Neighbours
Encyclopedia
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network
on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson
, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems together. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's Sons and Daughters
, which aired on the network. Neighbours although successful in Melbourne underperformed in the Sydney market and it struggled for months before Seven cancelled it. The show was immediately bought by rival network, Ten
. After taking over production of the show, the new network had to build replica sets because Seven destroyed the originals to prevent its rival from obtaining them. Ten began screening Neighbours on 20 January 1986 ,taking off where the previous series left off and commencing with episode 171. Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and in 2005, it was inducted collectivily into the Logie Hall of Fame. On 11 January 2011, Neighbours moved to Ten's new digital channel, Eleven
.
The shows storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough
, Melbourne. The series primarily centres around the residents of Ramsay Street
, a short cul-de-sac
, and its neighbouring areas, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, news office and park. Neighbours began with three families created by Watson – the Ramsays
, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry. Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South
, is the real cul-de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street since 1985. All of the houses featured are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their gardens. The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill
.
Through its entire run in Australia, Neighbours has been screened as a twenty-two minute episode each week night in an early-evening slot. It is currently broadcast at 6:30 pm across the country. The show is produced by FremantleMedia
and has been sold to over fifty countries around the world, making it one of Australia's most successful media exports.
. Watson decided to create a soap opera after working on Crossroads and seeing how successful it and Coronation Street
were in Britain. He proposed the idea of making a show that would focus on more realistic stories and portray teens and adults who talk openly to each other and solve their problems together. Watson, who worked for the Grundy production company, decided to make his show appeal to both Australia and Britain. In 2005, The Herald Sun
reported that Watson then took his finished idea to the Nine Network
in 1982, but it was rejected. Former Network Nine chief executive Ian Johnson
said it was one of the "biggest missed opportunities" in his twenty-four years at the network. He added "I remember it being discussed, but I'm not exactly sure what went against it. It may have had something to do with the fact we'd picked up Sale Of The Century with Tony Barber in 1980 and it was doing huge business, so we didn't have a pressing need for a five-night-a-week show." Watson then took his idea to the Seven Network
and they liked it. They commissioned the show, following the success of Watson's other Seven Network soap opera, Sons and Daughters
. Several titles for the show were discussed, including People Like Us, One Way Street, No Through Road and Living Together until the network programmers voted on Neighbours. The first episode was broadcast on 18 March 1985 and reviews for the show were favourable. However, the Melbourne-produced programme underperformed in the Sydney market and after a meeting of the general managers, Seven decided to drop the show in October 1985. Seven's Melbourne program boss, Gary Fenton said Sydney chief Ted Thomas told the other general managers that Seven could not afford three dramas and argued that the Sydney-based A Country Practice
and Sons and Daughters be retained.
Neighbours was immediately bought by Seven's rival Network Ten
. The new network had to build replica sets when it took over production after Seven destroyed the original sets to prevent the rival network obtaining them. Ten began screening the series with episode 171 on 20 January 1986. In 1986, the series was bought by the BBC
to help improve their daytime schedule in the United Kingdom. Neighbours made its debut on 27 October 1986 starting with the pilot episode. It soon gained a loyal audience and the show became very popular within the student market and was watched by 16 million viewers. In 1988 Neighbours became the first and only television show to have its entire cast flown over to the UK to make an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance
in front of the Queen. Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and the seventh longest running serial drama still on the air in the world. In 2005, Neighbours celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over twenty former cast members returned for a special episode, which saw them sitting down to watch a documentary about Ramsay Street. At the Logie Award ceremony that year, the show was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
2007 saw the show undergo a revamp, which included a switch to recording in HDTV
, the introduction of a new family, the departure of several existing characters and a new version of the show's familiar theme song and opening titles. In addition, episode titles were abandoned, having been in use for the previous three years. Daniel Bennett, the new head of drama at Network Ten, announced that the crux of the Ramsay Street story would go "back to basics" and follow a less sensational path than of late with the emphasis on family relations and suburban reality. Executive producer Ric Pellizzeri said new writers, actors and sets would bring the soap back to its glory days. He added "We moved too far into event-driven stories rather than the character-driven stories that made Neighbours what it is". The relaunch failed to attract more viewers in Australia. Pellizzeri left the series at the end of 2007 and former Neighbours scriptwriter, Susan Bower
, became the new executive producer.
In 2008, Neighbours was branded "too white" by black and Asian viewers in Britain and in Australia there was talk of a "White Australia policy
" when it came to casting actors for soaps. In response to the criticism, Susan Bower made a decision to add more ethnically diverse extras, small walk on roles and speaking parts, as well as introducing the character of Sunny Lee
(played by Hany Lee
) an exchange student from South Korea. Neighbours became the first Australian series to establish Twitter accounts for its characters in 2009. FremantleMedia Enterprises
vice-president of licensing Ben Liebmann said, "We thought it was a really great way to continue or allow the audience to engage with the Neighbours world off-screen". The messages are overseen by the Fremantle digital team, which is integrated with the story department of the Neighbours production team.
On 18 March 2010, Neighbours celebrated its 25th anniversary. In April, British television channel Five launched a search to find a female actress to play the part of Poppy Rogers. The search was similar to the Dolly magazine competition in Australia. August saw Neighbours air its 6000th episode. Digital Spy
revealed that the week long 6000th episode celebrations would see the wedding of regular characters, Donna Freedman
(Margot Robbie
) and Ringo Brown
(Sam Clark
). It was later announced that an attempt on the life of long term regular, Paul Robinson
(Stefan Dennis
) would be the focus of actual 6000th episode. Bower said "Last week I saw episode 6,000. This marks Australian television history. The 6,000th episode falls on a Friday so the whole week is a special one. As Stefan Dennis – Paul Robinson – was in the first episode 25 years ago, it was decided that his character play a most important role in this very special event".
In late 2010 TV Tonight
reported that Neighbours would reduce crew operations in 2011 so production could be upgraded. The changes meant that the location manager
and catering team were no longer required, studio shoots would be reduced from three cameras to two, and location shots
will be mainly confined to the Ramsay Street and Lassiter's complex sets, with occasional filming in one-off places. Of the changes, FremantleMedia said "Neighbours is undergoing a work flow upgrade to accommodate advances in technology and production techniques to ensure we are at the forefront of professionalism and efficiency." They added that the show's production model had been in place since 1985 and that it was time to evolve it. On 14 March 2011, The Australian
reported that Neighbours has become the first television show available to watch on a free iPhone
application. Viewers are able to watch whole episodes within three hours of them airing on Eleven. Nick Spooner, the head of Ten digital media said "This is part of what we call our 'three-screen approach' – broadcast, online and mobile – and it is intended to build viewer engagement with a show and our brand. This is a way for us to stay in touch with our audience and to keep them coming back." To celebrate the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton, Neighbours filmed a specially commissioned scene for the UK episode airing on the same day as the wedding. The episode, which had already aired in Australia, marked the first time an Australian show recorded extra scenes for a UK broadcaster. On 25 October 2011, it was announced Bower would be leaving Neighbours in December 2011 to move into a new international role with FremantleMedia. Of her departure, Bower told Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun, "I love Neighbours, it is a wonderful show and because of this I felt it was important that fresh eyes and brains take over to keep this Australian icon contemporary. Having said that, I'm really excited about the new role and thank FremantleMedia for this wonderful opportunity." Former City Homicide
producer, Richard Jasek, will take over Bower's role, with Alan Hardy taking over the role of producer.
, a residential cul-de-sac in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough
. The street was named after the grandfather of original character Max Ramsay
(Francis Bell
). Other locations include Erinsborough High school and the Lassiter's complex, which contains the Lassiter's Hotel, Charlie's bar and the coffee shop, Harold's Store. Ahead of the 25th anniversary the Erinsborough village set underwent a makeover. Harold's Store and Charlie's remained the same, but the centre of the complex was upgraded. Lassiter's Hotel was given a new logo and gained a second floor with outdoor seating area. Erinsborough Hospital and the police station received new facades, a used car lot was created near the garage and a new university set was created.
Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South
, is the real cul-de-sac that doubles for Ramsay Street. All of the houses featured in the show are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their front and back gardens and on occasions, in their garages. Neighbours has been filmed in Pin Oak Court since the series began in 1985 and it has since become popular with tourists. Tours to the cul-de-sac run throughout the year. The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill
, the adjoining suburb in which Pin Oak Court is located.
Through much of the show's run it was not stated which city of Australia Erinsborough was located. The rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne meant that scripts did not mention that Erinsborough was a suburb of the latter city, until 1994. Since the 2000s it has been explicitly stated that Erinsborough is a suburb of Melbourne. Other Australian locations mentioned and sometimes seen in the series include the fictitious suburbs of West Waratah, Eden Hills and Anson's Corner. Real life Australian towns in the state of Victoria
such as Colac
and Shepparton
are sometimes referred to. Oakey
in Queensland is also mentioned and sometimes seen. On 27 August 2010, Neighbours filmed scenes in Sydney's Darling Harbour
and on board a cruise ship. The episodes marked only the third time that the show has filmed scenes outside of Victoria. In October 2011, Neighbours filmed scenes in Port Douglas
, Queensland
and around the Great Barrier Reef
region.
Filming locations outside of Australia have included Kenya
, the United States and the UK, which has seen Neighbours episodes filmed there on three occasions. In February 1990, Lyme Park
in Cheshire doubled as the Ledgerwood estate set in Yorkshire. Derek Nimmo
guest starred as the fictitious Lord Ledgerwood in two of the episodes. In November 1992, the characters Rick Alessi
(Dan Falzon
) and Debbie Martin
(Marnie Reece-Wilmore
) visited London to attend a Michael Jackson
concert. The second London-based storyline was broadcast in late March 2007. Susan
(Jackie Woodburne
) and Karl Kennedy
(Alan Fletcher) were seen taking a ride on the London Eye
and being married on a boat on the River Thames
.
shows Today Tonight
on the Seven Network
, and A Current Affair on the Nine Network
. The last five aired episodes shown are available to watch on the Neighbours official Australian website, as a part of Network Ten
's Catch Up TV service.
When the show began in 1985, the first season was broadcast on the Seven Network
, at 5:30 pm in Sydney, at 6:00p.m in Melbourne in Adelaide
and at 7.00 pm in Brisbane
. The show's transmission in other areas was varied and many regional channels declined to purchase the series. When the show debuted on Network Ten
in 1986 it screened at 7:00 pm In 1992 the show moved to 6:30 pm Repeat episodes of Neighbours episodes from the 1988–1991 period were broadcast between 2000 and June 2003 on Network Ten. These episodes were seen at 3:30p.m, before moving to 11:30 am During 2008 Ten HD
broadcast the previous week's episodes in an omnibus edition each Sunday. These omnibus editions did not return in 2009 as Ten HD was replaced by a 24-hour sports channel One HD starting March 2009.
