Neighbours

This article is about an Australian soap opera. For other articles with similar names, see Neighbours (disambiguation).

Neighbours
File:Neighbours.png Neighbours title card
Created by	Reg Watson
Starring	See Cast section below
Theme music composer	Tony Hatch Theme music Jackie Trent Lyrics
Country of origin	Australia
No. of episodes	5197 (as of April 24 2007)
Production
Executive producers	Reg Watson Don Battye Ian Bradley Stanley Walsh Riccardo Pellizzeri
Producers	John Holmes Tony MacDonald Dave Worthington Sally Anne Kerr Peter Dodds
Running time	22 min
Original release
Network	File:Channelseven.svg Channel Seven (1985) File:Network TEN.svg Channel Ten (1986-)
Release	March 18 1985 – Present

Neighbours is a long-running Australian soap opera, which began airing in March 1985. It was created by Reg Watson and was produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation until the end of 2006. As of 2007, the Reg Grundy Organisation and Crackerjack Productions were merged to become FremantleMedia Australia, who are now producing Neighbours. Neighbours has a G classification, signifying that its content is suitable for viewers of any age.

The series follows the daily lives of several families who live in the six houses at the end of Ramsay Street, a quiet cul-de-sac in the fictional, middle class suburb of Erinsborough. Storylines explore the romances, family problems, domestic squabbles, and other key life events affecting the various residents. More than most serials, Neighbours features a large proportion of children and teenagers amongst its ever-rotating cast.

Neighbours celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2005 with some special episodes which featured appearances from several former members of the cast.

History and popularity

Through its entire run in Australia Neighbours has screened as five 22-minute (excluding commerical breaks) episodes a week, shown each weeknight in an early-evening slot. The 1985 season aired on the Seven Network, at 5.30 p.m. in Sydney and at 6.30 p.m. in Melbourne and other regions. From its second year the series switched to Network Ten. Between 1986 and 1991 the series was screened by Network Ten at 7.00 p.m; since 1992 Network Ten have broadcast the show at 6:30 p.m.

The series originally aired on the Seven Network in 1985, but - unusually for an Australian-produced series - switched networks, moving to Network Ten in 1986 after being cancelled by Channel Seven.

In 1985, the Melbourne-produced programme had underperformed in the crucial Sydney market leading to the Seven Network cancelling the series at the end of that year. Neighbours was immediately picked up by the rival Network Ten . Network Ten began broadcasting the series 20 January 1986 . On Ten, it initially attracted low ratings . The Network worked hard to publicise the series ; they revamped the show, adding several new, younger cast members including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan as Scott and Charlene, while a concerted publicity drive largely focused on these new actors 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 for the series and by the end of 1987 it was attracting high ratings . Australian audiences waned considerably by the early 1990s , although viewing figures had recovered slightly by the end of the decade .

In the 2000s rival soap opera Home and Away had emerged as more popular in Australia. Home and Away, which airs at 7.00 p.m. Monday to Friday in Australia, averages 1.2 million viewers there a night. As of 2004 Neighbours was regularly attracting just under a million viewers per episode, low for Australian prime time television. Neighbours is more popular in the UK, where it screens on BBC One usually attracting between around five million viewers between its two showings.

2007 revamp

In 2007, it was decided that Neighbours should be revamped in order to attract higher ratings. This would include filming the show in HDTV, add a new family to the show, and feature a new version of the show's familiar theme song. It has been said that the quality of storylines should also change to become less sensationalised allowing the show to go back to its roots. As well as many cast members departing, many new characters will be introduced, including the new family. These changes will come into effect over several months, although latest rumours suggest the new theme music and graphics package could debut in September.

Broadcast schedule

Australian broadcasts

Through its entire run in Australia it has screened as five 22-minute episodes a week, shown each weeknight in an early-evening slot. The 1985 season aired on the Seven Network, at 5.30 p.m. in Sydney and at 6.30 p.m. in Melbourne and other regions. From its second year the series switched to Network Ten. Between 1986 and 1991 the series was screened by Network Ten at 7.00 p.m., and from 1992 they have aired the show at 6:30 p.m. Neighbours is on air for approximately 49 weeks per year. It airs from early January to late December, and goes off air for three weeks during the Christmas/New Year break.

