Neighbours

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

Neighbours is a long-running Australian soap opera, running daily episodes of 22 minutes (excluding commercials). It originally aired on the Seven Network in Australia in 1985; however, they cancelled the series later that year. The series was immediately picked-up by rival Network Ten. It began screening on that channel in early 1986 and has remained popular with its core teenage audience ever since. The show was created by Reg Watson and is produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation.

The series follows the daily lives of several families who live in the fictional Ramsay Street, Erinsborough – although in fact it is restricted to the small cul-de-sac of six houses at the end of the street – and includes the usual soap staples of births, deaths, and marriages. The show features a regular turnover of attractive young actors mixed in with the more stable cast of older people. Though it is not commonly mentioned so as to not alienate viewers in other Australian cities, Erinsborough (an anagram of 'Or Neighbours') is undoubtedly supposed to be a suburb of Melbourne. The show is filmed in Melbourne, and for street scenes uses Pin Oak Court in Vermont South, a suburb in eastern Melbourne. Erinsborough is often contrasted with the neighbouring, and equally fictitious, suburb of Eden Hills. Other locations often mentioned (and sometimes seen) in the show include West Waratah, Waratah Heights and Anson's Corner.

Many successful Australian actors and singers had some of their earliest work on Neighbours, including Kylie Minogue, Jesse Spencer, Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe (brief extra appearance), Natalie Imbruglia, Jason Donovan, Holly Valance, Mark Little, Radha Mitchell, Delta Goodrem and Natalie Bassingthwaighte of the band Rogue Traders. Actor Alan Dale who had previously starred in The Young Doctors, played the central character of Jim Robinson for the show's first seven years and is now a recognisable star in US series such as 24 and The O.C.. One of the most enduring characters currently on the show is Harold Bishop, played by actor Ian Smith who has also written many of the scripts for the show.

Neighbours celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2005 with a special episode which featured appearances from several former members of the cast.

Neighbours internationally

The show is also popular in the United Kingdom where it quickly gained a cult following after it began to be broadcast there in 1986. BBC One began by screening it at lunchtime, but it was soon given an early evening repeat slot by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter. In the late 1980s it regularly had a UK audience in the tens of millions and was sometimes watched by more people than the population of Australia at that time. The episodes in the UK are now generally shown between one and three months after they are seen in Australia, as the BBC often removes the show from its schedule during major sports tournaments such as Wimbledon and bank holidays in order to take into account the fact that the show usually takes a four week break over the Christmas/New Year in Australia for the Southern Hemisphere summer.

The show has also been sold to networks in many other countries. Episodes from 1999 were aired for a six-week trial basis on the American channel Oxygen in March of 2004. At first, it was shown in the afternoon opposite higher-rated American soaps such as The Young and the Restless and All My Children, which gave the show anemic ratings from the first airing; the people who would be most interested in the show were watching other, more established serials. After a couple of weeks, the show moved to a late-night time slot and eventually left the air entirely. It was the sixth Australian soap opera to be aired in the United States (The Sullivans, Prisoner, Home and Away, Paradise Beach and Pacific Drive are the other five).

It has been long aired by Television New Zealand and screens twice daily at 5:05am and 5:30pm.

It also airs every evening on Irish TV station RTÉ Two at 5.30. These episodes are also about three months behind the Australian network.

Current controversy

After being fired from the series former cast member Shane Connor filed for wrongful dismissal. Evidence presented in court in October 2005 described alleged on-set problems such as arguments with cast and crew, lateness and absenteeism. This behaviour has been connected to the actor's period of drug use after the death of his brother.[1]. Connor admitted that he had had problems in the period prior to receiving a final warning in April 2003, but contested Grundy's claims that he has acted unprofessionally immediately prior to his dismissal in September 2003. He won the case and was awarded AUS$196,709 (£84,416) plus interest and costs. [2]

Storylines

In the beginning, the show mainly focused on two families, the Robinsons and the Ramsays (after whom "Ramsay Street" is named) who were as the name of the show suggests, neighbours. The show initially gained notoriety for its depiction of the teenage romance of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell. Their Romeo and Juliet style romance culminated in a wedding was keenly anticipated by viewers and is still fondly regarded today as being one of the high points of the series. Another popular couple in the show's early days was the pairing of Des Clarke and Daphne Lawrence, a couple who also lived on Ramsay Street alongside the Ramsays and the Robinsons. Daphne's death in 1988 is still considered as one of the most emotional moments on the show.

Until recently, both the Ramsays and the Robinsons had been written out of the series, with the sole exception of the Bishop family (who are related to the Ramsays through the marriage of Harold Bishop to the late Madge Ramsay). However, one of the original characters, Paul Robinson, made a return to the show in the final episode of 2004 and became a regular character in early 2005. Today the show revolves around the Scully, Hoyland, Timmins and Kinski families, along with several other residents who live in Ramsay Street.