In August 2010, The Daily Telegraph
reported that Neighbours would be moving to Ten's new digital channel, to make way for a new current affairs show. They said "It's part of a re-branding of Ten's free-to-air channel, targeting the older demographic. The 'younger' shows, like Neighbours, will go on to one of Ten's digital channels". It was later confirmed that the show would be moving to digital channel, Eleven
. Network Ten's programmer, David Mott said "We believe Neighbours is perfectly suited to Eleven's audience strategy and will find a successful and enduring home on Eleven". In September, it was announced that the show's classification rating could change from a G to a PG. The multi-channel terms in the Australian Commercial Television Code of Practice
means that classifications are more flexible on digital channels. A new rating means that the show can go "head to head in content, plotting and language with Seven's Home & Away". The Australian
said "A PG slot is likely to let the show's plotting address contemporary issues for young people in a far more credible fashion for its audience". A change in classification will not have an effect on the show's broadcast in Britain. Bower commented on the move and change in classification, saying "We can't lose what we've got and that is that families like to watch Neighbours together". She added, "I don't intend to turn any characters into crack addicts or have an 18th birthday party where everybody takes ecstasy and gets paralytic drunk". Neighbours moved to Eleven on 11 January 2011, the channel's launch day.
exports.
Neighbours has proved to be more popular in the United Kingdom than in Australia. It was screened on BBC One
from 1986 until 2008. Towards the late 2000s, it was normally attracting an average of 3 million viewers for its lunchtime showing and 2.6 million viewers for its early-evening repeat. It is frequently the highest-rating daytime programme in the UK, outside of news bulletins. In 2008, the UK broadcast moved to rival channel Five
after the BBC withdrew from talks to keep the show, after they were asked to pay £300m over eight years by FremantleMedia. Five picked up the show and began broadcasting it in February 2008. The first episode to be shown on Five – episode number 5,331 – was watched by 2.2 million viewers (an audience share of 14.2%), a drop of 300,000 from the BBC's average. However, the move boosted Five's usual share for the 5.30 pm slot by three and a half times. On 4 February 2009, Neighbours 5:30 pm showing was seen by 1.94 million viewers and as of July 2010, the teatime showing now averages 1.40 million viewers. The UK are currently 6 to 8 weeks behind Australia. UK viewers are able to catch up with episodes with Five's "Demand Five" service, similar to the catch up service in Australia. It was announced in December 2009 that Five had signed a deal with YouTube, allowing viewers to watch episodes for free on the video sharing site after they have been transmitted. In November 2010, it was reported by TV Tonight that Five's new owner, Richard Desmond
was trying to renegotiate the long-term contract with FremantleMedia the show. TV Tonight reported that although Desmond has spoken "favourably of the Aussie soap" the issue is likely to be "the price agreed to before his arrival".
In New Zealand Neighbours is broadcast on TV2 at 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm weekdays. In October 2010, it began airing episodes at the same pace as Australia. The show was initially broadcast by TVNZ
in 1988, but by 1996 it was removed from the schedule. TV4 (now C4) picked the show up and began broadcasting it from 1997. They dropped it in 2000 and it returned to TV2 in 2002. The TV2 website also offer viewers the chance to watch episodes online with its OnDemand service. In the Republic of Ireland
Neighbours is broadcast on RTÉ Television
at 1:55 pm on RTÉ One
and repeated on RTÉ Two
at 18:00 pm each weekday. RTÉ are 35 episodes behind the Network Ten transmission. FremantleMedia
secured a 'long term deal' with RTÉ in 2007 for them to transmit the show after the BBC pulled out of negotiations. Neighbours is broadcast in Belgium on VRT six times a week. In Kenya
, Neighbours is broadcast on the KTN
network Monday to Friday at 12:30 pm with an omnibus on Sunday mornings and in Barbados Neighbours is broadcast on the CBC8
channel at 1 pm Monday to Friday. The show is broadcast in Iceland
on Stöð 2
at 12:35 pm and 17:28 p. from Monday to Friday, with an omnibus
at 12:35 pm on Sundays. Neighbours airs on Norwegian TV channel NRK3
at 7:30 pm, Monday to Friday and at 2:05 pm on NRK1
. Neighbours was broadcast in Sweden on channel TV3
from late 1980s through until 1997, when they pulled the plug due to budget reasons. TV4 started airing the show in 2009 on their channel TV4 Plus
starting at the revamped show format from 2007. Neighbours began broadcasting in Vietnam
from late 2010 on VBC
. Two episodes air during the week at 6:00 pm.
Neighbours premiered on the American television station KCOP-TV
in Los Angeles on 3 June 1991 at 5:30 pm weekdays. KCOP planned on cancelling the show by the end of the month due to low ratings, but brought it back due to "viewer demand" at a 9:30 am daily time slot from 1 July to 30 August 1991. New York City station WWOR-TV
showed Neighbours weekdays 5:30 pm from 17 June to 17 September 1991. In April 2004, the show began broadcasting nationally on the television channel, Oxygen
. A spokeswomen from the channel said "Now our viewers can join in on the good, the bad and the endlessly entertaining lives of our Aussie neighbours." The episodes started from the Scully family's arrival in 1999 and were aired for a six-week trial basis. The show was broadcast in the afternoon with two episodes being shown back to back at 1 pm and 2 pm. After a couple of weeks, the show was moved to a late-night time slot and it eventually left the air. In Canada, CFMT-TV
in Toronto
broadcast Neighbours on weeknights at 11 p.m, starting in September 1990. From 20 May 1991, CFMT moved the show to 4 pm After announcing its cancellation, CFMT decided to keep Neighbours on its schedule throughout September 1994, following numerous letters and telephone calls.
as Scott Robinson
and Kylie Minogue
as Charlene Mitchell
. When the show began on Ten it initially attracted low ratings, so the Network worked hard to publicise the series. Ten's publicity drive was designed to promote the show in a star-focused campaign recalling that of the Hollywood star system where stars were packaged to feed into a fan culture. This paid off and by the end of 1987 ratings had improved for the show. The episode featuring Scott and Charlene's wedding achieved the highest ever ratings for Neighbours and it became one of the highest rating soap episodes ever in Australia. The same episode attracted over 19 million viewers when it was aired in the United Kingdom. By the early 1990s, Australian audiences had decreased although viewing figures had recovered slightly by the end of the decade. In 1994, Network Ten
told TV Week
that they would be introducing a "younger, livelier look with six regular characters under the age of 18" in a bid to generate interest. It was then that they introduced the characters of Stonefish Rebecchi
played by Anthony Engelman and Serendipity Gottlieb
played by Raelee Hill
.
In 1996, Kimberley Davies
, who played Annalise Hartman
, quit the series. Then Caroline Gillmer
fell ill and her character Cheryl Stark
was temporarily recast with former Prisoner
actress Colette Mann
. This made producers nervous that viewing figures might decrease, so they implemented a series of plots to keep viewers interested. These included a cameo from Clive James
and an explosion, which destroyed the doctor's surgery in the Lassiter's complex.
, emerged as more popular than Neighbours in Australia. As of 2004, Neighbours was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode. In 2007, Home and Away was averaging 1.4 million viewers in Australia to Neighbours 700,000. During the revamp of 2007, the episode broadcast on 23 July 2007 saw the introduction of a new family, updated sets, new theme music and graphics. Ratings for that episode averaged 1.05 million viewers in the 6:30 pm. slot. It was the first time the programme's viewing figures had topped 1 million in 2007. By the end of 2007 it was reported that producers had hoped the Neighbours revamp would push the ratings up to between 900,000 to 1 million an episode. It had, however, resulted in a more modest boost, with ratings hovering at about 800,000 a night. The same viewing period had shown an increase in ratings for Home and Away, which was now averaging 1.4 million viewers every night.
In February 2008, new executive producer, Susan Bower, announced that she would be implementing further changes to the programme. Bower promised to retain the return to traditional Neighbours values, but with an injection of drama that remains recognisable and relevant. Ratings rose to almost 900,000 in mid-2008, but generally ratings begin to fall towards the end of each year, usually averaging around 700,000. On 17 July 2009, during the aftermath of the Parker family's car accident and the dramatic death of Bridget Parker
(Eloise Mignon
), Neighbours achieved higher ratings than Home And Away. Neighbours achieved 998,000 viewers and placed 6th for the night, Home And Away placed 7th.
' reduced ratings in Australia. Figures have dropped 20%, from having 1.2 million viewers in 1991 to a low of 618,000 in 2010. A Network Ten spokesperson said "Most of the show's budget is covered by its UK deal with Channel Five and the 50-odd other countries it is seen in, so it's not a financial problem for Ten despite the low ratings. And Ten needs the show to score the Australian content and drama points required for it to hold on to a broadcasting licence". On 29 October 2010, Neighbours' ratings dropped to a low figure of 386,000 viewers. Viewing numbers for Network Ten that night were down across all programmes. The show's highest figure of the week was 590,000 on 25 October.
Following its move to digital channel Eleven, Neighbours attracted 254,000 viewers for the first episode broadcast on 11 January 2011. This was half the number of viewers that watched it on Network Ten, but the Herald Sun said that it was a good result as "bosses were only expecting 133,000." Neighbours became Eleven's most-watched show and the third highest rating show on free to air channels. Programming chief, David Mott said "Last night's strong result for Neighbours already suggests the audience will follow the folks from Ramsay Street to their brand new neighbourhood on Eleven." On 24 January 2011, Neighbours achieved 330,000 viewers and three days later 355,000 viewers tuned in, becoming the show's highest rating yet on Eleven. The show had more viewers than the Ten Evening News in the 16–39 and 18–49 demographic. On 2 February, Neighbours pulled in 397,000 viewers, breaking its previous record on the channel. This record was broken again on 4 April, when Neighbours gained 402,000 viewers, making it the most viewed show on Eleven that night. On 17 May, Neighbours reached an average of 405,000 viewers and the following month, on 13 June, Neighbours was watched by 455,000 viewers, making it the highest rating show on digital secondary channels that night.
, marital breakdown, imprisonment, career problems, pregnancy, abortion, adultery, drug trafficking, stalking, kidnapping, accidental death, murder, and incest
. In the 2000s, the show dealt with controversial issues such as sexuality, gambling
and surrogacy
, as well as health issues like multiple sclerosis
.
, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families living in a small street, who are friends. Max Ramsay
(Francis Bell
), his wife Maria (Dasha Blahova) and their sons Shane
(Peter O'Brien) and Danny
(David Clencie) lived at No.24 Ramsay Street. Single father, Jim Robinson
(Alan Dale
) lived next door with his children, Paul
(Stefan Dennis
), Julie (Vikki Blanche), Scott
(Darius Perkins
) and Lucy
(Kylie Flinker). His mother-in-law, Helen Daniels
(Anne Haddy
) also lived with him. Bachelor Des Clarke
(Paul Keane
) invited Daphne Lawrence
(Elaine Smith
) to live at No.28 with him and they were later married. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history in the street and they were often involved in an ongoing rivalry. When Network Ten picked up the show and revamped it, they brought in new and younger actors including Kylie Minogue as Charlene Mitchell and Jason Donovan, who replaced Darius Perkins as Scott Robinson. Many families, including the Alessi, Bishop, Hancock, Hoyland, Rebecchi and Timmins' have moved in and out of the street over the years.