United Kingdom broadcasts

The show is popular in the United Kingdom where it quickly gained a cult following after it began airing there on October 27, 1986. BBC One began by screening it at 1.25 p.m.-1.50 p.m. until moving it to 1.50 p.m.-2.10 p.m. before moving it to the current 1.40 p.m.-2.05 p.m. with a repeat the next morning at 10.00am. The repeat episode was later moved to 5.35 p.m.-6.00 p.m. by controller Michael Grade on the advice of his daughter. In the mid 1990s during Wimbledon it was shown at 7.00 p.m.-7.20 p.m.. In the late 1980s it regularly had a UK audience of over eighteen million and was watched by more people than the population of Australia at that time . Originally the UK were eighteen months behind Australia's airings but in recent years they have caught up by screening more episodes each year than are produced in Australia; in Australia the series is not broadcast over summer.

In the UK, episodes are generally shown three months after their original Australian broadcast. Since October 2000 the BBC has frequently removed the show from its schedule during major sports tournaments such as Wimbledon and Bank Holidays to accommodate the programme's four-week summer break in Australia. However an exception to the Bank Holiday stoppages was made twice in the space of one week for the first time in the 18 years that the BBC has been airing the show. However, both times, Neighbours would only show once, in a lunchtime slot but up to 45 minutes earlier than normal. The date this took place on was Good Friday 2007 when the BBC aired 102 Dalmatians instead of the evening show but aired the show at 1.00 [the show normally starts between 1.40 and 1.45], and also on Easter Monday 2007 too.

Accounting for the duplication of viewers across its two UK showings a day, the show rates on average over five million viewers a day, making it the highest rated Commonwealth import on British television and one of the most popular international imports, rating higher than US programmes such as Desperate Housewives and Lost. Rumours are currently circulating that the BBC plans to give 'first-look' Neighbours on the broadcaster's digital channel BBC Three in order to boost that channel's ratings. Most likely, the episode following BBC One's most recent broadcast will be shown after 7 p.m. However, the episode could even be up-to-date with the Australian episodes.

The BBC have confirmed that they are committed to keeping ths show when the current contract expires, if the price is right, despite interest from both Five and ITV.

Other international broadcasts

It also airs every evening on Irish TV station RTÉ Two at 5:30 p.m., and is repeated the following day at around 7.00a.m on RTÉ One. These episodes are also about three months behind the Australian network.

The show has also been sold to television networks in many other countries. Episodes from 1999 were aired for a six-week trial basis on the American channel Oxygen in March of 2004. At first, it was shown in the afternoon opposite higher-rated American soaps such as The Young and the Restless and All My Children, which gave the show anemic ratings from the first airing; the people who would be most interested in the show were watching other, more established serials. After a couple of weeks, the show moved to a late-night time slot and eventually left the air entirely. It was not the first Australian soap opera to be aired in the United States: The Sullivans, Prisoner, Home and Away, The Young Doctors, Paradise Beach, and Pacific Drive had also been previously shown.

The show aired in Canada on regional television channel 47, Toronto-based CFMT (now part of the OMNI network owned by Rogers Communications Inc.), for a period of about five years in the early to mid-1990s, starting in September 1990. The channel started the series right from the beginning and aired two episodes back to back for the first several months. It never achieved the audience that youth-oriented cable network YTV saw at the same time with Home and Away and was dropped.

It has been long aired by Television New Zealand and screens twice daily at 11:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. It was initially aired by TVNZ when Neighbours started showing in New Zealand in 1988, but by 1996 it had been removed from the schedule. Canwest's TV4 (now C4) picked it up and aired it from 1997 to 2000. They dropped it in 2000, and it returned to TV2 in 2002, where it stayed till early 2007, until moving to TVOne in February 2007, and screens at the time of 3:50.

