Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ian Smith. The character was loosely based on the UK’s Jon, and to a lesser extent his younger brother, Jim White. Smith was offered the role by the show's creator and executive producer Reg Watson. Smith made his first screen appearance as Harold during the episode broadcast on 30 January 1987. He departed in September 1991, but returned five years later in October 1996. Harold remained on screen for over twelve years, making him one of the longest-running characters in the show's history.
Bellbird is an Australian soap opera serial broadcast by the ABC set in the small fictional Victorian rural township of the show's title. The series was produced at the networks Ripponlea TV studios in Elsternwick, Melbourne. The opening title sequence was filmed at Daylesford, Victoria.
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom and Ireland in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small screen since the early 1960s, starting with roles in telemovies, before making appearance's in the various Crawford Productions series starting from the latter 1960s and 1970s, before becoming known for her three different recurring roles in cult classic series Prisoner
Tom Oliver is a British-born Australian retired actor who started his career in theatre in his native country, before emigrating to Australia.
Terence Donovan, also billed as Terence J. Donovan and Terry Donovan, is an British-Australian actor of stage, television and film, and the father of actor and singer Jason Donovan.
Madge Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as the sister of original character Max Ramsay. She soon becomes the main matriarch of the Ramsay family. Madge arrives with her marriage in tatters, following a brief but passionate affair with Raymond Philips, her son in prison, and her daughter a runaway teen; she rolled up her sleeves and got a job in The Waterhole to support the family as a single mother. She departed on 27 November 1992, before making a return on 7 November 1996. Madge died on 6 April 2001 from terminal pancreatic cancer. Charleston reprised the role for the show's 30th anniversary celebrations from 4–20 March 2015, and for the intended finale on 28 July 2022.
Briony Behets is an English-born Australian former actress who found fame acting in Australian television soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s.
Scott Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours. He was created by Reg Watson as one of the serial's twelve original characters. Originally played by Darius Perkins, he made his debut during the first episode broadcast on 18 March 1985. Perkins was 20 years old when he received the role of teenager Scott. He felt some anxiety about his audition performance and did not think anything was going to come from it, until the production company contacted him a month later to sign on as Scott. When production moved to Network Ten in 1986, producers wanted "a more upfront" Scott and the role was recast to Jason Donovan, who joined the cast following his graduation from school. He made his debut on 12 February 1986, and producers hoped Donovan's blond hair and blue eyes would increase the character's appeal. Perkins later said that he had been physically and mentally exhausted after filming for nine months, and felt unable to continue in the role of Scott.
Joe Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Little. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 8 August 1988. Joe left in 1991 when Little departed the serial. In 2005 Little agreed to reprise the role as part of Neighbours' twentieth anniversary celebrations and remained for four months. Joe's storylines included his bad relationship with his mother, being widowed, life as a single parent and a custody battle to keep his child. Joe is deemed a stereotype Australian man and a likable rogue character. Little returned to Neighbours in 2022 to celebrate the show's final episode.
Sky Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 1 February 1989. The character was originally played by Miranda Fryer until 1991. When Sky was reintroduced on 13 August 2003, Stephanie McIntosh took over the role. She departed on 3 August 2007. McIntosh reprised her role as part of the show's 30th anniversary celebrations on 20 March 2015. She returned for a longer stint as part of the 35th anniversary on 13 March 2020, and made an unannounced cameo appearance in the final episode on 28 July 2022, though her appearance was only broadcast in the Australian cut of the episode.
Eddie Buckingham is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Bob La Castra. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 3 April 1990. La Castra created the character for himself after he was told that casting him in the soap would be difficult due to his ethnic background. Eddie was introduced during a series of episodes set in London. He befriends Madge Bishop and Harold Bishop, and later travels to Australia to visit them. While he is in the country, Eddie lives with the Bishops and runs a food stall. He is portrayed as bright, street wise, and a "typical cockney lovable rogue". The character was written out of the soap when the producers decided to focus on family-oriented drama, and Eddie departed on 28 September 1990.
Jan Russ is an Australian casting director, producer and actor of theatre and has briefly appeared in television guest roles. She is best known as the casting agent for various program's for Grundy Television/Fremantle Media, and is notable for launching the career's of many artists that became international stars.
Neighbours is a long-running Australian television soap opera created by television executive Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel 10 Peach. Since its inception, several spin-offs have been produced, including books, music, DVDs and internet webisodes. Several annuals and books by pulp fiction writer Carl Ruhen were released in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Barry Crocker's version of the theme tune was the first music release from the show, which also has included a Christmas album and the show's love theme. Two potential television spin-offs have reached the pilot stage, while five DVD box sets of Neighbours episodes from the beginning have been released. In 2013, Neighbours launched their first webisode series Steph in Prison. Several other webisode series' has since been released, with the most recent series SheilaTV becoming available from December 2018. Other merchandise includes official video and board games, stationary and clothing.
Guy Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Andrew Williams. The actor was initially hesitant about joining the show, as he had been about to secure a record contract. He made his first screen appearance on 10 September 1991. A few months later, Williams decided to leave Neighbours as he felt unfulfilled by the role. He also wanted more time to pursue his music career. Guy departed on 27 March 1992. Williams reprised his role for one episode as part of the show's 30th anniversary on 18 March 2015.
Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite is a 2015 Australian television documentary, which celebrates 30 years of the soap opera Neighbours. It first aired on Network Ten and Eleven on 16 March 2015, two days before the show celebrated its 30th anniversary. Hosted by actors Stefan Dennis and Tim Phillipps, the documentary features current and former cast members reminiscing about their time on the show and their favourite memories. The results of a poll to find viewers' top five favourite Neighbours moments are also revealed. The documentary received mostly positive reviews from critics, but underperformed in the Australian ratings.
The Neighbours 30th Anniversary was a series of celebrations to mark the 30th anniversary of Australian television soap opera Neighbours. The celebrations span over two weeks, beginning on 4 March 2015 in Australia, while starting on 18 March in the United Kingdom. The anniversary features many storylines, but points around Paul Robinson's Erinsborough festival and the wedding of Daniel Robinson and Amber Turner. The serial's executive producer, Jason Herbison, began planning the 30th anniversary over a year in advance. Over ten former cast members from all eras of the show were invited back to "honour the past and present". Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were also invited, but they both downturned the offer. The celebrations marked Ian Smith and Anne Charleston's returns to Neighbours as Harold and Madge Bishop respectively. Madge was last seen during her death in 2001 and returns as a ghost in Harold's mind, which Herbison was initially worried would not be accepted by Charleston nor Smith, however both approved of it. The storyline was also popular amongst viewers.