In the late 1990s, Neighbours gained the reputation as being a somewhat conservative soap with topics such as sex generally not being included in the storylines due to its early evening timeslot in Australia and the United Kingdom (Earlier storylines involving controversial topics such as incest and teenage sex were often censored by the BBC in the UK, which may account for the reluctance on the part of producers to depict controversial issues). In the past two years this has started to change, with the show now regularly featuring its teenage characters discussing issues such as sex and contraception in a manner which has not been seen on the show since the mid 1990s. Recently, the show has depicted a lesbian storyline involving Sky Mangel and Lana Crawford. There was also not one but two incest storylines; the first involving Serena Bishop and Luka Dokic, who embarked on an intimate relationship, blissfully ignorant of the fact theat they were half-siblings, sharing a mother, Liljana Bishop. The second storyline to touch on this taboo subject was the plotline in which Harold Bishop became obsessed with a younger woman who bore an uncanny resemblance to his deceased daughter, Kerry (in fact, the character was played by Linda Hartley-Clark, who did indeed play Kerry Bishop years earlier.) The pair went as far as sharing a kiss, which ultimately made Harold 'snap out' of his obsession. The character of Sindi Watts has also been involved in storylines involving stripping and more recently prostitution.

The break up of long time married couple Karl and Susan Kennedy and soon after Joe and Lyn Scully has also been a great source of interest to viewers, especially since it has led to a long running storyline in which Izzy Hoyland duped Karl into believing that he was the father of her unborn child continuing the charade long after she tragically miscarried in November 2004. After over a year of manipulation, Izzy's lies came to light in a spectacular fashion, and despite a last ditch attempt by Izzy to gain Karl's sympathy by falsely claiming that she was raped, Karl finally dumped Izzy for good.

Late in the 2005 season (broadcast in January 2006 in the UK) came a highly dramatic storyline where a large contingency of Ramsay Street regulars went on a joyflight on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft over Bass Strait. A time bomb had also been planted in the plane's undercarriage. During the flight Izzy discovered a note to her saying 'To my one and only... think about your life and everything you've done.'

The bomb soon went off, sending the plane crashing into the ocean below. David, Liljana and Serena were killed, although only David's body has been recovered. Paul, Elle, Izzy, Alex and Sky were quickly found and taken to hospital. Susan was missing for a few days but eventually rescued. Dylan and Connor, who believe Dylan is wanted for armed robbery, survived washed up on a desolate beach and decided to fake their own deaths by assuming new identities, but they recently came back to Erinsborough.

The identity of the bomber will be uncovered during 2006.

Current characters

Spoiler warning: This list is based on the Australian cast, and will sometimes reflect arrivals and departures which have not been broadcast in the UK.

These are the current main characters, who each appear in two or three episodes every week, apart from fairly rare breaks for the actors' other real life commitments. (The actors all get a month off at the same time for their main holidays). Most main characters feature for at least two years, but only a fairly small minority last for more than five years.

The list on the right shows the current (Australian) cast in order of seniority by first appearance. The characters marked with asterisks have had more than one spell on the show, with gaps of several years between them. The table is based on their first ever appearances, the episode number of which is shown in brackets.

Bishop/Mangel family:

• Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) (1987-1991, 1996 onwards) - former coffee-shop owner (before it burned down), General Store co-owner, devout Christian, Salvation Army member, tuba player, slightly naïve, often comic relief, widower of the late Madge Bishop, father of David and Kerry Bishop, grandfather of Sky Mangel and Serena Bishop. Harold was given up for dead in 1991, when it was thought he had been washed out to sea. Five years later, however, in one of the show's more unlikely storylines, Harold reappeared in Erinsborough as a Salvation Army worker named Ted. He recently suffered a stroke, but has since recovered. However, the stroke brought out some elements of his personality which had been previously hidden from his loved ones and the audience. During the crash of the joy-flight plane in 2005, Harold lost his son David, David's wife Liljana, and grand-daughter Serena. In the last episode for 2005, Harold attempts to strangle Paul Robinson. In the next season in 2006, Harold treats the unsuspecting Paul with apparent concern and kindness.

• Sky Mangel (Miranda Fryer) (Stephanie McIntosh) (1988-1991, 2003 onwards) - Harold's teenage granddaughter, daughter of Kerry Bishop (deceased) and step-daughter of Joe Mangel, ex-girlfriend of Boyd Hoyland, to whom she lost her virginity, currently dating Dylan Timmins. Became best friends with Lana Crawford after they initially hated each other, and Sky helped Lana come out of the closet. Developed a close personal friendship with Gabby Walker, because of the similarity she had with her mother. She and Boyd broke up after Boyd found out she kissed Dylan while he was in hospital and Dylan soon became her boyfriend. Sky and Dylan managed to find dirt on Affirmacon, the company who contaminated Lassiters Lake and want to build the Erinbrough Mall, and with the help of other residents managed to bring Affirmacon down. Sky was recently involved in the 2005 plane crash, but recovered with no injuries.