Neighbours is aired in Belgium on the VRT at 5:30 p.m., Monday to Saturday. The show has been broadcast in Belgium since 1988; they are three years behind Australia. In Kenya, Neighbours airs on the KTN network at 12.30 p.m., Monday to Friday with an omnibus on Sunday mornings. They are approximately three years behind Australia. Neighbours is also aired in Barbados on CBC8, Monday to Friday. They are approximately four years behind Australia

Storylines

Main article: Storylines of Neighbours

In the beginning, the show mainly focused on two families, the Robinsons and the Ramsays (after whom "Ramsay Street" is named) who were - as the name of the show suggests - neighbours. The show initially gained notoriety for its depiction of the teenage romance of Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell (played by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue respectively). Their Romeo and Juliet-style romance culminated in a wedding was keenly anticipated by viewers and is still fondly regarded by fans as being one of the high points of the series. Another popular couple in the show's early days was the pairing of Des Clarke (Paul Keane) and Daphne Lawrence (Elaine Smith), a couple who also lived on Ramsay Street alongside the Ramsays and the Robinsons. Daphne's death in 1988 is still considered as one of the most emotional moments on the show. Daphne's final words were the croaked 'I love you, Clarkey'. It was the first death of a main character.

Until recently, both the Ramsays and the Robinsons had been written out of the series, with the sole exception of the Bishop family, who are related to the Ramsays through the marriage of Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) to the late Madge Ramsay (Anne Charleston). However, one of the original cast members, Stefan Dennis, made a return to his signature role as Paul Robinson as a regular in the final episode of 2004. Today the show revolves around the Robinson, Hoyland, Timmins, Bishop, Cammeniti, Brown/Yeats and Kennedy/Kinski families, along with several other residents who live in Ramsay Street.

File:Neighbours Harold and Lou.png

Ian Smith and Tom Oliver as Harold and Lou, the two longest serving members of the cast.

In the late 1990s, Neighbours gained the reputation as being a somewhat conservative soap with topics such as sex generally not being included in the storylines due to its early evening timeslot (Earlier storylines involving controversial topics such as incest and teenage sex were often censored by the BBC in the UK, which may account for the reluctance on the part of producers to depict controversial issues). In the past two years, this has started to change, with the show now regularly featuring its teenage characters discussing issues such as sex and contraception in a manner which has not been seen on the show since the mid 1990s. In late 2004, the show depicted a lesbian storyline involving Sky Mangel (Stephanie McIntosh) and Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval). In early 2006, a relationship started between the 18-year-old Stingray Timmins (Ben Nicholas) and 14-year-old Rachel Kinski (Caitlin Stasey), although the two did not actually sleep together. There were also two borderline incest storylines; the first saw Lucy Robinson (Melissa Bell) in a relationship with her half brother Glen (Richard Huggett) - whom her dad had fathered during the Vietnam War - despite both knowing that they were related. They ended things however, as they knew they should act like brother and sister. The second involved Serena Bishop (Lara Sacher) and Luka Dokich (Keelan O'Hehir), who embarked on an intimate relationship, blissfully ignorant of the fact that they were half-siblings, sharing a mother, Liljana Bishop (Marcella Russo). The character of Sindi Parker (Marisa Warrington) was also involved in storylines involving stripping and prostitution. More recently, there have been strong indications that Katya Kinski (Dichen Lachman) had been involved in the pornography industry and had taken hard drugs. She was also shown stealing cars for shady associates from her past.

File:Neighbours Karl and Susan.png

Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne as Karl and Susan Kennedy.

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

Late in the 2005 season came a highly dramatic storyline where a large contingent of Ramsay Street regulars went on a joyflight on a Douglas DC-3 aircraft over Bass Strait. A time bomb had also been planted in the plane's undercarriage. During the flight Izzy discovered a note in her seat pocket addressed 'To my one and only' which read 'Think about your life and everything you've done.'

The bomb soon went off, sending the plane crashing into the ocean below. David (Kevin Harrington), Liljana and Serena were presumably killed, although only David's body was recovered. Paul, Elle (Pippa Black), Izzy and Sky were quickly found and taken to hospital. Susan was missing for a few days but eventually rescued. Dylan (Damien Bodie) and Connor (Patrick Harvey), who believed Dylan was wanted for armed robbery, survived washed up on a desolate beach and decided to fake their own deaths by assuming new identities, but they eventually returned to Erinsborough. Through flashbacks and conversations with his comatose brother Cameron, Robert Robinson (both played by Adam Hunter), Paul's son, was revealed to have been the one who planted the bomb on the plane; a crime which Paul believed to have been committed by Cameron until Robert admitted it when he attempted to kill Paul.