When storylines for certain characters become tired, the scriptwriters simply move one family out and replace it with a new one. Ramsay Street is now a mixture of older characters like Lou Carpenter
(Tom Oliver
) and the Kennedy family and newer characters such as the Scullys. Watson originally wanted to show young people communicating with older people, which means that the cast is a mix of young actors in their teens or early 20s and older, more experienced hands. The last remaining original character, Helen Daniels, departed the show in 1997 due to the ill-health of Anne Haddy. In 2004, original cast member Stefan Dennis returned to Neighbours full-time as Paul Robinson. Paul is currently the only remaining original character in the series. In February 2009, it was announced that producers would be introducing a new generation of the Ramsay family to the show, over a decade after the family had last appeared. Kate
(Ashleigh Brewer
), Harry
(Will Moore) and Sophie Ramsay
(Kaiya Jones
) made their first appearances in May 2009.
as Gordon Miller, Chris Lowe
, Molly Meldrum and former footballer Warwick Capper
. More recently Dave Batista, Lily Allen
, Matt Lucas
and David Walliams
, British comedian Tim Vine
, André Rieu
, Ben Lee
, and former Spice Girls
singer Emma Bunton
have appeared.
whose then wife, Jackie Trent
, wrote the lyrics. Since 1985, there have been six versions of the theme tune. The song has been voted the world's most recognised television theme song and the lyrics were famously quoted by John Smith, then British Shadow Chancellor
, in a House of Commons debate on Government economic policy. As of 2007, the theme tune to Neighbours is sung by Sandra de Jong.
In 2002, Neighbours debuted an all new style of titles with a remixed version of the theme tune. The titles showed characters together in groups according to gender, a change from the previous ones which were taken outside. 2007 saw Neighbours debut an updated theme and new "optimistic, contemporary" titles. A photo booth montage was played and characters were seen rowing boats, walking along piers and eating outside. The sequence also contained shots of upcoming scenes.
In August 2009, Neighbours introduced a new titles format. The first episode of each week begins with a trailer previewing the week's events. The usual recap of storylines switched to after the opening titles of each episode for the first time since 1998. The end of episode teasers returned and are now made in-house by the Neighbours production team. In September 2009, Susan Bower announced that Neighbours would introduce new opening titles for the 25th anniversary and they would feature a bit of "bling". The new titles were created by Visual Playground, who shot a series of scenes featuring the cast on Ramsay Street. The titles made their debut on 18 March 2010.
nominations, of which it has won 30. It has also been nominated for "Most Popular Daytime Programme" at the National Television Awards
in five of the six years from 2000 to 2006. In 1997, the show won an award for Best Episode in A Television Drama Serial at the Australian Film Institute Awards
in 1997. Two Neighbours actors have been nominated for Rose D'Or
awards, once in 2004 for Ryan Moloney
and again in 2005 for Jackie Woodburne
. Neighbours has also won two Australian Writers' Guild
awards.
, Commodore 64
, Atari ST
and Amiga
; it was re-released by Zeppelin Games in 1992. In the game, the player took on the role of Scott Robinson and had to skateboard
around four whole courses.
(Kristian Schmid) and Jim Robinson. The DVD also contains a photo gallery. The Neighbours: The Iconic Episodes Volume 1 DVD box set was released in 2008 and contains twenty-three episodes, the 1000th episode party celebration special and a photo gallery. Episodes include Scott and Charlene's wedding, Kerry Bishop
's (Linda Hartley-Clark) death and the arrival of the Kennedy and Scully families. The DVD was released by Shock Entertainment
and FremantleMedia. Neighbours: The Iconic Episodes Volume Two contains twenty-four episodes over three discs. Episodes included are the Lassiter's complex fire and Harold Bishop's reappearance. One disc is dedicated to Minogue and her character, Charlene. In 2012, early episodes of Neighbours will be released on three DVD box sets in Germany.
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson
Reg Watson
Reginald James "Reg" Watson AM is an Australian television producer, best known for creating soap operas like Prisoner and Neighbours.-Career:...
, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems together. Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
, which aired on the network. Neighbours although successful in Melbourne underperformed in the Sydney market and it struggled for months before Seven cancelled it. The show was immediately bought by rival network, Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. After taking over production of the show, the new network had to build replica sets because Seven destroyed the originals to prevent its rival from obtaining them. Ten began screening Neighbours on 20 January 1986 ,taking off where the previous series left off and commencing with episode 171. Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and in 2005, it was inducted collectivily into the Logie Hall of Fame. On 11 January 2011, Neighbours moved to Ten's new digital channel, Eleven
Eleven (TV channel)
Eleven is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel, which was launched by ElevenCo, on 11 January 2011.-Joint venture:...
.
The shows storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough
Erinsborough
Erinsborough is the fictional suburb in which the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours is set. The show focuses on the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the suburb...
, Melbourne. The series primarily centres around the residents of Ramsay Street
Ramsay Street
Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera Neighbours live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. Neighbours storylines primarily centre around the residents of the Street, which was named after the...
, a short cul-de-sac
Cul-de-sac
A cul-de-sac is a word of French origin referring to a dead end, close, no through road or court meaning dead-end street with only one inlet/outlet...
, and its neighbouring areas, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, news office and park. Neighbours began with three families created by Watson – the Ramsays
Ramsay family
The Ramsay family is a fictional family on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. The cul-de-sac, which is the central focus of the series is named after the family.No.24 has been associated with the Ramsay family since the show began in 1985....
, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry. Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South
Vermont South, Victoria
Vermont South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Vermont South had a population of 11,485....
, is the real cul-de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street since 1985. All of the houses featured are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their gardens. The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Victoria
Forest Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Forest Hill had a population of 9315.-History:...
.
Through its entire run in Australia, Neighbours has been screened as a twenty-two minute episode each week night in an early-evening slot. It is currently broadcast at 6:30 pm across the country. The show is produced by FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
and has been sold to over fifty countries around the world, making it one of Australia's most successful media exports.
History
Neighbours was created in the early 1980s by Australian TV executive Reg WatsonReg Watson
Reginald James "Reg" Watson AM is an Australian television producer, best known for creating soap operas like Prisoner and Neighbours.-Career:...
. Watson decided to create a soap opera after working on Crossroads and seeing how successful it and Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
were in Britain. He proposed the idea of making a show that would focus on more realistic stories and portray teens and adults who talk openly to each other and solve their problems together. Watson, who worked for the Grundy production company, decided to make his show appeal to both Australia and Britain. In 2005, The Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
reported that Watson then took his finished idea to the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
in 1982, but it was rejected. Former Network Nine chief executive Ian Johnson
Ian Johnson (businessman)
Ian Johnson is an Australian businessman.Originally a long-time senior executive at the Nine Network , in October 2003 Johnson moved to the Seven Network to become managing director of Channel Seven Melbourne.- References :...
said it was one of the "biggest missed opportunities" in his twenty-four years at the network. He added "I remember it being discussed, but I'm not exactly sure what went against it. It may have had something to do with the fact we'd picked up Sale Of The Century with Tony Barber in 1980 and it was doing huge business, so we didn't have a pressing need for a five-night-a-week show." Watson then took his idea to the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
and they liked it. They commissioned the show, following the success of Watson's other Seven Network soap opera, Sons and Daughters
Sons and Daughters (Australian TV series)
Sons and Daughters was a Logie Award winning Australian soap opera created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation between 1981 and 1987. The first episode aired in December 1981, during the Christmas/New Year non-ratings period, and the official broadcast date of the final...
. Several titles for the show were discussed, including People Like Us, One Way Street, No Through Road and Living Together until the network programmers voted on Neighbours. The first episode was broadcast on 18 March 1985 and reviews for the show were favourable. However, the Melbourne-produced programme underperformed in the Sydney market and after a meeting of the general managers, Seven decided to drop the show in October 1985. Seven's Melbourne program boss, Gary Fenton said Sydney chief Ted Thomas told the other general managers that Seven could not afford three dramas and argued that the Sydney-based A Country Practice
A Country Practice
A Country Practice is an Australian television drama series. One of the longest-running of its kind, produced by James Davern of JNP Productions, it ran on the Seven Network for 1,058 episodes from 18 November 1981 to 22 November 1993. It was produced in ATN-7's production facility at Epping,...
and Sons and Daughters be retained.
Neighbours was immediately bought by Seven's rival Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
. The new network had to build replica sets when it took over production after Seven destroyed the original sets to prevent the rival network obtaining them. Ten began screening the series with episode 171 on 20 January 1986. In 1986, the series was bought by the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
to help improve their daytime schedule in the United Kingdom. Neighbours made its debut on 27 October 1986 starting with the pilot episode. It soon gained a loyal audience and the show became very popular within the student market and was watched by 16 million viewers. In 1988 Neighbours became the first and only television show to have its entire cast flown over to the UK to make an appearance at the Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
in front of the Queen. Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and the seventh longest running serial drama still on the air in the world. In 2005, Neighbours celebrated its 20th anniversary. Over twenty former cast members returned for a special episode, which saw them sitting down to watch a documentary about Ramsay Street. At the Logie Award ceremony that year, the show was inducted into the Logie Hall of Fame.
2007 saw the show undergo a revamp, which included a switch to recording in HDTV
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
, the introduction of a new family, the departure of several existing characters and a new version of the show's familiar theme song and opening titles. In addition, episode titles were abandoned, having been in use for the previous three years. Daniel Bennett, the new head of drama at Network Ten, announced that the crux of the Ramsay Street story would go "back to basics" and follow a less sensational path than of late with the emphasis on family relations and suburban reality. Executive producer Ric Pellizzeri said new writers, actors and sets would bring the soap back to its glory days. He added "We moved too far into event-driven stories rather than the character-driven stories that made Neighbours what it is". The relaunch failed to attract more viewers in Australia. Pellizzeri left the series at the end of 2007 and former Neighbours scriptwriter, Susan Bower
Susan Bower
Susan Bower is an Australian television producer and television writer best known for her work on the soap opera Neighbours.-Career:Bower is a former nurse who worked at The Alfred Hospital for 20 years before getting her scriptwriting breakthrough on A Country Practice, where she provided the...
, became the new executive producer.
In 2008, Neighbours was branded "too white" by black and Asian viewers in Britain and in Australia there was talk of a "White Australia policy
White Australia policy
The White Australia policy comprises various historical policies that intentionally restricted "non-white" immigration to Australia. From origins at Federation in 1901, the polices were progressively dismantled between 1949-1973....
