’s argument is that it wasn’t just Susan who was responsible for ‘rehabilitating’ Finn and Toadie agrees – if Susan is to blame then everyone is.  She talked to Susan directly and was concerned that she blamed herself as much as Sheila blamed her.  Then she did some most excellent plotting with Paul and Terese, locking Sheila and Susan up in the Willis house together and forcing them to talk.  When Karl got wind of it, he immediately objected but by the time he arrived, the two women were genuinely connecting.  They finally achieve peace!

With that resolved, Naomi was immediately distracted by Party Boy Pierce.  She rushed home to tell Kyle that she thought she had met the one, a guy she clearly has a complex history with.  While swooning over and old picture of ‘Party Boy Pierce’, Naomi then had a meeting with Chloe, with whom she has just scored a job, taking over her duties temporary at Lassiters while she works on The Island project with Claudia.  I mean, that’s not going to be awkward at all…  Thankfully, at least Naomi didn’t reveal all her cards before Pierce turned up to the meeting.  Kyle begged Naomi not to be responsible for Chloe getting her heart broken.

Chloe and Naomi bond…
(photo credit: Digital Spy)

Meanwhile, Mackenzie was freaking out about her birthday party, which Kyle and Roxy had been thrown together to organise.  However, all went well, including a big romantic gesture from boyfriend, Ritchie.  It even survived Kyle ditching to go and get the cake but thinking he was going to see Jess, Roxy ditched the party as well.  Aware that Mackenzie was upset over her Dad’s neglect of her birthday, Shane called him on her behalf.

Neighbours has returns to filming, while observing social distancing

Episodes air on Channel 5, Monday – Friday, 1:45pm and 6pm