Paul was eventually rescued and vowed to get revenge on his son. Robert soon returned and kidnapped Katya, despite being in love with her. Paul and Gail staged a fake wedding in a successful attempt to lure Robert back. Paul told Robert to show himself and he eventually did and shot Paul. As Robert was being handcuffed he realised that he had failed to kill Paul as he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Robert was then aresseted and was eventually found guilty for the deaths of David, Liljana and Serena Bishop, the attempted murder of Paul Robinson, and the abduction of Katya Kinski.

File:Stoadie.jpg

Carla Bonner and Ryan Moloney as Stephanie Hoyland and Toadie Rebecchi.

In mid-2006 Sky became pregnant with what she believed was Dylan's baby, but was later told that the baby was a product of a one night stand with his brother, Stingray. Sky kept this a secret to have a family with Dylan, however, Elle Robinson who was dating Dylan at the time, faked a life-threatening disease so that Dylan would stay with her. Dylan later found out that Elle was faking it, and went back to Sky. Later on, Cameron was hit by Max's (Stephen Lovatt) car after chasing Katya to give her her purse back (Max thought it was the escaped Robert). He died soon afterwards.

Elle then made it her personal mission to drive Max insane, succeeding in convincing him of insanity through a number of setups. Max disappeared leaving behind only a family photo and jacket, distressing Steph and Boyd. Elle subsequently became aware of the extent of her wrongdoing and hired a private investigator to find him - with no success, as Harold later informedSteph (Carla Bonner) and her mother Lyn that Max did not want to be found.

Carmella Cammeniti's (Natalie Blair) cousin Teresa (Hannah Greenwood) threw a pot of boiling water on Carmella and set fire to Erinsborough Hospital just as Sky was giving birth to a baby girl. As they evacuated, the baby was stolen by Stingray, who later passed out in bushes with her because of intoxication. Dylan found the baby and kept her for the three days that followed, without contacting anybody. Kerry was later anonymously returned to Sky by Elle, and Carmella was left with 'permanent' facial burns, although these healed after she saw a skin specialist.

Dylan "knew" that the baby was his, so the baby now named Kerry (Claudine Henningsen) (after her late grandmother), Stingray and Dylan got a blood test. It turned out that Dr. Kennedy had made a mistake and that the real father of the baby was in fact Dylan.

In the final week of 2006, after seven years living on the street, Lyn Scully married Paul Robinson (as it had been brewing for months). Paul just hours after the wedding, decided to break up with Lyn and go on with Rosetta Cammeniti (Natalie Saleeba), leaving innocent Lyn's life fall down around her. She left for the Maldives (their choice of honeymoon) with her son Oscar (Ingo Dammer-Smith), but found she did not want to face Paul on her return, so left permanently to live with her mother Valda (Joan Sydney) in Shelley Bay.

Starting in late 2006 was a long-running storyline in which Boyd Hoyland (Kyal Marsh) had an affair with a girl named Glenn Forrest while he was in Tasmania searching for his father Max. When Janae first found out she became very upset, however she eventually forgave Boyd as she believed them only to have kissed. In February 2007, Glenn arrived in Erinsborough to visit her best friend Elle, not knowing that Boyd lived in the same street as her. Glenn told Janae about their affair, and Janae broke up with Boyd after finding out that he still loves her. Boyd and Glenn decided to officially become a couple. After Janae confessed to her family about the breakup, Stingray and Dylan beat up Boyd. Glenn called the police and the police officer who came, Allan Steiger (Janelle Timmins' present boyfriend) was very unsympathetic, claiming he will make sure the report doesn't take priority on his caseload.

In March 2007, Stingray Timmins died at his mother's surprise birthday party. His brother Dylan went downhill fast, and even tried to hurt his own father when he returned. He went into denial, trashing the Scarlet Bar and then wanting Allan Steiger to lock him up. Steiger then thought it would be for the best if Kim took Dylan away to sort himself out.