" when it came to casting actors for soaps. In response to the criticism, Susan Bower made a decision to add more ethnically diverse extras, small walk on roles and speaking parts, as well as introducing the character of Sunny Lee
Sunny Lee
Sunny Lee is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Hany Lee. She made her first on-screen appearance on 8 April 2009. Sunny was created by executive producer Susan Bower in response to criticism that Neighbours was "too white"...
(played by Hany Lee
Hany Lee
Hany Lee Choi is a Korean Australian actress best known for playing the role of Sunny Lee on the Australian soap opera, Neighbours.-Early and personal life:...
) an exchange student from South Korea. Neighbours became the first Australian series to establish Twitter accounts for its characters in 2009. FremantleMedia Enterprises
FremantleMedia Australia
FremantleMedia Australia is the Australian arm of FremantleMedia and was formed in 2006 by the merger of two great names in Australian television industry - Crackerjack Productions and Grundy Television, who had been both acquired by FremantleMedia....
vice-president of licensing Ben Liebmann said, "We thought it was a really great way to continue or allow the audience to engage with the Neighbours world off-screen". The messages are overseen by the Fremantle digital team, which is integrated with the story department of the Neighbours production team.
On 18 March 2010, Neighbours celebrated its 25th anniversary. In April, British television channel Five launched a search to find a female actress to play the part of Poppy Rogers. The search was similar to the Dolly magazine competition in Australia. August saw Neighbours air its 6000th episode. Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
revealed that the week long 6000th episode celebrations would see the wedding of regular characters, Donna Freedman
Donna Freedman
Donna Jane Brown is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Margot Robbie. She made her first on-screen appearance on 2 June 2008. Donna was initially a guest character, but Robbie was promoted to regular cast member shortly after she made her debut...
(Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie
Margot Robbie is an Australian actress. She is known for her role as Donna Freedman on the soap opera Neighbours, which earned her two Logie Award nominations. In 2011, Robbie began appearing as Laura Cameron in the ABC drama series Pan Am.-Early life:Robbie was born on 2 July 1990 and grew up on...
) and Ringo Brown
Ringo Brown
Ringo Brown is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Sam Clark. Clark was given the role after he entered and won a Dolly magazine competition. He made his first on-screen appearance on 24 January 2007...
(Sam Clark
Sam Clark
-Studio albums:-Singles:-Music videos:-Filmography:-Awards and nominations:-External links:* on SoundCloud...
). It was later announced that an attempt on the life of long term regular, Paul Robinson
Paul Robinson (Neighbours)
Paul Stewart Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, a long-running serial drama about social life in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. He is played by Stefan Dennis. Paul debuted in the serial's first episode in 1985 and appeared on a...
(Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis is an Australian actor, best known for playing the role of Paul Robinson in the soap opera, Neighbours, from its first episode in March 1985 to the present day...
) would be the focus of actual 6000th episode. Bower said "Last week I saw episode 6,000. This marks Australian television history. The 6,000th episode falls on a Friday so the whole week is a special one. As Stefan Dennis – Paul Robinson – was in the first episode 25 years ago, it was decided that his character play a most important role in this very special event".
In late 2010 TV Tonight
TV Tonight
TV Tonight is an Australian-based television themed website which features news, programming and OzTAM ratings information. As of January 2011, the site places 1,083 in the Australian Alexa ranking system and 92,543 worldwide....
reported that Neighbours would reduce crew operations in 2011 so production could be upgraded. The changes meant that the location manager
Location manager
The Location Manager is responsible for the finding and securing locations to be used and coordinating the logistics involved for the production to successfully complete its necessary work...
and catering team were no longer required, studio shoots would be reduced from three cameras to two, and location shots
Location shooting
Location shooting is the practice of filming in an actual setting rather than on a sound stage or back lot. In filmmaking a location is any place where a film crew will be filming actors and recording their dialog. A location where dialog is not recorded may be considered as a second unit...
will be mainly confined to the Ramsay Street and Lassiter's complex sets, with occasional filming in one-off places. Of the changes, FremantleMedia said "Neighbours is undergoing a work flow upgrade to accommodate advances in technology and production techniques to ensure we are at the forefront of professionalism and efficiency." They added that the show's production model had been in place since 1985 and that it was time to evolve it. On 14 March 2011, The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
reported that Neighbours has become the first television show available to watch on a free iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
application. Viewers are able to watch whole episodes within three hours of them airing on Eleven. Nick Spooner, the head of Ten digital media said "This is part of what we call our 'three-screen approach' – broadcast, online and mobile – and it is intended to build viewer engagement with a show and our brand. This is a way for us to stay in touch with our audience and to keep them coming back." To celebrate the wedding of Prince William of Wales and Kate Middleton, Neighbours filmed a specially commissioned scene for the UK episode airing on the same day as the wedding. The episode, which had already aired in Australia, marked the first time an Australian show recorded extra scenes for a UK broadcaster. On 25 October 2011, it was announced Bower would be leaving Neighbours in December 2011 to move into a new international role with FremantleMedia. Of her departure, Bower told Colin Vickery of the Herald Sun, "I love Neighbours, it is a wonderful show and because of this I felt it was important that fresh eyes and brains take over to keep this Australian icon contemporary. Having said that, I'm really excited about the new role and thank FremantleMedia for this wonderful opportunity." Former City Homicide
City Homicide
City Homicide was an Australian television drama series that aired on the Seven Network between 27 August 2007 – 30 March 2011. The series was set on the Homicide floor of a metropolitan police headquarters in Melbourne...
producer, Richard Jasek, will take over Bower's role, with Alan Hardy taking over the role of producer.
Setting
Neighbours main focus is the fictional Ramsay StreetRamsay Street
Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera Neighbours live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. Neighbours storylines primarily centre around the residents of the Street, which was named after the...
, a residential cul-de-sac in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough
Erinsborough
Erinsborough is the fictional suburb in which the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours is set. The show focuses on the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in the suburb...
. The street was named after the grandfather of original character Max Ramsay
Max Ramsay
Max Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Francis Bell. He made his first on-screen appearance in the show's pilot episode on 18 March 1985. Max was the patriarch of the Ramsay family and Ramsay Street is named after his grandfather...
(Francis Bell
Francis Bell (actor)
Francis Bell was a UK-born New Zealand resident actor who achieved international stardom playing the part of original character Max Ramsay in the early years of the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours. during his career he also acted in Australian serials The Sullivans and Sons and...
). Other locations include Erinsborough High school and the Lassiter's complex, which contains the Lassiter's Hotel, Charlie's bar and the coffee shop, Harold's Store. Ahead of the 25th anniversary the Erinsborough village set underwent a makeover. Harold's Store and Charlie's remained the same, but the centre of the complex was upgraded. Lassiter's Hotel was given a new logo and gained a second floor with outdoor seating area. Erinsborough Hospital and the police station received new facades, a used car lot was created near the garage and a new university set was created.
Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South
Vermont South, Victoria
Vermont South is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 20 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Vermont South had a population of 11,485....
, is the real cul-de-sac that doubles for Ramsay Street. All of the houses featured in the show are real and the residents allow Neighbours to shoot external scenes in their front and back gardens and on occasions, in their garages. Neighbours has been filmed in Pin Oak Court since the series began in 1985 and it has since become popular with tourists. Tours to the cul-de-sac run throughout the year. The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill
Forest Hill, Victoria
Forest Hill is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 18 km east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Whitehorse. At the 2006 Census, Forest Hill had a population of 9315.-History:...
, the adjoining suburb in which Pin Oak Court is located.
Through much of the show's run it was not stated which city of Australia Erinsborough was located. The rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne meant that scripts did not mention that Erinsborough was a suburb of the latter city, until 1994. Since the 2000s it has been explicitly stated that Erinsborough is a suburb of Melbourne. Other Australian locations mentioned and sometimes seen in the series include the fictitious suburbs of West Waratah, Eden Hills and Anson's Corner. Real life Australian towns in the state of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
such as Colac
Colac, Victoria
Colac is a small city located in the Western District of Victoria, Australia, situated approximately 150 kilometres south-west of Melbourne on the southern shore of Lake Colac and the surrounding volcanic plains, approximately 40 km inland from Bass Strait. Colac is the largest city in and...
and Shepparton
Shepparton, Victoria
Shepparton is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River in the north east of Victoria, Australia approximately north-east of Melbourne. It is the fifth largest city in Victoria, Australia. The estimated population of Shepparton's statistical area is 48,926.It began as a sheep station...
are sometimes referred to. Oakey
Oakey, Queensland
Oakey is a rural town situated in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia. It is situated west of the state capital, Brisbane, and west of the regional city of Toowoomba. At the 2006 census, Oakey had a population of 3,657.-History:...
in Queensland is also mentioned and sometimes seen. On 27 August 2010, Neighbours filmed scenes in Sydney's Darling Harbour
Darling Harbour, New South Wales
Darling Harbour is a locality of the city centre of Sydney, Australia. It is a large recreational and pedestrian precinct that is situated on western outskirts of the Sydney central business district. The locality extends northwards from Chinatown, along both sides of Cockle Bay to King Street...
and on board a cruise ship. The episodes marked only the third time that the show has filmed scenes outside of Victoria. In October 2011, Neighbours filmed scenes in Port Douglas
Port Douglas, Queensland
Port Douglas is a town in Far North Queensland, Australia, approximately north of Cairns. Its permanent population was 948 residents in 2006. The town's population can often double, however, with the influx of tourists during the peak tourism season May–September. The town is named in honour of...
, Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
and around the Great Barrier Reef
Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef is the world'slargest reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2,600 kilometres over an area of approximately...
region.
Filming locations outside of Australia have included Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, the United States and the UK, which has seen Neighbours episodes filmed there on three occasions. In February 1990, Lyme Park
Lyme Park
Lyme Park is a large estate located south of Disley, Cheshire, England. It consists of a mansion house surrounded by formal gardens, in a deer park in the Peak District National Park...
in Cheshire doubled as the Ledgerwood estate set in Yorkshire. Derek Nimmo
Derek Nimmo
Derek Robert Nimmo was an English character actor. He was particularly associated with upper-class "silly-ass" roles, and clerical roles.-Career:...
guest starred as the fictitious Lord Ledgerwood in two of the episodes. In November 1992, the characters Rick Alessi
Rick Alessi
Riccardo "Rick" Alessi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Dan Falzon. He made his first on-screen appearance on 8 June 1992 and he remained until his departure on 9 March 1995.-Casting:...
(Dan Falzon
Dan Falzon
Dan Falzon is an Australian actor of Maltese descent, best known for his role as Rick Alessi on the television soap opera Neighbours. He also appeared in the Channel Nine drama The Alice, as a park ranger. He also formed the short lived pop group Milk with his brother, releasing the single...
) and Debbie Martin
Debbie Martin
Deborah "Debbie" Martin is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Marnie Reece-Wilmore. She made her first on-screen appearance on 27 July 1985. Debbie was initially played by Mandy Storvik and later Katrina McEwan. Reece-Wilmore was cast in the role in 1992...