Scully family:

• Lynette "Lyn" Scully (nee O'Rourke) (Janet Andrewartha) (1999 onwards) - mildly neurotic hairdresser, works for Gino. Recently split up with her long-time husband, Joe. Mother of Stephanie, Jack, Felicity, Michelle and Oscar. When Oscar was born, she got post-natal depression and even left Oscar alone in the car once. Has slight problems with shoplifting. Recently dated Andy Tanner, who left his wife for Lyn, but ended it shortly afterwards. Janelle and the other Timmins are currently living in her house with her. She was romantically involved with Bobby Hoyland, until she found out he had cheated on her with Susan, and is now engaged to Joe Mangel.Joe and Lyn decide to free-fall and give their relationship a go. However, their celebration is cut short when Toby (Joe’s son) calls and requests Joe’s help in setting up a new farm he’s bought. Joe is torn, but Lyn finally makes him see that he has to prioritise his son and that, if they were meant to be, Joe will come back to her.
• Oscar Scully (Ingo Dammer-Smith) (2003 onwards) - infant son of Lyn and Joe Scully. His mother had post-natal depression when he was born, but once diagnosed, she was able to recover. His godparents are Lyn's mother Valda, Harold Bishop (for helping the Scullys through many situations), Susan (for being a good friend) and Gino (Lyn's employer at the hairdressers). Originally, Karl was to be Oscar's fourth godparents, but was replaced by Gino.

Timmins/Rebecchi family:

• Janelle Timmins (nee Rebecchi) (Nell Feeney) (2004, 2005 onwards) - Mother from Colac, to Dwayne, Dylan, Brandon, Janae, Scott "Stingray", and Bree. Wife of Kim, Big Kev's sister, Lyn's apprentice at The Salon. A bitter, lazy woman, used frequently in comical storylines on the programme, who used to make money from injury scams. She has recently found happiness again with the return of her husband, Kim, after she struggled to provide for a family of six children on her own (4 of which are in Erinsborough, currently), when her husband left her. Had a small fling with Bobby Hoyland. Wrote a novel about her life in Ramsay Street, which Nina Tucker's singing manager, Melody Jones, would like to publish. Lyn recently kicked her and her family out onto the streets to live in a caravan park, but recently let them back into her home.
• Dylan Timmins (Damien Bodie) (2005 onwards) - Stingray's brother, and boyfriend of Sky Mangel. Was formerly a high-school dropout in juvenile detention. Now released and trying to reform himself, he is constantly being put down by his mother. Dylan is currently repeating year 12, and is also doing part time business work for Paul Robinson. Paul convinced him to set up his friend Roo to be arrested by the police in an attempted robbery of "Scarlet Bar". When he and Sky tried to save some animals that had been poisoned in the contaminated Lassiter's lake, he then got poisoned himself, and is now susceptible to cancer and other ailments. After some help from Paul Robinson, he and Sky, with the help of other residents, managed to bring down Affirmacon. When Paul Robinson's leg was infected and it needed to be amputated, Dylan forged Paul's signature to save his life. After recently being involved in the plane crash at sea, Dylan attempted to stage his own death by avoiding the search and rescue teams in an attempt to start a new life after being charged with armed robbery. He made his way back to Erinsborough and revealed himself at his own wake when he discovered that his brother was likely to be imprisoned too, because he had not blamed the robbery all on Dylan. The two brothers had a brief period in jail, before Stuart went undercover as an inmate and got them released.
• Janae Timmins (Eliza Taylor-Cotter) (2005 onwards) - Janelle's daughter, Dylan and Stingray's younger sister, older sister of Bree, ex-girlfriend of Mike Pill (to whom she lost her virginity), nemises of Serena Bishop. She is very flirtatious, and in her own opinion, "Janae Timmins is a dead set hottie." She stole Shazza's boyfriend, Mike. She then met up with Chris Cousens who spiked her drink and tried to take advantage of her, but Scott, Dylan and Bree arrived in the nick of time to help her. Mike pressured her into having unprotected sex with him, and she dumped him shortly afterwards. She has counselling sessions with Karl, in which she eventually developed a dependence on Karl, which led to Janelle thinking that Karl was taking advantage of Janae, almost destroying Karl's career. She then started a relationship with Boyd Hoyland.

• Breeana "Bree" Timmins (Sianoa Smit-McPhee) (2005 onwards) - The youngest of the Timmins children, friend of Summer Hoyland, Rachel Kinski and Zeke Kinski, who she has a romantic interest in. She is an interesting character, who has aspects both like a sweet little girl and also a schemer. She really enjoys reading. Her mother makes her very nervous, and causes her to vomit. She came first place in the Erinsborough High spelling bee, and then won the national finals, winning her family $15000.

