Ramsay family

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Ramsay family
Neighbours family
First appearance18 March 1985 (1985-03-18)
Created by Reg Watson
Introduced by
Duration1985–1992, 1996–2001, 2005, 2009–2016, 2019–2022
Spin-offsNeighbours: The Untold Stories: The Ramsays – A Family Divided (1989)
Family members

The Ramsay family is a fictional family from the Australian soap opera Neighbours . The family were one of three central families created by Reg Watson and introduced in the first episode of Neighbours in March 1985. Watson wanted the Ramsays to be humorous and rougher than the Robinson family. Ramsay Street, a cul-de-sac which is the central setting of the series, is named after the family. In 2001, the last Ramsay, Madge (Anne Charleston), departed the series. Eight years later, a new generation of the Ramsay family was introduced.

Contents

Creation and development

The Ramsay family were one of three central families introduced to viewers when Neighbours began in 1985, created by the show's creator and executive producer Reg Watson. [1] Unlike the Robinsons, Watson wanted "humour and likeable roughness" with the Ramsay family. [2] Josephine Monroe, author of The Neighbours Programme Guide, wrote "The Ramsays are the royal family of Neighbours and their claim on Erinsborough goes back generations." [3] The family originally consisted of Max Ramsay (Francis Bell), his wife Maria Ramsay (Dasha Blahova), and their two sons Shane Ramsay (Peter O'Brien) and Danny Ramsay (David Clencie). [4] The family lived at No. 24 Ramsay Street, one of the original three houses on Neighbours. [3]

Number 24 has been associated with the Ramsay family since 1985. Neighbours - Harolds House.jpg
Number 24 has been associated with the Ramsay family since 1985.

The family were friendly with the Robinsons, but tension briefly developed between the two families when Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) began dating Maria's sister Anna Rossi (Roslyn Gentle). [3] Maria was the first member of the family to leave the show, with Danny and Max following shortly after. [3] The producers then decided to introduce some new Ramsays in the form of Max's sister Madge Mitchell (Anne Charleston) and their brother Tom Ramsay (Gary Files), who took over Max's planned storylines. [3] Shane's departure made way for Madge's children Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue) and Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan), who arrived in 1986 and 1987 respectively. [3] Charlene's romance with Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan) had become popular with Neighbours viewers, who dubbed them "TV's Romeo and Juliet" because they were from feuding families. Their wedding in "Episode 523" famously united the Ramsay and Robinson families. [5] In 2001, Madge, the last remaining Ramsay on the street, died, after Charleston quit the show. [6]

In February 2009, it was announced that a new generation of the Ramsay family would be introduced to the show. [7] At the time, the Ramsays had not appeared in Neighbours for almost a decade. [8] Executive producer Susan Bower said the introduction of the new Ramsay family members was based on the American drama series Party of Five . [9] Paul Robinson's (Stefan Dennis) daughter Elle Robinson (Pippa Black) discovered that Max had a secret daughter with Paul's mother Anne. The affair was kept a secret due to the feud between their families, and Anne moved away with her daughter Jill Ramsay (Peri Cummings). [10] As a result, Elle tracked down Jill and met her three children; Kate Ramsay (Ashleigh Brewer), Harry Ramsay (Will Moore) and Sophie Ramsay (Kaiya Jones). When Jill was killed in a hit and run accident, Kate, Harry and Sophie move to Ramsay Street and eventually become close with their uncle Paul. [10] They lived at No. 24, like the original Ramsays, until it was sold off and Kate and Sophie moved in with Paul. Since then, all three have departed the soap. Charlene and Scott's son, Daniel Robinson (Tim Phillipps) was introduced on 29 April 2014. [11] Two years later, his sister, Madison Robinson (Sarah Ellen), was introduced, [12] and he was written out with his wife, Imogen Willis (Ariel Kaplan). [13] In 2019, producers introduced Gemma Ramsay's (Beth Buchanan) daughter Roxy Willis (Zima Anderson), [14] which leads to a short return for Gemma. [15]

Family members

Reception

In her book, Neighbours: The First 10 Years, Josephine Monroe observed that the Ramsays were "a good foil to the better bred Robinsons". [16] The Sydney Morning Herald's Robin Oliver branded the family "raucous". [17] Andrew Mercado, author of Super Aussie Soaps, believed the family were once "the backbone of the show". [18] In her book Soap opera, Dorothy Hobson describes the family as "more working class than other characters" and stated: "They had working-class jobs but were not represented as cloth cap wearing or dowdy, they were bright and modern and representative of a vibrant and working population." [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell are fictional characters and a supercouple from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. Scott was portrayed by Jason Donovan, and Charlene was portrayed by Kylie Minogue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ramsay Street</span> Fictional cul-de-sac in the Australian soap opera Neighbours