(Marnie Reece-Wilmore
Marnie Reece-Wilmore
Marnie Reece-Wilmore is an Australian actor from Sydney. She is best known for her role in Neighbours during the 1990s.-Early work:...
) visited London to attend a Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
concert. The second London-based storyline was broadcast in late March 2007. Susan
Susan Kennedy
Susan Kennedy , is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jackie Woodburne. The character and her family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Susan made her first on-screen appearance on 3 October 1994 along...
(Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress.-Personal life:Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Her father was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. She has two older siblings: John and Stephen. At age three she emigrated with her family to...
) and Karl Kennedy
Karl Kennedy
Karl Raymond Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Fletcher. The character and his family were created by storyliners in an attempt to bring the show back to its roots. Karl made his first on-screen appearance on 20 September 1994 along with his...
(Alan Fletcher) were seen taking a ride on the London Eye
London Eye
The London Eye is a tall giant Ferris wheel situated on the banks of the River Thames, in London, England.It is the tallest Ferris wheel in Europe, and the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United Kingdom, visited by over 3.5 million people annually...
and being married on a boat on the River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
.
Broadcasting
Through its entire run in Australia, Neighbours has been screened as a 22-minute episode each week night in an early-evening slot. Neighbours is on air for approximately forty-four weeks per year. It is broadcast from early January to early December and goes off air for around four to five weeks during the Christmas and New Year period. The show currently airs at 6:30p.m, going up against rival current affairsCurrent affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
shows Today Tonight
Today Tonight
Today Tonight is a controversial Australian News and Current Affairs program, produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at in direct competition with rival Nine Network program A Current Affair....
on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, and A Current Affair on the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. The last five aired episodes shown are available to watch on the Neighbours official Australian website, as a part of Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
's Catch Up TV service.
When the show began in 1985, the first season was broadcast on the Seven Network
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
, at 5:30 pm in Sydney, at 6:00p.m in Melbourne in Adelaide
Adelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
and at 7.00 pm in Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. The show's transmission in other areas was varied and many regional channels declined to purchase the series. When the show debuted on Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
in 1986 it screened at 7:00 pm In 1992 the show moved to 6:30 pm Repeat episodes of Neighbours episodes from the 1988–1991 period were broadcast between 2000 and June 2003 on Network Ten. These episodes were seen at 3:30p.m, before moving to 11:30 am During 2008 Ten HD
Ten HD
Ten HD was an Australian free-to-air television channel that launched on 16 December 2007. The channel was available to high definition digital television viewers through owned-and-operated stations in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth...
broadcast the previous week's episodes in an omnibus edition each Sunday. These omnibus editions did not return in 2009 as Ten HD was replaced by a 24-hour sports channel One HD starting March 2009.
In August 2010, The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph (Australia)
The Daily Telegraph is an Australian tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, by Nationwide News, part of News Corporation.The Tele, as it is also known, was founded in 1879. From 1936 to 1972, it was owned by Frank Packer's Australian Consolidated Press. That year it was sold to...
reported that Neighbours would be moving to Ten's new digital channel, to make way for a new current affairs show. They said "It's part of a re-branding of Ten's free-to-air channel, targeting the older demographic. The 'younger' shows, like Neighbours, will go on to one of Ten's digital channels". It was later confirmed that the show would be moving to digital channel, Eleven
Eleven (TV channel)
Eleven is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel, which was launched by ElevenCo, on 11 January 2011.-Joint venture:...
. Network Ten's programmer, David Mott said "We believe Neighbours is perfectly suited to Eleven's audience strategy and will find a successful and enduring home on Eleven". In September, it was announced that the show's classification rating could change from a G to a PG. The multi-channel terms in the Australian Commercial Television Code of Practice
Australian Commercial Television Code of Practice
The Australian Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice is a self-regulatory code adopted by free-to-air broadcasters in the Australian media...
means that classifications are more flexible on digital channels. A new rating means that the show can go "head to head in content, plotting and language with Seven's Home & Away". The Australian
The Australian
The Australian is a broadsheet newspaper published in Australia from Monday to Saturday each week since 14 July 1964. The editor in chief is Chris Mitchell, the editor is Clive Mathieson and the 'editor-at-large' is Paul Kelly....
said "A PG slot is likely to let the show's plotting address contemporary issues for young people in a far more credible fashion for its audience". A change in classification will not have an effect on the show's broadcast in Britain. Bower commented on the move and change in classification, saying "We can't lose what we've got and that is that families like to watch Neighbours together". She added, "I don't intend to turn any characters into crack addicts or have an 18th birthday party where everybody takes ecstasy and gets paralytic drunk". Neighbours moved to Eleven on 11 January 2011, the channel's launch day.
International broadcasts
Neighbours has been sold to over 50 countries around the world and is one of Australia's most successful mediaexports.
Neighbours has proved to be more popular in the United Kingdom than in Australia. It was screened on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
from 1986 until 2008. Towards the late 2000s, it was normally attracting an average of 3 million viewers for its lunchtime showing and 2.6 million viewers for its early-evening repeat. It is frequently the highest-rating daytime programme in the UK, outside of news bulletins. In 2008, the UK broadcast moved to rival channel Five
Channel Five
Channel 5 is a television network that broadcasts in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1997, it was the fifth and final national terrestrial analogue network to launch. The station was branded as Five between 2002 and 2010...
after the BBC withdrew from talks to keep the show, after they were asked to pay £300m over eight years by FremantleMedia. Five picked up the show and began broadcasting it in February 2008. The first episode to be shown on Five – episode number 5,331 – was watched by 2.2 million viewers (an audience share of 14.2%), a drop of 300,000 from the BBC's average. However, the move boosted Five's usual share for the 5.30 pm slot by three and a half times. On 4 February 2009, Neighbours 5:30 pm showing was seen by 1.94 million viewers and as of July 2010, the teatime showing now averages 1.40 million viewers. The UK are currently 6 to 8 weeks behind Australia. UK viewers are able to catch up with episodes with Five's "Demand Five" service, similar to the catch up service in Australia. It was announced in December 2009 that Five had signed a deal with YouTube, allowing viewers to watch episodes for free on the video sharing site after they have been transmitted. In November 2010, it was reported by TV Tonight that Five's new owner, Richard Desmond
Richard Desmond
Richard Clive Desmond is an English publisher and businessman. He is the owner of Express Newspapers and founder in 1974 of Northern & Shell, which publishes various celebrity magazines, such as OK! and New!, and British national newspapers Daily Star and Daily Express...
was trying to renegotiate the long-term contract with FremantleMedia the show. TV Tonight reported that although Desmond has spoken "favourably of the Aussie soap" the issue is likely to be "the price agreed to before his arrival".
In New Zealand Neighbours is broadcast on TV2 at 2:30 pm and 6:00 pm weekdays. In October 2010, it began airing episodes at the same pace as Australia. The show was initially broadcast by TVNZ
Television New Zealand
Television New Zealand, more commonly referred to, and stylized as TVNZ, is a government-owned corporation television network broadcasting in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific. It operates TV1, TV2, TVNZ7, TVNZ Heartland, TVNZ U and new media services....
in 1988, but by 1996 it was removed from the schedule. TV4 (now C4) picked the show up and began broadcasting it from 1997. They dropped it in 2000 and it returned to TV2 in 2002. The TV2 website also offer viewers the chance to watch episodes online with its OnDemand service. In the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
Neighbours is broadcast on RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television
RTÉ Television is a department of Ireland's state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann.The first channel to broadcast was Telefís Éireann which began broadcasting on 31 December 1961...
at 1:55 pm on RTÉ One
RTÉ One
RTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
and repeated on RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two
RTÉ Two is a free-to-air general entertainment channel operated by Irish state broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann. RTÉ Two is available throughout the island of Ireland through digital terrestrial service Saorview, VHF and UHF bands, and is also available via satellite to Irish subscribers of...
at 18:00 pm each weekday. RTÉ are 35 episodes behind the Network Ten transmission. FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
secured a 'long term deal' with RTÉ in 2007 for them to transmit the show after the BBC pulled out of negotiations. Neighbours is broadcast in Belgium on VRT six times a week. In Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, Neighbours is broadcast on the KTN
Kenya Television Network
Kenya Television Network is the leading television station in Kenya with its headquarters at the I & M Towers in downtown Nairobi. Its headquarters will change later on in the year as it moves in with its parent company's other subsidiaries at the newly-built Standard Group Centre on Mombasa road...
network Monday to Friday at 12:30 pm with an omnibus on Sunday mornings and in Barbados Neighbours is broadcast on the CBC8
Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation
The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation is the government-owned media corporation located in Barbados.The television service broadcasts on channel 8 and is the only legally-licensed, over-the-air television channel broadcasting in the country of Barbados...
channel at 1 pm Monday to Friday. The show is broadcast in Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
on Stöð 2
Stöð 2
Stöð 2 is an Icelandic television channel, owned and operated by 365. Founded in 1986, It was the first privately owned television station in Iceland following the lifting of the state monopoly on television broadcasting...
at 12:35 pm and 17:28 p. from Monday to Friday, with an omnibus
Omnibus (broadcast)
An omnibus is a compilation of daily television or radio episodes that is re-broadcast during the following weekend. The term has been most frequently used in the United Kingdom, though it has also been used in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa...
at 12:35 pm on Sundays. Neighbours airs on Norwegian TV channel NRK3
NRK3
NRK3 is a digital TV channel aimed at youth and young adults and produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation.Launched on 3 September 2007, and on air from 19.30 each evening, the channel features such British and American shows as Sugar Rush, Heroes, Third Watch, The Daily Show, True Blood,...
at 7:30 pm, Monday to Friday and at 2:05 pm on NRK1
NRK1
NRK1 is the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation's main television channel. Test broadcasts started on 12 January 1954, regular test broadcasts started on 13 April 1958 and regular broadcasts started in 20 August 1960. It is Norway's oldest and largest television channel...
. Neighbours was broadcast in Sweden on channel TV3
TV3 (Sweden)
TV3 is a television channel targeted at a Swedish language audience owned by Viasat . It was founded on 31 December 1987 by entrepreneur Jan Stenbeck as joint Scandinavian channel, but Denmark and Norway soon got their own versions of TV3...
from late 1980s through until 1997, when they pulled the plug due to budget reasons. TV4 started airing the show in 2009 on their channel TV4 Plus
TV4 Plus
Sjuan is a sister channel of Swedish TV4, owned by TV4 AB. The main focus of the channel is on entertainment, sports and lifestyle programmes. The channel started as TV4 Plus in 2003 but changed name to Sjuan in September 2011....
starting at the revamped show format from 2007. Neighbours began broadcasting in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
from late 2010 on VBC
Vietnam Multimedia Corporation
Vietnam Multimedia Corporation or Vietnam Television Corporation is a large multimedia corporation in Vietnam. It was founded on February, 1988 by Vietnam Television with the main purpose to construct television stations...
