Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ian Smith. The actor 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, becoming one of the longest-running characters in the show's history.
Peter O'Brien is an Australian actor, best known for his role as an original cast member in 1985 of Australian soap opera Neighbours as Shane Ramsay. He has also acted in numerous British and American productions.
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom in theatre and television. She began her career on the stage in the mid-1950s before moving onto the small screen in the early 1960s, appearing in various telefilms. Following parts in a range of series by Crawford Productions, Charleston became known for her work in the cult classic series Prisoner, where she played three different characters between 1979 and 1984. Her most prominent television roles were in the Australian soap opera Neighbours, where she played matriarch Madge Bishop, and the British soap Emmerdale, playing Lily Butterfield (2006–2009).
Tom Oliver is a British naturalised Australian retired actor.
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.
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.
Lou Carpenter is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Tom Oliver. He made his first screen appearance on 30 March 1988. Oliver appeared for a brief time, having been initially contracted for six months, before leaving and returning in January 1992 as a regular cast member. In 1996, Lou was written out of Neighbours, a move that shocked Oliver as his character had become popular with fans. Neighbours viewers created petitions calling for his return and the strength of their reaction caused the producers to reconsider their decision and reinstate Oliver. Lou became one of the longest-serving continuous characters in the serial's history, having played the role for 24 years.
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. McIntosh reprised the role again on 3 July 2024 before departing again on 4 July 2024.
David Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Kevin Harrington. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 11 May 1988, arriving for his father Harold's wedding to Madge Ramsay. David, along with his wife Lilijana and daughter Serena, returned in October 2003. In May 2005, it was announced that the family had been axed and David departed on 25 October 2005.
Des Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Paul Keane. Des was created by Reg Watson as one of Neighbours' twelve original characters. He made his first on screen appearance on 18 March 1985, the show's first episode. Des departed during the episode broadcast on 11 October 1990. Keane later reprised the role as part of Neighbours' 30th anniversary celebrations in March 2015. He also returned for the 35th anniversary on 18 March 2020, again in August and December 2020 and for the serial's final episodes in 2022.
Jamie Clarke is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours. The character was originally played by S.J. Dey from the character's birth and introduction on 30 July 1987. Ryder Susman briefly took over the role in 1989, as it was becoming more obvious that Dey was a girl. Dey returned to the role, but later in 1989, brothers Nicholas and James Mason took over the role of Jamie until the character departed in 1990. In 2003, the character returned, this time played by Angus McLaren.
Hilary Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Scott-Pendlebury. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 June 1987. Hilary departed the show on 28 February 1990, following Scott-Pendlebury's decision to quit in 1989. Scott-Pendlebury reprised her role in 2005 for the serial's 20th anniversary episode, and again in February 2015 ahead of the 30th anniversary. Writers established that Hilary is back living in Erinsborough, so she could continue to make sporadic appearances until 2018, and returned again in 2023.
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.
Kerry Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Linda Hartley. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 1 February 1989. Kerry is Mavis and Harold Bishop's only daughter and David Bishop's sister. Kerry left home when she was young to travel the world. She met Eric and fell pregnant with their daughter, Sky. Following her arrival in Erinsborough, Kerry began a relationship with Joe Mangel and they eventually married. Kerry adopted Joe's son and fell pregnant again. However, while out protesting a duck hunt, Kerry was shot and she and her unborn child died. Kerry departed on 10 September 1990, but Hartley returned in 2004 and 2006 to record voice-overs. She also appeared in 2005 as Kerry's look-alike Gabrielle Walker.
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.
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.