As of the end of March 2007, Pepper Steiger was getting creepy letters and gifts from a person believed to be her ex-boyfriend Kevin Casey. Later, with her father, she visited his mother Mary Casey who has lived in Erinsborough for sometime. She told the police that she hasn't seen her son recently, but later told Pepper in confidence that she did see him.

Cast

See also: List of cast members of Neighbours, List of Neighbours characters, and Past characters of Neighbours

Current cast members

See also: Current characters of Neighbours

Actor	Role	Status
Aaron Aulsebrook-Walker	Charlie Hoyland	2006-
Pippa Black	Elle Robinson	2005-
Natalie Blair	Carmella Cammeniti	2003-2005 (recurring); 2006-
Carla Bonner	Stephanie Hoyland	1999-
Sam Clark	Ringo Brown	2007-
Stefan Dennis	Paul Robinson	1985-1993, 2004-
Nell Feeney	Janelle Timmins	2004 (guest); 2005-2007
Alan Fletcher	Karl Kennedy	1994-
Claudine Henningsen	Kerry Mangel	2006-2007
David Hoflin	Oliver Barnes	2007-
Adelaide Kane	Lolly Allen	(#3) 2007
Ben Lawson	Frazer Yeats	2006-
Kyal Marsh	Boyd Hoyland	2002-2007
Stephanie McIntosh	Sky Mangel	(#2) 2003-2007
Ryan Moloney	Toadfish Rebecchi	1995 (recurring); 1996-
Daniel O'Connor	Ned Parker	2005-
Tom Oliver	Lou Carpenter	1988 (guest); 1992-
Natalie Saleeba	Rosetta Cammeniti	2006-
Sianoa Smit-McPhee	Bree Timmins	2005-2007
Ian Smith	Harold Bishop	1987-1991; 1996-
Caitlin Stasey	Rachel Kinski	2005-
Eliza Taylor-Cotter	Janae Hoyland	2005-
Matthew Werkmeister	Zeke Kinski	2005-
Nicky Whelan	Pepper Steiger	2006-
Jackie Woodburne	Susan Kennedy	1994-

Recurring cast members

See also: Recurring characters of Neighbours

Actor	Role
Rachel Gordon	Charlotte Stone
Scott Johnson	Terrence Chesterton
Andrew Larkins	Tom Scully
Zen Ledden	Kevin Casey
Rowena Wallace	Mary Casey

Coming and going cast members

Coming

Actor	Role	Status
Penny Cook	Prue Brown	Debuts June 2007
Jane Hall	Unknown	Debuts June 2007
Steve Bastoni	Unknown	Debuts July 2007
Nikki Coghill	Unknown	Debuts July 2007
Fiona Corke	Gail Robinson	Temp. Returns 2007
Benjamin Hart	Adam Rhodes	Debuts 2007
Fletcher O'Leary	Mickey	Debuts June 2007

Going

Actor	Role	Status
Adelaide Kane	Lolly Allen	Exits May 2007
Nell Feeney	Janelle Timmins	Exits July 2007
Sianoa Smit-McPhee	Bree Timmins	Exits July 2007
Kyal Marsh	Boyd Hoyland	Exits August 2007
Stephanie McIntosh	Sky Mangel	Exits August 2007
Claudine Henningsen	Kerry Mangel	Exits August 2007

Before they were stars

Actor	Role	Duration
Alan Dale	Jim Robinson	1985-1993
Kylie Minogue	Charlene Robinson	1986-1988
Jason Donovan	Scott Robinson (#2)	1986-1989
Guy Pearce	Mike Young	1986-1989
Russell Crowe	Kenny Larkin	1987
Craig McLachlan	Henry Ramsay	1987-1989
Natalie Imbruglia	Beth Willis	1992-1993, 1994
Jesse Spencer	Billy Kennedy	1994-2000, 2005
Radha Mitchell	Catherine O'Brien	1996-1997
Nathan Phillips	John 'Teabag' Teasdale	1999
Holly Valance	Felicity Scully	1999-2002, 2005
Delta Goodrem	Nina Tucker	2002-2003, 2004, 2005
Stephanie McIntosh	Sky Mangel (#2)	2003-2007
Natalie Bassingthwaighte	Isabelle Hoyland	2003-2006, 2007