• Scott "Stingray" Timmins (Ben Nicholas) (2004 onwards) - teenage cousin of Toadfish, and "favourite" son of Janelle Timmins. Diagnosed with ADHD, although this was never fully confirmed. Boyfriend of Serena Bishop. Has 3 brothers and 2 sisters (Dwayne, Brandon, Dylan; Bree, Janae). Used to go out with a girl named Shazza, to whom he lost his virginity, but soon broke up with her. Former boyfriend of Serena, who he broke up with after Boyd and Sky broke up, because he had found about Serena and Boyd's fling. Scott recently went to court charged with armed robbery as an accomplice of his brother Dylan. He has now been set free.

• Jarrod "Toadfish" (or "Toadie") Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) (1995 onwards) - The Rebecchis were once one of the main families on Ramsay Street, but only Toadie remains. The Timminses are his cousins. He is a sometime tearaway, now a respectable lawyer and part-time wrestler called "The Lawman", former co-host of the wrestling show "Choke-Hold" (on the fictional Channel 44) with Connor, currently owns the bikini store called "Bounce", which was given to him by a law client. Was married to Dee Bliss (before she went missing after their car careened off a cliff after the ceremony, presumed drowned), ex-boyfriend of Sindi Watts.

Hoyland family:

• Max Hoyland (Stephen Lovatt) (2002 onwards) - father of two, married to Steph (not mother of Summer and Boyd), son of Bobby and Rosie Hoyland. His first wife died several years ago, leaving him to raise Summer and Boyd by himself. Former co-owner of the pub "Lou's Place" (with Lou Carpenter), before it burnt down. Co-owner of "Scarlet Bar" with his sister Izzy. His father Bobby recently returned to see Max and Izzy, and Max didn't want anything to do with him, but after he decided to accept him, Bobby ran away again. He and Steph were going to adopt a baby girl off Kayla, but eventually Kayla decided to raise the baby with her boyfriend, the baby's biological father. Max was overjoyed to discover, on his 40th birthday, that his wife Steph is pregnant with their first child.

• Stephanie "Steph" Hoyland (nee Scully) (Emma Roche) (Carla Bonner) (1999 onwards) - 20-something mechanic and biker chick, overcame cancer and is married to the love of her life, Max Hoyland. Daughter of Joe and Lyn. Was undergoing IVF treatment with Max, but it failed. Was found guilty of the murder of her biological grandfather Charlie Cassidy (although innocent), but was given a suspended sentence. She managed to appeal her verdict with some money given to her by Bobby, and therefore was able to apply for adoption. Unfortunately, just as she was about to adopt Kayla's baby, Kayla announced that she and Boyd were going to raise the baby themselves. After a few weeks of drama, Kayla finally told the biological father, Anthony, who had been kept in the dark about her pregnancy, that baby Ashley was his and they decided to raise her together, leaving Steph heartbroken once more. Steph and Max were recently overcome with joy after finding out that Steph is, in fact pregnant. At the start of 2006, it was revealed that Steph's breast cancer had returned.
• Boyd Hoyland (Kyal Marsh) (2002 onwards) - teenage son of Max, skater and ex-boyfriend of Sky Mangel, to whom he lost his virginity in 2004. Had a dispute with a guy named Travis Dean about space to put up posters, which resulted in Travis threatening Boyd's family. He was put up a grade, but flunked his year 12 exams and got a job at a gym, whose manager persuaded him to take up body building and take human growth hormone. He was mistakenly diagnosed as having Adolescent Schizophrenia but the symptoms were due to a large frontal lobe brain tumour. This was removed, but the surgery put him in a coma for a short while, but he woke up after his grandfather came to see him. He broke up with Sky after he found out she kissed Dylan while he was in a coma. He offered to help Kayla raise her baby, Ashley, but eventually they realised that it wouldn't have worked, as Kayla was still in love with Ashley's father, Anthony. He has now started a relationship with Janae. He has decided to pursue a career in medicine, and in his second attempt at his VCEs he came in the top one percent of students in the state to win a place at medical school.
• Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) (2003 onwards) - sister of Max, ex-business partner of Harold Bishop in the coffee shop, co-owner of "Scarlet Bar" with Max, girlfriend of Paul Robinson. She moved in with Karl Kennedy after he broke up with Susan and for a long period claimed (falsely) that Karl is the father of her unborn baby. Has also had affairs with Jack Scully and Gus Cleary, who is the biological father of her unborn child. She is no longer pregnant, owing to a miscarriage. Recently broke up with Karl, due to an affair with Paul Robinson, but got back together with him shortly afterwards. Darcy Tyler, who knows the secret about her baby and was put into a coma by Izzy, has woken up, and forced her to gave him a favourable testimony at his sentencing hearing in order to keep her secret safe. Susan looked at Izzy's confidential medical records and discovered that father of the baby was unknown. She forced Izzy to tell Karl the secret. Karl kicked her out, and she ran off, leaving Paul Robinson under suspicion for her murder. She was found alive, and Paul's name cleared. She recently overcame a drug addiction, and is now in an open relationship with Paul.