. Two episodes air during the week at 6:00 pm.
Neighbours premiered on the American television station KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV
KCOP-TV, channel 13, is a television station in Los Angeles, California. Owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, KCOP is a sister station to Fox network outlet KTTV , and is affiliated with the MyNetworkTV programming service...
in Los Angeles on 3 June 1991 at 5:30 pm weekdays. KCOP planned on cancelling the show by the end of the month due to low ratings, but brought it back due to "viewer demand" at a 9:30 am daily time slot from 1 July to 30 August 1991. New York City station WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV
WWOR-TV, virtual channel 9 , is the flagship station of the MyNetworkTV programming service, licensed to Secaucus, New Jersey and serving the Tri-State metropolitan area. WWOR is owned by Fox Television Stations, a division of the News Corporation, and is a sister station to Fox network flagship...
showed Neighbours weekdays 5:30 pm from 17 June to 17 September 1991. In April 2004, the show began broadcasting nationally on the television channel, Oxygen
Oxygen (TV channel)
Oxygen is an American cable television specialty channel with television programming marketed towards women, with a format similar to Lifetime.- History :...
. A spokeswomen from the channel said "Now our viewers can join in on the good, the bad and the endlessly entertaining lives of our Aussie neighbours." The episodes started from the Scully family's arrival in 1999 and were aired for a six-week trial basis. The show was broadcast in the afternoon with two episodes being shown back to back at 1 pm and 2 pm. After a couple of weeks, the show was moved to a late-night time slot and it eventually left the air. In Canada, CFMT-TV
CFMT-TV
CFMT-DT, channel 47, is a television station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with rebroadcasters in Ottawa and London. The station broadcasts multicultural programming targeting European and Latin American communities throughout Southern Ontario. Part of the Omni Television group of stations...
in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
broadcast Neighbours on weeknights at 11 p.m, starting in September 1990. From 20 May 1991, CFMT moved the show to 4 pm After announcing its cancellation, CFMT decided to keep Neighbours on its schedule throughout September 1994, following numerous letters and telephone calls.
1985–1990s
Neighbours initially aired on Seven Network where it struggled to attract high ratings leading to its cancellation by the network four months after it premiered. The series was then picked up by Network Ten. After the usual break in broadcast over the summer non ratings period the series made its debut on Ten in 1986. Ten revamped the show, adding several new, younger cast members including Jason DonovanJason Donovan
Jason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
as Scott Robinson
Scott Robinson (Neighbours)
Scott James Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jason Donovan. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, in the show's first episode. Scott was originally played by Darius Perkins until he was recast.-Casting:Darius...
and Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
as Charlene Mitchell
Charlene Robinson
Charlene Edna Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Kylie Minogue. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 1986 when she came to join her mother Madge in Ramsay Street. Charlene was a tomboy and later worked as a Mechanic...
. When the show began on Ten it initially attracted low ratings, so the Network worked hard to publicise the series. Ten's publicity drive was designed to promote the show in a star-focused campaign recalling that of the Hollywood star system where stars were packaged to feed into a fan culture. This paid off and by the end of 1987 ratings had improved for the show. The episode featuring Scott and Charlene's wedding achieved the highest ever ratings for Neighbours and it became one of the highest rating soap episodes ever in Australia. The same episode attracted over 19 million viewers when it was aired in the United Kingdom. By the early 1990s, Australian audiences had decreased although viewing figures had recovered slightly by the end of the decade. In 1994, Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
told TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...
that they would be introducing a "younger, livelier look with six regular characters under the age of 18" in a bid to generate interest. It was then that they introduced the characters of Stonefish Rebecchi
Stonefish Rebecchi
Kevin "Stonefish" Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap Neighbours, played by Anthony Engelman. He made his first appearance on 31 March 1994. Stonefish was the first of the Rebecchi family to appear and he was later followed by his mother, father and brothers. The...
played by Anthony Engelman and Serendipity Gottlieb
Serendipity Gottlieb
Serendipity "Ren" Gottlieb is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Raelee Hill. She made her first on-screen appearance on 25 August 1994. Serendipity is Stephen and Mark Gottlieb's only sister. She is a hippy who arrives in Erinsborough to see Mark...
played by Raelee Hill
Raelee Hill
Raelee Hill is an Australian actress best known for her roles in some of her country's most successful television series...
.
In 1996, Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies is an Australian actress most famous for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 1993 to 1996...
, who played Annalise Hartman
Annalise Hartman
Annalise Kratz is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Kimberley Davies. She debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 15 January 1993 and departed in 1996, and a brief return in 2005. Annalise has often been portrayed as having a conniving persona...
, quit the series. Then Caroline Gillmer
Caroline Gillmer
Caroline Gillmer is an Australian actress, best known for her roles in various television series, such as Prisoner as Helen Smart and Neighbours as Cheryl Stark....
fell ill and her character Cheryl Stark
Cheryl Stark
Cheryl Stark is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Caroline Gillmer. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 26 July 1993. Colette Mann took over the role for eight weeks from late 1995 to early 1996 whilst Gillmer was ill...
was temporarily recast with former Prisoner
Prisoner (TV series)
Prisoner is an Australian television soap opera which was set in the Wentworth Detention Centre, a fictional women's prison. The series was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation and ran on Network Ten for 692 episodes from 27 February 1979 to 11 December 1986.The series was inspired by the 1970s...
actress Colette Mann
Colette Mann
Colette Mann is an Australian actress, most notable for playing the role of Doreen Anderson , in the Australian series Prisoner from 1979–1982, with return appearances in 1983 and in 1984....
. This made producers nervous that viewing figures might decrease, so they implemented a series of plots to keep viewers interested. These included a cameo from Clive James
Clive James
Clive James, AM is an Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet and memoirist, best known for his autobiographical series Unreliable Memoirs, for his chat shows and documentaries on British television and for his prolific journalism...
and an explosion, which destroyed the doctor's surgery in the Lassiter's complex.
2000s
In the 2000s, rival soap opera, Home and AwayHome and Away
Home and Away is an Australian soap opera that has been produced in Sydney since July 1987 and is airing on the Seven Network since 17 January 1988. It is the second-longest-running drama and most popular soap opera on Australian television...
, emerged as more popular than Neighbours in Australia. As of 2004, Neighbours was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode. In 2007, Home and Away was averaging 1.4 million viewers in Australia to Neighbours 700,000. During the revamp of 2007, the episode broadcast on 23 July 2007 saw the introduction of a new family, updated sets, new theme music and graphics. Ratings for that episode averaged 1.05 million viewers in the 6:30 pm. slot. It was the first time the programme's viewing figures had topped 1 million in 2007. By the end of 2007 it was reported that producers had hoped the Neighbours revamp would push the ratings up to between 900,000 to 1 million an episode. It had, however, resulted in a more modest boost, with ratings hovering at about 800,000 a night. The same viewing period had shown an increase in ratings for Home and Away, which was now averaging 1.4 million viewers every night.
In February 2008, new executive producer, Susan Bower, announced that she would be implementing further changes to the programme. Bower promised to retain the return to traditional Neighbours values, but with an injection of drama that remains recognisable and relevant. Ratings rose to almost 900,000 in mid-2008, but generally ratings begin to fall towards the end of each year, usually averaging around 700,000. On 17 July 2009, during the aftermath of the Parker family's car accident and the dramatic death of Bridget Parker
Bridget Parker
Bridget Louise "Didge" Parker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Eloise Mignon. In 2007 the show was revamped to boost falling ratings in Australia. As part of this, the show's focus returned to family dynamics and the character of Bridget and her family...
(Eloise Mignon
Eloise Mignon
Eloise Mignon is an Australian actress born in Kuwait.-Career:Mignon was educated at Melbourne Girls College, Wesley College and St Michael's Grammar School her screen credits include a role in Legacy of the Silver Shadow and a main character Mara Lomax in children's sci-fi series Silversun. She...
), Neighbours achieved higher ratings than Home And Away. Neighbours achieved 998,000 viewers and placed 6th for the night, Home And Away placed 7th.
2010s
In January 2010, Neighbours returned to Australian screens to an audience of 563,000. On 20 January, the ratings fell to a low of 426,000. This is one of the program's lowest ever ratings in Australia. A July 2010 report chartered NeighboursFollowing its move to digital channel Eleven, Neighbours attracted 254,000 viewers for the first episode broadcast on 11 January 2011. This was half the number of viewers that watched it on Network Ten, but the Herald Sun said that it was a good result as "bosses were only expecting 133,000." Neighbours became Eleven's most-watched show and the third highest rating show on free to air channels. Programming chief, David Mott said "Last night's strong result for Neighbours already suggests the audience will follow the folks from Ramsay Street to their brand new neighbourhood on Eleven." On 24 January 2011, Neighbours achieved 330,000 viewers and three days later 355,000 viewers tuned in, becoming the show's highest rating yet on Eleven. The show had more viewers than the Ten Evening News in the 16–39 and 18–49 demographic. On 2 February, Neighbours pulled in 397,000 viewers, breaking its previous record on the channel. This record was broken again on 4 April, when Neighbours gained 402,000 viewers, making it the most viewed show on Eleven that night. On 17 May, Neighbours reached an average of 405,000 viewers and the following month, on 13 June, Neighbours was watched by 455,000 viewers, making it the highest rating show on digital secondary channels that night.
Storylines
Neighbours storylines frequently focus on family problems, inter generational clashes, school problems, romances and domestic issues. Despite the restrictive 6:30 pm time slot, Neighbours has also covered many serious problems such as teenage pregnancyTeenage pregnancy
Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy of a female under the age of 20 when the pregnancy ends. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy...
, marital breakdown, imprisonment, career problems, pregnancy, abortion, adultery, drug trafficking, stalking, kidnapping, accidental death, murder, and incest
Incest
Incest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
. In the 2000s, the show dealt with controversial issues such as sexuality, gambling
Gambling
Gambling is the wagering of money or something of material value on an event with an uncertain outcome with the primary intent of winning additional money and/or material goods...
and surrogacy
Surrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
, as well as health issues like multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis is an inflammatory disease in which the fatty myelin sheaths around the axons of the brain and spinal cord are damaged, leading to demyelination and scarring as well as a broad spectrum of signs and symptoms...
.
Characters
In 1985, Neighbours started out with three families created by Watson – the RamsaysRamsay family
The Ramsay family is a fictional family on the Australian soap opera Neighbours. The cul-de-sac, which is the central focus of the series is named after the family.No.24 has been associated with the Ramsay family since the show began in 1985....
, the Robinsons and the Clarkes. Watson said that he wanted to show three families living in a small street, who are friends. Max Ramsay
Max Ramsay
Max Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Francis Bell. He made his first on-screen appearance in the show's pilot episode on 18 March 1985. Max was the patriarch of the Ramsay family and Ramsay Street is named after his grandfather...
