30 years on, everybody still needs good ‘Neighbours’
Australians viewers got their first glimpse of the show in 1985 — it opened with one of its characters Danny Ramsay awakening from a bad dream.
Shortly later it hit Irish and British TV screens, pulling in millions of viewers and spawning a new generation of heartthrobs.
Neighbours launched the careers of stars including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce, Margot Robbie, Delta Goodrem, Holly Valance, and Natalie Imbruglia.
Minogue played Charlene Mitchell for two years from 1986 until 1988, before going on to become one of the world’s biggest pop stars —with record sales of more than 70m worldwide.
Donovan, who played her on-screen boyfriend then husband Scott Robinson, also topped the singles listings in Britain four times, once with Minogue in their duet ‘Especially for you’.
Award-winning actor Pearce, who has appeared in films such as LA Confidential, Memento and The King’s Speech, played Mike Young in Neighbours for three years from 1986 until 1989.
Pop star Imbruglia, famous for her version of the song ‘Torn’, played Beth Brennan from 1992-1993, with a brief return in 1994.
Goodrem played Nina Tucker for a year from 2002-2003, and developed a successful musical career, selling over 6m albums.
Actress Robbie played Donna Freedman from 2008 to 2011. She has appeared in films such as About Time and The Wolf of Wall Street, both in 2013.
Actress, recording artist and model Valance began her career as Felicity ‘Flick’ Scully on the show in 1999, and stayed in it until 2002.
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