Deceased cast members

Actor	Role	Duration	Date of death
Myra De Groot	Eileen Clarke	1985-1988	4 April 1988
Francis Bell	Max Ramsay	1985-1986	May 1994
Anne Haddy	Helen Daniels	1985-1997	6 June 1999
June Salter	Bess Robinson	1985 (guest)	15 September 2001
Olivia Hamnett	Hilary Grant	1998 (guest)	November 2001
Esme Melville	Mrs. York Jean Halliday Moina Beresford Rose Belker	1986 (guest) 1992 (guest) 1994 (guest) 2002-2006 (recurring)	14 September 2006
Richard Morgan	Damon Gaffney	2000 (guest)	23 December 2006

Shane Connor's sacking

After being fired from the series in 2003, former cast member Shane Connor (who played character Joe Scully) filed for wrongful dismissal. Evidence presented in court in October 2005 described alleged on-set problems such as arguments with the cast and crew, lateness and absenteeism. This behaviour has been connected to the actor's period of drug use, after the death of his brother. Connor admitted that he'd had problems in that period, prior to receiving a final warning in April 2003, but contested Grundy's claims that he had acted unprofessionally immediately before his dismissal in September 2003. He won the case and was awarded AUD $196,709 plus interest and costs. Connor is now living in the UK, where he is appearing in commercials and makes appearances at university students' unions.

Celebrity guest appearances

File:AndrewGNeighbours.jpg

Andrew G guest stars

• Warwick Capper as himself (1986)
• Molly Meldrum as himself (1986)
• Grant Kenny as himself (1986)
• Derek Nimmo as Lord Ledgerwood (1990)
• Darryl Cotton as himself (1990)
• Mike Whitney as himself (1994)
• Chris Lowe of The Pet Shop Boys (1995)
• John Hinde as himself (1995)
• Iain Hewitson as himself (1995)
• Clive James as a postman (1996)
• Barry Sheene as himself (1997)
• Dave Graney as himself (1998)
• Robert DiPierdomenico as himself (1999)
• Peter Chapman as himself (1999)
• Human Nature as themselves (2000)
• The Wiggles (2001)
• Glenn Wheatley as himself (2002)
• Jude Bolton as himself (2002)
• Brett Kirk as himself (2002)
• Karl Kruszelnicki as himself (2004)
• Shane Warne as himself (2006)
• Rove McManus as himself (2006)
• Brodie Holland as himself (2006)
• Andrew G as himself (2007)
• Emma Bunton as herself (2007)
• Michael Parkinson (2007)
• Julian Clary (2007)
• Neil Morrissey as a priest(2007)
• Terry Nutkins (2007)
• Jo Whiley (2007)
• Jonathan Coleman (2007)
• Sinitta (2007)
• Matt Lucas (2007)
• David Walliams (2007)
• Daryl Braithwaite (2007)

Theme

The Neighbours theme music was written by Tony Hatch with lyrics by his then wife, Jackie Trent. Since 1985 there have been five distinctly different renditions of the theme broadcast on television. They were sung by the following artists:

• Version One: Barry Crocker (1985-1989)
• Version Two: Barry Crocker (1989-1992)
• Version Three: Greg Hind (1992-1998)
• Version Four: Paul Norton & Wendy Stapleton (1999-2001)
• Version Five: Janine Maunder (2002-present)

Each version has received during its stint some minor changes to keep it fresh. For example, version one received a few edits following the "day", "away", "blend" and "friends" climaxes during its run on Channel Seven in 1985. The following years on Network TEN used an unedited version.

The opening theme of version two changed frequently: for part of 1990 there was a full length song, however, mid-way through 1990 this changed to a 10-second instrumental piece used in episode 1 for a few weeks, before being replaced by a vocal version of the same short piece until version three debuted in mid-1992.

Version three used a funky 23 second opening song until 1994 when a slightly longer piece was implemented. This piece was used as a closing theme for United Kingdom broadcasts from 1995 onwards, despite the original full version being retained elsewhere.

Version four debuted in 1999, again with a shortened theme for UK transmission. The only changes made to the full-length closing theme during this era was the removal of the backing line "that's when good" from mid-2000 onwards, although this remained outside of Australia.