(Francis Bell
Francis Bell (actor)
Francis Bell was a UK-born New Zealand resident actor who achieved international stardom playing the part of original character Max Ramsay in the early years of the popular Australian soap opera, Neighbours. during his career he also acted in Australian serials The Sullivans and Sons and...
), his wife Maria (Dasha Blahova) and their sons Shane
Shane Ramsay
Shane Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Peter O'Brien. He made his first appearance on-screen in the first Neighbours episode on 18 March 1985. Shane is the son of Max and Maria Ramsay...
(Peter O'Brien) and Danny
Danny Ramsay
Daniel "Danny" Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by David Clencie. He made his first on-screen appearance in Neighbours first episode on 18 March 1985. Danny became the first character to speak in the show...
(David Clencie) lived at No.24 Ramsay Street. Single father, Jim Robinson
Jim Robinson (Neighbours)
James "Jim" Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Dale. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, which was the shows first episode. Jim was the patriarch of the Robinson family. Dale departed the show in 1993 after...
(Alan Dale
Alan Dale
Alan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...
) lived next door with his children, Paul
Paul Robinson (Neighbours)
Paul Stewart Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, a long-running serial drama about social life in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. He is played by Stefan Dennis. Paul debuted in the serial's first episode in 1985 and appeared on a...
(Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis
Stefan Dennis is an Australian actor, best known for playing the role of Paul Robinson in the soap opera, Neighbours, from its first episode in March 1985 to the present day...
), Julie (Vikki Blanche), Scott
Scott Robinson (Neighbours)
Scott James Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jason Donovan. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, in the show's first episode. Scott was originally played by Darius Perkins until he was recast.-Casting:Darius...
(Darius Perkins
Darius Perkins
Darius Perkins is an Australian actor, best known for his longest-running role, Scott Robinson in soap opera Neighbours, in 1985. His first role was on The Sullivans in 1976. He played "Charlie" in All The Green Years and played guest roles in Prisoner and A Country Practice. He also played "Ben"...
) and Lucy
Lucy Robinson
Lucy Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Melissa Bell. She had previously been portrayed by Kylie Flinker and Sasha Close. She was created by producer Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' original characters. Lucy was a prominent figure...
(Kylie Flinker). His mother-in-law, Helen Daniels
Helen Daniels
Helen Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, portrayed by Anne Haddy. Following the death of Jim Robinson in 1993, she remained the only original character left in the series until her own death in 1997, making her the second longest-serving original character...
(Anne Haddy
Anne Haddy
Anne Haddy was an Australian film and television actress, best known for her role in the long-running soap opera, Neighbours.-Early and personal life:...
) also lived with him. Bachelor Des Clarke
Des Clarke (Neighbours)
Desmond Kingsley "Des" Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Paul Keane. He made his first on screen appearance on 18 March 1985, the show's first episode.-Stroylines:...
(Paul Keane
Paul Keane
Paul Keane is an Australian actor well known for playing Des Clarke in the soap opera Neighbours. Other TV credits include Bliss and Flight Into Hell. He was trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, graduating in 1983....
) invited Daphne Lawrence
Daphne Clarke
Daphne Rose Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Elaine Smith. She made her first on-screen appearance in the serial's first episode on 18 March 1985. Daphne a stripper hired for Des Clarke's bucks party and she moved in him. She and Des fell in love...
(Elaine Smith
Elaine Smith (actress)
Elaine Smith found fame as an actress on Australian television.She is best known for her role as Daphne Clarke in the soap opera Neighbours...
) to live at No.28 with him and they were later married. The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history in the street and they were often involved in an ongoing rivalry. When Network Ten picked up the show and revamped it, they brought in new and younger actors including Kylie Minogue as Charlene Mitchell and Jason Donovan, who replaced Darius Perkins as Scott Robinson. Many families, including the Alessi, Bishop, Hancock, Hoyland, Rebecchi and Timmins' have moved in and out of the street over the years.
When storylines for certain characters become tired, the scriptwriters simply move one family out and replace it with a new one. Ramsay Street is now a mixture of older characters like Lou Carpenter
Lou Carpenter
Louis "Lou" Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tom Oliver. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Lou appeared for a brief time, before leaving and later returning in January 1992 as a regular cast member. He is the longest...
(Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver
Tom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
) and the Kennedy family and newer characters such as the Scullys. Watson originally wanted to show young people communicating with older people, which means that the cast is a mix of young actors in their teens or early 20s and older, more experienced hands. The last remaining original character, Helen Daniels, departed the show in 1997 due to the ill-health of Anne Haddy. In 2004, original cast member Stefan Dennis returned to Neighbours full-time as Paul Robinson. Paul is currently the only remaining original character in the series. In February 2009, it was announced that producers would be introducing a new generation of the Ramsay family to the show, over a decade after the family had last appeared. Kate
Kate Ramsay
Kate Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Ashleigh Brewer. She made her first on-screen appearance on 15 May 2009. She is the eldest sibling of Harry and Sophie Ramsay...
(Ashleigh Brewer
Ashleigh Brewer
Ashleigh Brewer is an Australian actress. She is best known for playing Kate Ramsay in the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Biography and personal life:...
), Harry
Harry Ramsay
Harry Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Will Moore. The character first appeared on-screen on 18 May 2009...
(Will Moore) and Sophie Ramsay
Sophie Ramsay
Sophie Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Kaiya Jones. She made her first on-screen appearance on 18 May 2009. The character was created as part of a new generation of the Ramsay family. Sophie is the youngest of the Ramsay siblings, which also...
(Kaiya Jones
Kaiya Jones
Kaiya Jones is a Scottish-born Australian actress best known for playing the role of Sophie Ramsay in the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She previously played Jess Cooper in The Saddle Club series 3.-Early and personal life:...
) made their first appearances in May 2009.
Notable cast members
Several actors are closely associated with Neighbours and their characters from the series.- Alan DaleAlan DaleAlan Hugh Dale is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale developed a love of theatre and also became a rugby player. After retiring from the sport he took on a number of professions to support his family, before deciding to become a professional actor at the age of 27. With work limited in New...
played Jim RobinsonJim Robinson (Neighbours)James "Jim" Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Dale. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, which was the shows first episode. Jim was the patriarch of the Robinson family. Dale departed the show in 1993 after...
for eight years from the first episode in 1985 until 1993. Dale left the series when he fell out with the producers over pay. Jim died of a heart attack and Dale struggled to find work in Australia because he was typecast.
- Anne HaddyAnne HaddyAnne Haddy was an Australian film and television actress, best known for her role in the long-running soap opera, Neighbours.-Early and personal life:...
played Helen DanielsHelen DanielsHelen Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, portrayed by Anne Haddy. Following the death of Jim Robinson in 1993, she remained the only original character left in the series until her own death in 1997, making her the second longest-serving original character...
for twelve years from the first episode in 1985 until 1997. Haddy became the longest serving cast member and she was the only surviving member of the original cast left on-screen in 1997. Haddy died two years after leaving the series.
- Anne CharlestonAnne CharlestonAnne Charleston is an Australian actress currently based in Galway, Ireland and the UK. She is known for her roles as Madge Bishop in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Lily Butterfield in Emmerdale.-Early career:...
played Madge BishopMadge BishopMargaret Mary "Madge" Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986. Madge was one of the matriarchs of the Ramsay family. She departed in 1992, before making a return in 1996...
for a total of eleven years from 1986–1992 and 1996–2001. Madge is the sister of Max Ramsay and she married Harold Bishop. Madge died of cancer in 2001.
- Kylie MinogueKylie MinogueKylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
played Charlene MitchellCharlene RobinsonCharlene Edna Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Kylie Minogue. She made her first on-screen appearance on 17 April 1986 when she came to join her mother Madge in Ramsay Street. Charlene was a tomboy and later worked as a Mechanic...
for two years from 1986 until 1988. Charlene's biggest storyline was her wedding to Scott Robinson in 1987, which attracted almost 20 million viewers in the UK.
- Jason DonovanJason DonovanJason Donovan is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 million records, and his début album Ten Good Reasons was one of the highest-selling albums of 1989...
played Scott RobinsonScott Robinson (Neighbours)Scott James Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Jason Donovan. He made his first on-screen appearance on 18 March 1985, in the show's first episode. Scott was originally played by Darius Perkins until he was recast.-Casting:Darius...
for three years, from 1986 until 1989. Donovan was the second actor to play Scott, replacing Darius PerkinsDarius PerkinsDarius Perkins is an Australian actor, best known for his longest-running role, Scott Robinson in soap opera Neighbours, in 1985. His first role was on The Sullivans in 1976. He played "Charlie" in All The Green Years and played guest roles in Prisoner and A Country Practice. He also played "Ben"...
. The character's most notable storylines were his romance and wedding to Charlene Mitchell.
- Guy PearceGuy PearceGuy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
played Mike YoungMike Young (Neighbours)Michael James "Mike" Young is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Guy Pearce. He made his first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986...
for three years from 1986 until 1989. Pearce was cast as Mike after he wrote to Neighbours' production company, the Grundy OrganisationReg Grundy OrganisationThe Reg Grundy Organisation was an Australian television production company founded in 1959 by businessman Reg Grundy . It has since branched out into Europe and the USA. The company first produced game shows, before branching into soap operas in 1973...
. His debut was in episode number 171, the first episode broadcast on the Network Ten following the show's move from Channel Seven. Mike became a teacher at Erinsborough High and dated Jane Harris (Annie JonesAnnie Jones (actress)Annie Jones is an Australian actress who is best known for her role as Jane Harris in the soap opera Neighbours. She has won 2 Logie Awards.-Biography:...
).
- Ian SmithIan Smith (actor)Ian Smith is an Australian soap opera character actor and television screenwriter, best known today for his long-running role as the caring, kindly coffee shop owner Harold Bishop in the soap opera Neighbours....
played Harold BishopHarold BishopHarold Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ian Smith. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 January 1987. Smith was offered a role by Neighbours creator and executive producer Reg Watson...
for a total of eighteen years from 1987–1991, 1996–2009 and 2011. Smith went part-time in April 2008 and he decided to depart the show in February 2009. In May 2011, Smith returned for a six week guest stint. Harold is the second longest serving character in the show's history, after Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver) and he was named the "Top soap bloke of all time" in a poll for LoadedLoaded (magazine)Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
magazine.
- Tom OliverTom OliverTom Oliver is an English television, film and theatre actor best known today for playing the role of Lou Carpenter in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Career:...
has played Lou CarpenterLou CarpenterLouis "Lou" Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tom Oliver. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Lou appeared for a brief time, before leaving and later returning in January 1992 as a regular cast member. He is the longest...
since 1992, following a week long guest stint in 1988. After the departure of Harold Bishop (Ian Smith), Lou became the longest running character in the show's history. Since the start of 2009, Oliver reduced his role to a part time cast member appearing roughly half of the year.