Kinski family

See also: Karl and Susan Kennedy

• Susan Kinski (previously Kennedy, maiden name Smith) (Jackie Woodburne) (1994 onwards) - Widow of Alex Kinski, ex wife of Karl, mother to Malcolm, Libby and Billy, grandmother to Ben, English teacher and previously headmaster. After the divorce with Karl, she was in a relationship with a former priest named Tom Scully, but he ended the relationship. She was romantically involved with Bobby Hoyland, but eventually found out about his indiscretions with Janelle and Lyn. During 2005, Susan met Alex Kinski, and they formed a fast relationship. Soon to be married, when Susan learned of his terminal illness, the wedding was called off. Plans for it were revived when Alex's condition became stable. Recently a passenger on the joy-flight to Tasmania that ended in a tragic crash, it was thought Susan was lost at sea. She was, however, found three days after the crash with no injury. She and Alex made their marriage vows just before he passed away.

• Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Alex Kinski and sister of Zeke and Katya. Rachel and her brother were home schooled by their parents until their mother died and they started attending Erinsborough High School. She has become fast friends with Bree Timmins. She dated a Year 10 boy named Jake Rinter against her father's will but broke up with him after he made it clear he wanted her to go further than she was willing to. When she found out about her father's illness, she ran away, and was soon found tearing down the Christmas stockings and the tree in Susan's house. She recently broke into her father's university office with Stingray to steal his turtle which made her feel a little better about having to cope with Alex's death.
• Ezekiel "Zeke" Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister) (2005 onwards) - Extremely intelligent son of Alex Kinski and brother of Rachel and Katya. He was the boyfriend of Bree Timmins for a while until Bree broke up with him because of his inability to lie to his father. He recently stopped speaking as he thinks he killed his father by wishing that he was the one who died instead of his mother and not retracting the wish.
• Katya Kinski (Dichen Lachman) (2005 onwards) - Alex's first daughter who ran away from home when she was 16 and has recently been found by Rachel and Zeke just in time before Alex's passing.

Robinson Family

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

• Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) (1985-1992, 1993, 2004 onwards) - Businessman. Son of local engineer Jim Robinson and his wife Anne, Paul was born in 1963. His sister Julie was born the year afterwards followed by brother Scott, half brother Glen and finally his beloved little sister Lucy Robinson in 1975. Anne died giving birth to Lucy. Paul's grandmother, Helen Daniels moved into the Robinson house and doted on all the kids. Paul was her self-confessed favorite. In 1985 Paul married Terry Inglis Robinson, but their happiness didn't last when Terry shot Paul in their home. Paul became embittered and was given control of the Lassiters complex by his Aunt Rosemary. While in charge, Paul Hired Gail Lewis, who would become his true love before their marriage collapsed due to Gail's emotional disturbance while pregnant with Paul's children (Cameron, Lucinda and Robert). After their divorce, Paul met and married Christina Alessi. Paul eventually left Ramsay St in 1992 to run the Lassiters hotel in Hawaii. He returned in 1993 for Helen's birthday but the celebration was ruined when he was forced to flee the country on fraud charges. Paul returned to Australia in 1997 after the death of Helen and was sentenced to three years prison. He finally returned to Ramsay Street in 2004. He appeared on the last episode of the year where Lassiters was burnt down (Paul being responsible however his secret not yet out in the open, only known by Isabelle Hoyland). His return has been controversial due to what has been regarded as out of character behavior from many long term fans. He wasted no time in subtly tearing apart the marriage of David and Liljana Bishop, resulting in the brief arrest of David on false fraud charges and a short-lived affair with Liljana. After a deal with the developers Affirmicon fell through, Paul was chased off a cliff by their heavies and had to have his leg amputated. Rosemary and Lucy returned to Paul's side in the aftermath and helped him back on his foot. Recently, he embarked on an ill-advised relationship with Izzy Hoyland who has tricked him into believing that she loves him so that she has a place to live. Izzy's plans have come under attack by the returning Lucinda (Elle) Robinson. The relationship with Izzy appears to have come to an end in early November with Karl's revelation that Izzy phoned him a week before and declared he was her one true love. After the controversial planecrash, Paul decided to give Izzy another chance knowing however that she does not love him in return. They currently live together with Paul's daughter Lucinda 'Elle'. In the last episode for 2005, Paul Robinson was strangled by Harold Bishop. Although he survived with only minor injuries, he has sworn revenge on his unknown would-be murderer.
• Lucinda "Elle" Robinson (Pippa Black) (2005 onwards) - Daughter of Paul and Gail Robinson, and the sister of Amy, Andrew, Cameron and Robert Robinson. She recently returned to Erinsborough to see her father, and had an intense dislike of Izzy until Izzy saved her life during the plane crash. She has a romantic interest in Ned Parker. Elle should be fifteen or sixteen but her age has been increased to nineteen for plot purposes. Her brother Robert arrives in 2006 and her mother Gail also returns to Ramsay Street after seventeen years this year.