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 on the residents of the street, which was named after Jack Ramsay, the grandfather of original character Max Ramsay. A blackjack game between Jack and Sam Robinson determined whose name the street would be named after. Only six houses on the street are featured on a regular basis; numbers 22 to 32. Number 34 was featured for the only time in 2018. The cul-de-sac is at the end of a long street and the rest of the houses are on the other side of the main road which bisects it. The street behind Ramsay Street is named Mirrabooka Drive. A storyline within the show saw the name of the street nearly changed to Ramsbottom Street. Harold Bishop led a protest against it and won.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madge Bishop</span> Fictional character from an Australian soap opera

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.

The Robinson family are a fictional family from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours. The family were created by Reg Watson and introduced in the first episode of the serial, broadcast on 18 March 1985. The family initially consisted of Jim Robinson, his mother-in-law Helen Daniels, and his four children Paul Robinson, Julie Martin, Scott Robinson, and Lucy Robinson. The Robinsons have one of the largest and most complex family trees in the show's history.

Jim Robinson (<i>Neighbours</i>) Australian soap opera character

Jim Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Alan Dale. Jim was created by Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' twelve original characters. He made his on-screen debut in the soap's first episode, which was broadcast on 18 March 1985. Jim was the patriarch of the Robinson family. Dale departed the show in 1993 after falling out with the producers over pay and his character was killed off on 29 April 1993. Dale filmed some scenes for the serial in September 2018, which aired on 25 December 2018 and 25 March 2019.

Scott Robinson (<i>Neighbours</i>) Fictional character from the soap opera Neighbours

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlene Robinson</span> Fictional character from the soap opera Neighbours

Charlene Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours played by Kylie Minogue. Charlene was introduced to the show along with several new characters, as part of a revamp by Network Ten to increase ratings. Minogue auditioned for the role in 1985, shortly after finishing her high school exams. She attended the audition dressed as the character and casting director Jan Russ cast her in the role. Minogue was initially contracted for a week, but this was later extended through to mid-1988. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 17 April 1986.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gaby Willis</span> Soap opera character

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gemma Ramsay</span> Fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours

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References

  1. Abbott, Kate (17 September 2013). "How we made Neighbours". The Guardian . Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  2. Oliver, Robin (29 May 1989). "Afloat on soapies". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 12 December 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Monroe 1994, p.82–4.
  4. Idato, Michael (14 July 2005). "An institution turns 20". The Age . Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  5. Burfitt, John; Miller, Erin; Walker, Lucy (7–13 April 2012). "One moment in time". TV Week (14): 2.
  6. "Look, behind you! A big bad Neighbour!". The Age . 4 December 2005. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  7. "Return of the Ramsays". Holy Soap . Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  8. Shearer, Geoff (14 May 2009). "Teenager Ashleigh Brewer lands part with Neighbours". The Courier-Mail . Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  9. Rowe, Darren (19 June 2009). "Susan Bower (Executive Producer, 'Neighbours')". Digital Spy . Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  10. 1 2 Herbison, Jason (18–24 July 2009). "Murder on Ramsay Street". Inside Soap : 20.
  11. "Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, meet your TV son on Neighbours, Tim Phillips". The Australian . 20 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
  12. Byrnes, Holly (20 February 2016). "Kylie Minogue sends welcome message to Sarah Ellen, her new TV daughter, joining Neighbours". Herald Sun . Retrieved 20 February 2016.
  13. Ellis, Sarah (23–29 April 2016). "I'm still hoping to meet Kylie and Jason one day!". Inside Soap . No. 16. pp. 40–41.
  14. Powell, Sandy (16 April 2019). "Burnie actress Zima Anderson to debut on Aussie soap opera Neighbours". The Advocate . Retrieved 18 April 2019.
  15. Kilkelly, Daniel (22 April 2019). "Neighbours reveals surprise link between Terese Willis and newcomer Vance". Digital Spy . Retrieved 18 July 2020.
  16. Monroe 1996, p.27.
  17. Oliver, Robin (28 May 1989). "Afloat on soaps". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  18. Mercado 2004, p.230.
  19. Hobson, Dorothy (2003). Soap opera. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. p. 15. ISBN   978-0-7456-2655-0.

Bibliography