- Natalie ImbrugliaNatalie ImbrugliaNatalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
played Beth BrennanBeth BrennanElizabeth "Beth" Willis is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Natalie Imbruglia. She made her debut on-screen during the episode airing on 6 January 1992. She married Brad Willis in 1993, and the couple left Erinsborough for Perth. Behind the...
from 1992–1993, with a brief return in 1994. Imbruglia was sixteen when she won the role of Beth. Beth is a sweet natured girl who comes to Ramsay Street in search of a new life. She works in the construction business and begins a relationship with Brad Willis (Scott MichaelsonScott MichaelsonScott Michaelson is an Australian actor and manager who is most famous for playing Brad Willis in Neighbours...
). Imbruglia grew disappointed with her scripts and decided to quit the show.
- Delta GoodremDelta GoodremDelta Lea Goodrem is an Australian singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress. Signed to Sony at the age of 15, Goodrem rose to prominence in 2002, starring in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Nina Tucker. Goodrem has achieved eight number-one singles and three number-one albums in her home...
played Nina TuckerNina TuckerNina Tucker is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Delta Goodrem. She made her first on-screen appearance on 11 June 2002. Goodrem was approached by producers after they saw her video for her debut single. Goodrem, who had just signed a record deal, almost...
for a year from 2002–2003, with two short returns in 2004 and 2005. Nina Tucker was a shy schoolgirl with a talent for singing. It was Goodrem's manager, Glenn WheatleyGlenn WheatleyGlenn Dawson Wheatley is an Australian artist manager and entertainment industry executive.Wheatley began his career as a musician in Brisbane in the mid-1960s and in the late 1960s became nationally famous as a member of leading pop-rock band The Masters Apprentices...
, who suggested making the character into an aspiring singer. Goodrem was forced to leave Neighbours to begin treatment for Hodgkin's lymphomaHodgkin's lymphomaHodgkin's lymphoma, previously known as Hodgkin's disease, is a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells called lymphocytes...
and the writers sent Nina to India, where she became a BollywoodBollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
actress.
Celebrity guest appearances
The series has featured several celebrity guest appearances throughout its run. Early cameos included former Skyhooks musician Red SymonsRed Symons
Redmond Symons is an Australian musician, writer, actor and radio host, probably best known as lead guitarist with Skyhooks and as the snide judge of "Red Faces", a segment of the long-running Hey Hey It's Saturday variety television show...
as Gordon Miller, Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe
Chris Lowe is an English musician, who, with colleague Neil Tennant, makes up the pop duo Pet Shop Boys.-Childhood:...
, Molly Meldrum and former footballer Warwick Capper
Warwick Capper
Warwick Capper is a retired high profile professional Australian rules football full-forward who played with the Sydney Swans with a short stint at the Brisbane Bears in the VFL ....
. More recently Dave Batista, Lily Allen
Lily Allen
Lily Rose Beatrice Cooper , better known as Lily Allen, is an English recording artist and fashion designer. She is the daughter of actor and musician Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. In her teenage years, her musical tastes evolved from glam rock to alternative...
, Matt Lucas
Matt Lucas
Matthew Richard "Matt" Lucas is an English comedian, screenwriter and actor best known for his acclaimed work with David Walliams in the television show Little Britain; as well as for his portrayals of the scorekeeping baby George Dawes in the comedy panel game Shooting Stars, Tweedledee and...
and David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
, British comedian Tim Vine
Tim Vine
Timothy "Tim" Mark Vine is an English actor, writer and comedian. He has released a number of DVDs of his stand-up comedy, as well as starring in the successful series Not Going Out with Lee Mack on the BBC...
, André Rieu
André Rieu
André Léon Marie Nicolas Rieu is a Dutch violinist, conductor, and composer best known for creating the waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra.- Early life and studies :...
, Ben Lee
Ben Lee
Benjamin Michael "Ben" Lee is an ARIA Award winning musician and actor. Lee began his career as a musician at the age of 14 with the Sydney band Noise Addict, but focused on his solo career when the band broke up in 1995. He appeared as the protagonist in the Australian film The Rage in Placid Lake...
, and former Spice Girls
Spice Girls
The Spice Girls were a British pop girl group formed in 1994. The group consisted of Victoria Beckham , Melanie Brown, Emma Bunton, Melanie Chisholm and Geri Halliwell. They were signed to Virgin Records and released their debut single, "Wannabe" in 1996, which hit number-one in more than 30...
singer Emma Bunton
Emma Bunton
Emma Lee Bunton is an English pop singer/songwriter and TV and radio presenter. She was a member of the 1990s girl group, the Spice Girls, in which she was known as Baby Spice as she was the youngest member. In 2010, she joined the judging panel on ITV's Dancing on Ice...
have appeared.
Theme tune
The theme tune to Neighbours was composed by Tony HatchTony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
whose then wife, Jackie Trent
Jackie Trent
Jackie Trent is an English singer, songwriter, and actress.-Career:Trent's first stage appearance was as a ten-year-old ingenue in the pantomime Babes In The Wood, but her primary interest was a career in pop music...
, wrote the lyrics. Since 1985, there have been six versions of the theme tune. The song has been voted the world's most recognised television theme song and the lyrics were famously quoted by John Smith, then British Shadow Chancellor
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the title held by the British Cabinet minister who is responsible for all economic and financial matters. Often simply called the Chancellor, the office-holder controls HM Treasury and plays a role akin to the posts of Minister of Finance or Secretary of the...
, in a House of Commons debate on Government economic policy. As of 2007, the theme tune to Neighbours is sung by Sandra de Jong.
Titles
Since Neighbours began in 1985, it has used its opening titles sequence to introduce the major characters which currently feature in the show. The sequences often feature the characters in family or domestic groups. Each episode's titles sequence was preceded by a recap of events from recent episodes featuring the characters who were to appear in the new episode.In 2002, Neighbours debuted an all new style of titles with a remixed version of the theme tune. The titles showed characters together in groups according to gender, a change from the previous ones which were taken outside. 2007 saw Neighbours debut an updated theme and new "optimistic, contemporary" titles. A photo booth montage was played and characters were seen rowing boats, walking along piers and eating outside. The sequence also contained shots of upcoming scenes.
In August 2009, Neighbours introduced a new titles format. The first episode of each week begins with a trailer previewing the week's events. The usual recap of storylines switched to after the opening titles of each episode for the first time since 1998. The end of episode teasers returned and are now made in-house by the Neighbours production team. In September 2009, Susan Bower announced that Neighbours would introduce new opening titles for the 25th anniversary and they would feature a bit of "bling". The new titles were created by Visual Playground, who shot a series of scenes featuring the cast on Ramsay Street. The titles made their debut on 18 March 2010.
Awards and nominations
Neighbours has received a wide variety of awards and nominations throughout its run. The show has received 75 Logie AwardLogie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
nominations, of which it has won 30. It has also been nominated for "Most Popular Daytime Programme" at the National Television Awards
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted on by the general public. Because of the way the awards are decided, winners are...
in five of the six years from 2000 to 2006. In 1997, the show won an award for Best Episode in A Television Drama Serial at the Australian Film Institute Awards
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
in 1997. Two Neighbours actors have been nominated for Rose D'Or
Rose d'Or
The Rose d’Or is one of the most important international festivals in entertainment television. It was founded in Montreux in 1961 and has taken place in Lucerne since 2004. Producers, executives from independent and public service broadcasters and heads of production companies from over 40...
awards, once in 2004 for Ryan Moloney
Ryan Moloney
Ryan Moloney is an Australian actor best known for his portrayal of the fictional character Jarrod "Toadfish" Rebecchi in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Before Neighbours:...
and again in 2005 for Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne
Jackie Woodburne is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress.-Personal life:Woodburne was born in Carrickfergus, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Her father was a member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary. She has two older siblings: John and Stephen. At age three she emigrated with her family to...
. Neighbours has also won two Australian Writers' Guild
Australian Writers' Guild
The Australian Writers' Guild is the professional association for all performance writers, that is, writers for film, television, radio, theatre, video and new media. The AWG was established in 1962 and is recognised throughout the industry in Australia as being the voice of performance writers...
awards.
Video game
In 1991, an officially licensed video game of Neighbours was created by Ian Copeland and developed by Impulze for the ZX SpectrumZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
, Commodore 64
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64 is an 8-bit home computer introduced by Commodore International in January 1982.Volume production started in the spring of 1982, with machines being released on to the market in August at a price of US$595...
, Atari ST
Atari ST
The Atari ST is a home/personal computer that was released by Atari Corporation in 1985 and commercially available from that summer into the early 1990s. The "ST" officially stands for "Sixteen/Thirty-two", which referred to the Motorola 68000's 16-bit external bus and 32-bit internals...
and Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
; it was re-released by Zeppelin Games in 1992. In the game, the player took on the role of Scott Robinson and had to skateboard
Skateboard
A skateboard is typically a specially designed plywood board combined with a polyurethane coating used for making smoother slides and stronger durability, used primarily for the activity of skateboarding. The first skateboards to reach public notice came out of the surfing craze of the early 1960s,...
around four whole courses.
DVD releases
Neighbours has released three DVDs containing viewer's favourite and iconic episodes. Neighbours: Defining Moments was the first DVD box set released in 2002. It is a compilation of fifteen classic episodes, including Des and Daphne's wedding and the deaths of Todd LandersTodd Landers
Not to be confused with Simpsons character Todd FlandersTodd Robert Landers is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Kristian Schmid. He made his first on-screen appearance on 15 February 1988. Todd died on 13 July 1992, but reappeared as a ghost the...
(Kristian Schmid) and Jim Robinson. The DVD also contains a photo gallery. The Neighbours: The Iconic Episodes Volume 1 DVD box set was released in 2008 and contains twenty-three episodes, the 1000th episode party celebration special and a photo gallery. Episodes include Scott and Charlene's wedding, Kerry Bishop
Kerry Bishop
Kerry Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Linda Hartley-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 February 1989. Kerry is the only daughter of Mavis and Harold Bishop and sister to David Bishop. She gave birth to a daughter, Sky, and...
's (Linda Hartley-Clark) death and the arrival of the Kennedy and Scully families. The DVD was released by Shock Entertainment
Shock Records
Shock Records is Australia's largest independent record label. It helps distribute records from overseas records labels such as Epitaph Records, and also for small record labels designed specifically for that band such as Cement Records...
and FremantleMedia. Neighbours: The Iconic Episodes Volume Two contains twenty-four episodes over three discs. Episodes included are the Lassiter's complex fire and Harold Bishop's reappearance. One disc is dedicated to Minogue and her character, Charlene. In 2012, early episodes of Neighbours will be released on three DVD box sets in Germany.
External links
- Neighbours at the Official AU website
- Neighbours at the Official UK website
- Neighbours at What's on TVWhat's On TVWhat's on TV is a weekly television listings magazine published by IPC Media, a Time Warner subsidiary.-Overview:What's on TV is a weekly UK television magazine. It publishes features, TV listings, news and gossip from soap operas, as well as puzzles and competitions...
- Neighbours at The Perfect Blend