For more information see The Robinson Family

Parker Family

• Stuart Parker (Blair McDonough) (2001-2006) - Cousin of Libby's late husband Drew and friend of Toadfish. Former mechanic, now a police officer, husband of Sindi Watts. Lost everything when fleeced by a cult. Had previous relationships with Dione Bliss and Felicity Scully, before he finally married Sindi. He was temporarily blind after rescuing Sindi from an explosion in the Lassiters Complex which destroyed Lou's Place, The Coffee Shop and several other buildings, but got his eyesight back after a $50,000 operation. Engaged to Sindi Watts after she proposed to him at the Scarlet Bar. His devout Catholic aunt Raylene recently arrived in Erinsborough to see if Sindi was suitable for him, but she left in disgust after she found out they had lied to her about many things, including Connor being a priest. Sindi has since been declared unstable and committed to psychiatric institution, leaving a heartbroken Stuart devastated.
• Ned Parker (Daniel O’Connor) (2005 onwards) - Stuart Parker's little brother who has recently arrived in Erinsborough to help Stuart through his ordeal with Sindi - despite their parents' wishes, as it was lambing season on their farm in Oakey. He won the "Bounce" Mr. Erinsborough competition.

Other:

• Louis "Lou" Thomas Carpenter (Tom Oliver) (1988, 1992 onwards) - businessman, once mayor, widower to Cheryl Stark, Dungeons and Dragons player, former co-owner of the pub "Lou's Plaice" (with Max Hoyland) before it burnt down, co-owner of "The General Store" with Harold Bishop and owner of the garage "Carpenter's Mechanics" Has a long-standing chalk-and-cheese friendship with Harold Bishop. He went to jail but was later released after an appeal hearing conducted by lawyer Toadfish Rebecchi. Since being kicked out of his house by Paul Robinson, he was forced to move into Number 30, and now has to live in a tent in a caravan park.

• Connor O'Neill (Patrick Harvey) (2002-2006) - Young, slightly naïve, Irish immigrant, works at "Scarlet Bar" and "Bounce", former co-host of the wrestling show "Choke-hold" with Toadie, boyfriend of Serena Bishop. Romantically linked with Michelle Scully, but had an affair with Lori Lee while Michelle was abroad. Has one daughter, Maddy, with Lori Lee, whom he rarely sees. Was in a relationship with Carmella Camenetti, who was recently stalked by her bodyguard Frank, but she ended it after the stalking incident. His current career is working in the bikini shop "Bounce". After pursuing an open relationship with Serena Bishop (despite age differences) he was thought lost at sea after the plane crash where Serena also lost her life, but as it turns out was actually hiding from confessing to embezzling money from Bounce. Patrick is reportedly leaving early this year.

• Dr. Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) (1994 onwards) - Local GP and frustrated would-be rock star. His thirty-year marriage to Susan hit the rocks after he became involved with his receptionist Sarah Beaumont years ago, but faith was restored soon after. In 2004 he broke up with Susan and became involved with Isabelle "Izzy" Hoyland, eventually leaving Susan for her. Nearly died from a heart attack after breaking up with Izzy, and then got back together with her a few weeks later. Went to Africa for a month to work for Médecins Sans Frontières, and has recently come back. He has now found out that he was not the father of Izzy's baby. Was recently accused of taking advantage of Janae after becoming a school counselor, and his career was almost destroyed, but the matter was cleared up soon afterwards. His recent failed attempt at internet dating also made him realise his feelings for Susan are still strong.

See also: Karl and Susan Kennedy

Pets:

• Dahl the galah (1994 onwards) - A galah that originally belonged to Lata Chatterji. Lata gave the bird to her boyfriend Brett Stark when they were forced to break up by Lata's brother Vikram. When Brett left, he gave Dahl to Libby to look after and it has lived in the Kennedy house ever since. However when Karl used to live in the house, Dahl sometimes made him angry.
• Casserole "Cassie" the sheep (1995-2006) - Cassie the sheep is to die this year, a funeral to be shown in the next few months.
• Audrey the dog (2002 onwards) - originally owned by Libby Kennedy, named after Audrey Hepburn. Ran away a while ago only to be found when Mal Kennedy accidentally ran her over. She survived, and now lives with Libby's mother Susan. Joe Mangel claims that Audrey has a romantic interest in Bouncer 5.
• Bob the dog (1997 onwards) - originally belonged to Sarah Beaumont. When she asked for him to join her in her new home abroad, Toadie and Stu duped her by sending a lookalike in his place. However, Sarah recently revealed in Annalise's documentary that she knew all along that the dog Toadie sent her was not the real Bob.
• Harvey the dog (2000 onwards) - The Scully's family dog. Joe Scully accidentally ran over Harvey, a stray dog, on his building site. He brought him home and it was decided that they would keep him.
• Bouncer 5 (occasionally abbreviated to B5) (2005 onwards) - A lazy greyhound that Joe Mangel is unsuccessfully trying to train to become a racing dog. Joe also claims B5 has a romantic interest in Audrey, as the only time B5 moves faster than a slow walk is to chase Audrey.