Version five again used a shorter piece of closing music for the UK market, with the rest of the world using the same 76 second variant.

During 2005, producers of the programme suggested there would be a new theme tune the following year with new opening titles to match. New titles, and a slightly remixed theme tune debuted the following year. All markets began transmitting the same 45 second edited version of the closing theme (UK broadcasts retained the previous 35 second arrangement for a few weeks). However, by mid-2006, the UK had received a slightly edited version of the new closing bringing it back in line with the 35 seconds allowed by the BBC, whilst Australia had gone back to a near-full length track, albeit with minor edits at various sections to keep running time to a minimum. The opening theme has remained unchanged throughout this run.

Several articles in the international press have hinted at there being a new version of the theme tune which will likely debut in the 2008 season as part of an impending revamp of the show.

Locations

See also: Erinsborough

View of Pin Oak Court, Vermont South, the filming location used to represent the fictional Ramsay Street in Neighbours

Neighbours is taped in Melbourne. Interior scenes are taped at the Global Television studios in Nunawading, Victoria in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. These studios were previously the Network Ten studios; Ten moved to South Yarra selling their previous studios but continued to tape some of their programmes there, leasing the facilities from the new owners. Pin Oak Court in nearby Vermont South has been used for outdoor taping to represent the fictional Ramsay Street through the programme's entire run, including the episodes produced by the Seven Network.

In the story Ramsay Street is situated in the fictional suburb of Erinsborough. Throughout most of the series' run it has not particularly been implied which city of Australia the suburb was set in. Occasionally, however, evidence appears on screen and in dialogue that suggests that Erinsborough is a suburb of Melbourne. In 1997 much was made of a group of residents leaving for a day trip to attend the Melbourne Cup, and several of the characters show their support for AFL teams (a sport endemic in Melbourne), there have also been several guest appearances by AFL players, and Melbourne landmarks and features can be identified in some scenes outside of Ramsay Street.

In the story, Erinsborough is often contrasted with the neighbouring, and equally fictitious, suburb of Eden Hills. Other locations often mentioned (and sometimes seen) in the show include West Waratah, Waratah Heights, Elliot Park and Anson's Corner, as well as real towns in the state of Victoria (the capital of which is Melbourne) such as Colac, Shepparton, and Oakey in Queensland.

Filming in the United Kingdom

Neighbours' second UK-shot storyline aired in Australia during the weeks commencing 19 and 26 March 2007 and will be broadcast in the UK approximately around June 2007. In the story Susan and Karl visit the UK on holiday and accidentally meet Izzy, who had moved there after leaving Ramsay Street. Karl also proposes to Susan in the London Eye, and they were married for a third time, with Neil Morrissey acting as a priest. This story also featured many celebrity cameos such as Emma Bunton, Michael Parkinson, Jonathan Coleman and Sinitta.

Awards

The show and some cast members have won several Logies in its time. Winners of the Logies are listed below:

• 1986: Peter O'Brien, for Most Popular New Talent.
• 1987: Peter O'Brien, for Most Popular Actor
• 1987: Kylie Minogue, for Most Popular Actress
• 1987: Most Popular Drama Series
• 1988: Kylie Minogue, for the Most Popular Personality (Gold Logie)
• 1988: Peter O'Brien, for Most Popular Actor
• 1988: Kylie Minogue, for Most Popular Actress
• 1988: Most Popular Drama Series
• 1989: Craig McLachlan, for Most Popular Actor
• 1989: Annie Jones, for Most Popular Actress
• 1989: Most Popular Series
• 1990: Craig McLachlan, for Most Popular Personality (Gold Logie)
• 1990: Craig McLachlan, for Most Popular Actor
• 1990: Rachel Friend, for Most Popular Actress
• 1990: Most Popular Series
• 1991: Richard Huggett, for Most Popular New Talent
• 1998: Brooke Satchwell, for Most Popular New Talent
• 1999: Daniel MacPherson, for Most Popular New Talent - Male
• 2003: Patrick Harvey, for Most Popular New Talent - Male
• 2003: Delta Goodrem, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 2005: Natalie Blair, for Most Popular New Talent - Female
• 2005: Hall of Fame (the series)