Recurring/Guest characters:

Guest characters on Neighbours are played by actors who do not have a long term contract to appear (almost) every week. These can range from single episode appearances, to two or three month stints of weekly appearances, to intermittent appearances over several years. Unlike main characters, they do not appear in the opening titles. The list shows the guest characters who are in the show at the moment.

• Senior Sgt. Allan Steiger (Joe Clements) (2004, 2005) - High ranking police officer often seen around Erinsborough. Used to bully Stuart when Stu was at the Police Academy, but is now good friends with him. Arrested David Bishop for fraud, and was also in charge of investigating Gus's murder, the disappearance of Izzy, and the 2005 plane crash. Steiger is seen as a hard-nosed taskmaster by his young recruits, but has a compassionate inner self. When Stuart was temporarily blinded, Steiger provided him with work as the police station's telephone operator. Steiger cuts a fearsome character in the Erinsborough neighbourhood, and caused massive upset in the Bishop household when he arrived to seize David's computer (Paul had framed David for fraud - embezzling 40,000 dollars from the Helen Daniels trust). He was equally stern and quick-witted in interrogations with Boyd Hoyland (following the death of his father's erstwhile friend, Gus). Steiger again revealed his aggressive side when forced to interview Paul Robinson after the temporary disappearance of Isabelle Hoyland. Steiger has acted almost as a father figure to Stuart Parker, encouraging him to remain in the force and reassuring him when he feared he was becoming paranoid. But Steiger was quick to reprimand Stuart when the young constable defied orders and ran into a gas-filled laboratory to rescue the Kinski children, Rachel and Zeke.
• Mike Pill (Alexander Capell) (2005) - Shazza and Janae's ex-boyfriend. He dumped Shazza for Janae, but Janae then dumped him after he kept trying to get her to make out with all his friends. with her the next day. He pressured Janae into having unprotected sex with him, and she then dumped him a second time that same day. He learnt kickboxing, and beat up Dylan a few times, until Dylan finally managed to get the better of him. He ran into Janae and her new boyfriend Boyd again at Schoolies, in which his new girlfriend Karen had a few arguments with Janae.
• Karen Chambers (Cherise Donovan) (2005) - One of Janae's enemies from Colac. She in now going out with Janae's ex-boyfriend Mike, and recently got into a fight with her at Schoolies Week.
• Gino Esposito (Claude Stevens) (Shane McNamara) (2000-2005, 2006) - Flamboyant hairdresser in his late 50s who owns the A Good Hair Day salon, Lyn's employer. Used to be Lyn's enemy, but now they are good friends. While they were hating eachother, Lyn read a newspaper article and discovered Gino isn't Italian, and instead is an Aussie whose real name is Ray Murphy. He is one of Oscar's godparents. He is mostly used as a comedy character. He became good friends with Lou during early 2005, and they would go to parties with a lot of beautiful women, which made Harold very jealous. He is now currently running an Erinsborough musical which now stars Ned Parker, after he fired Cory for not being homosexual like he was leading on to be.
• Reuben "Roo" Hausman (Richard Cawthorne) (2005) - Dylan's friend from Colac who has just got out of jail to come and see Dylan. He is trying to steal Dylan's job with Paul. He pressured Dylan into helping him rob the "Scarlet Bar", but Dylan set him up and called the cops on him. Recently he escaped prison, returned to Ramsay Street and kidnapped Stingray and forced Dylan to commit armed robbery as revenge. He fled but was recently recaptured and put into jail to join wrongfully accused Dylan and Stingray.
• Summer Hoyland (Marisa Siketa) (2002-2005) - The 14 year old daughter of Max. Used to date a kid named Declan for a while until her friend Lisa stole him off her. She then started going out with a rich kid named Caleb but broke up with him afterwards. She was good friends with Bree and Lisa, and she came second in the Erinsborough High spelling bee. She left Erinsborough to go to a private music school. Recently returned to Ramsay Street to see her family, and is feeling left out due to Bree's friendship with Rachel.
• Drew Kirk (Dan Paris) (1998-2002, 2005) - Libby's husband, Ben's father, former mechanic at the garage. Was killed after being thrown from a horse. Recently Steph has been having recurring dreams about him due to her pregnancy, and is unsure what they mean.
• Kim Timmins (Brett Swain) (2005 onwards) - The father of the Timmins family. Seen as a bludging surfer, Kim comes from a wealthy family, but they didn't want him to marry Janelle. Kim rebelled against his family, who in turn offered him a second chance giving Kim and Janelle a big home to live in, with all the comforts. Kim turned his family down, and as a result of this, Janelle left him, blaming him for turning down the one opportunity they had to start a "real family". Kim did not contact any of his children at Janelle's request, but recently turned up in Ramsay street after the disappearance of Dylan after the plane crash.

Past characters

There is a separate article about past Neighbours characters.

Around Erinsborough

Apart from Ramsay Street, there are many other places inside and around the fictional suburb of Erinsborough that have been in Neighbours, including:

• Lassiter's Complex: Lassiter's Complex is the most common location used in Neighbours besides Ramsay Street, and it has been a regular occurrence since 1986. When Neighbours switched from the Seven Network to Network Ten, the producers decided to convert an old set on the Channel Ten backlot that had been built for the shortlived 1981 series Holiday Island into the Lassiter's Complex. The Lassiter's Complex includes:
  • The General Store: The General Store is a Cafe/Post Office/Basic Stationery store, that is owned by Lou Carpenter and Harold Bishop. It was originally owned by Daphne Lawrence under the name "Daphne's". Throughout its time it has had many other owners as well, including Madge Bishop and Isabelle Hoyland, and has also gone by the names "The Hungry Bite", "The Holy Roll" and "The Coffee Shop". In the 2004 Season finale, Lou's Place was set alight and burned down, while "The Coffee Shop", although not being totally destroyed, needed major repairs and renovations. Harold and Isabelle ended their partnership, and he started a partnership with Lou. They got the Coffee Shop rebuilt, and renamed it "The General Store".
  • Scarlet Bar: Scarlet Bar is a Bar/Restaurant owned by Paul Robinson and leased to Max and Isabelle Hoyland. It has previously been "The Waterhole", "Chez Chez" and "Lou's Place", and has had such owners as Paul Robinson, Lou Carpenter and Cheryl Stark. In 2004, it was set on fire and burnt to the ground. Max ended his partnership with Lou and started a partnership with his sister Izzy, and they built "Scarlet Bar" on the site that "Lou's Place" had previously stood. Max originally wanted to call it "Max-Iz", but Izzy decided to change the name to "Scarlet Bar" at the last minute.
  • Lassiter's Hotel: Lassiter's Hotel was originally owned by Jack Lassiter. Rosemary Daniels and the Daniels/Robinson Corporation then bought the Erinsborough branch, and was owned by Lambert Industries until the destruction of the complex in 2004. It is currently owned by Paul Robinson. It has had such employees as Felicity Scully, Paul Robinson, Toadfish Rebecchi, Melanie Pearson, Christina Alessi and Taj Coppin. Lassiter's Hotel also has branches in Darwin, London, Montana and New York.
  • Erinsborough Medical Centre: Erinsborough Medical Centre used to be Paul's office at Lassiter's Hotel, but was then bought by Karl Kennedy and converted into a medical centre. As of 2003 the legal firm "Tim Collins and Associates" has shared the building with the medical centre. It was extensively damaged in the fire in 2004, but has recently been rebuilt.
  • A Good Hair Day: "A Good Hair Day" is a salon owned by Gino Esposito. It has had such employees as Felicity Scully, Lyn Scully and Janelle Timmins.

• Erinsborough High School: Erinsborough High School is Erinsborough and West Waratah's high school, which many teenage residents have attended, as well as teachers including Dorothy Burke, Lisa Elliott, Tess Bell, Evan Hancock, Libby Kennedy, Susan Kinski and Paul Robinson. The current principal is Candace Barkham, although V.C.E. co-ordinator Susan Kinski is acting principal whilst Candace is on leave. Previous principals have been Dorothy Burke and Susan Kennedy (as she was known when she was the permanent principal, before her amnesia-resulting accident). The school is also occasionally used for community events, such as the Serbian Youth Night.

• Erinsborough Hospital: Erinsborough Hospital is where the residents of Erinsborough go to if they need major medical attention. Residents who have worked there include Pam Willis, Dee Bliss, Darcy Tyler and Karl Kennedy.

• Grease Monkeys: Grease Monkeys is Erinsborough's fast food restaurant, in which many of the younger members of the cast dine regulary. It was originally owned by Madge and Harold Bishop and former employees include Felicity Scully, Tad Reeves and Sky Mangel.

• Carpenter's Mechanics: Carpenter's Mechanics is a garage to which the residents take their cars if they need mechanical attention. It was originally owned by Lou Carpenter and Ben Atkins, since then Drew Kirk bought into the business and Stuart Parker and Steph Hoyland have both worked there.

• Eden Hills: Eden Hills is the rich suburb near Erinsborough. It contains an expensive private school, Eden Hills Grammar and Eden Hills University.

• West Waratah: West Waratah is a poor suburb near Erinsborough.

• Ansons Corner: Ansons Corner is another suburb near Erinsborough.

• Elliot Park: Another surrounding suburb of Erinsborough