With Neighbours about to resume filming in just one week, we examine all the rumours and try to predict what will happen when we visit Ramsay Street once more.
Fans of Neighbours have had a busy year as they get ready for the show’s comeback in the second half of the year.
The initial scripts have been written and will soon have been given out to those who will be watching again.
The team has been reviving the series for its new home on Amazon around the world for the past three months, under the direction of executive producer Jason Herbison.
The first day of filming for Within is next Monday, April 17, so it’s time to look at the rumours circulating about who will be returning, who wasn’t chosen to return, and what stories are just waiting to be told.
Who is for sure returning?
We have known about the return of the “core four” ever since Neighbours’ return was announced.
We know that Stefan Dennis, Jackie Woodburne, Alan Fletcher, and Ryan Moloney will all return in their respective roles as Paul Robinson, Susan & Karl Kennedy, and Toadie Rebecchi. They were referred to as the series’ constants throughout its later seasons.
These four learned of the series’ rebirth by a personal visit from Jason Herbison, and they all took part in the announcement.
Much more recently, Amazon revealed seven additional players who would make various types of comeback appearances in the series.
Tim Kano, Georgie Stone, Rebekah Elmaloglou, and Annie Jones are all back as regulars. This implies that fans will get another opportunity to enjoy the personalities of Jane Harris, Terese Willis, Leo Tanaka, and Mackenzie Hargreaves.
Melissa Bell, Ian Smith, and April Rose Pengilly, who play fans’ favourites Lucy Robinson, Harold Bishop, and Chloe Brennan, will also make a comeback, although in a recurrent or guest role.
These are the only confirmed returnees as of right present.
Who may have returned?
Let’s look at the rumours of the other potential returnees. Although nothing has been confirmed, there has been a tonne of conjecture on social media and the actors have been planting hints everywhere.
Kennedy, Libby (Kym Valentine)
When discussing who should join the series when it returns later in 2023, the shrill cry of “Libby!” from Carla Bonner’s Steph Scully plays out in the imaginations of superfans everywhere.
Libby, who was regarded as the royal daughter of Ramsay Street, resided there from 1994 until 2004 and then returned in 2007 for a four-year stay. She made a cameo appearance in 2014, and in the final episode of the season in 2022, she appeared in a wedding video.
Throughout her time on the show, Libby had a rocky love life, finding suitors among the main actors with names that began with the letter “D”: Darren, Drew, Dan… Finally, they either passed away or cheated on her.
Her attendance on the Neighbours Celebration Tour, even if it was in video form, ignited rumours that she would be returning to Ramsay Street later in the year.
We can only hope that Libby, the school principal, will find happiness when she returns to Erinsborough this time.
Sheila Pearson (Lucinda Cowden)
This decision seems obvious. After spending years away from Ramsay Street, Melanie decided to return and discovered herself in what seemed to be an awkward relationship with Toadie, a local attorney. Toadie needed someone with Melanie’s outrageous personality, and the two fell in love.
The couple exchanged vows and were pronounced husband and wife in the conclusion. Let’s hope that Toadie gets fortunate number four with his third wife just marrying him for a cover story and two of his spouses deceased (kind of!).
Lucinda, who co-starred with Kim Valentine in the video for the Neighbours Celebration Tour, will also make an appearance in the one-off Melbourne episode the day before filming picks back up. This homecoming appears to be very plausible because Ryan Moloney has indicated a wish for Toadie’s most recent wife to return.
Frazer Greyson (Tim Robards)
It’s the winemaker with the constantly changing face! Social media is rife with rumours that Pierce Greyson will return to Ramsay Street for the reunion. This does seem like an unusual option, though nothing has been confirmed, given that his ex-wife Chloe will only be returning as a guest and that his son Hendrix (Benny Turland) won’t be returning at all (RIP!)
What Pierce does contribute to the picture is a peculiar relationship with Lisa (Jane Allsop), his wife who he never seemed to love but with whom he shares two children: Hendrix and his irrational teenage daughter Alana. (Molly Broadstock). Could the aforementioned daughter be heading to No. 28 to get the same re-education Hendrix did?
Hendrix has ex-business partners in Terese, Paul, and Leo as well as a daughter-in-law in Mackenzie, so the writers are sure to come up with plenty of justifications to bring him back.
(Do the Charlotte Chimes play? ), Nicolette Stone
Jane’s daughter Nicolette, who was at the core of a drunken theory that she was the mother of David (Takaya Honda) and Aaron’s (Matt Wilson) daughter Isla, was one of the series’ leading lights in the last few years. She then left Erinsborough for Canberra, and when Paul arrived looking for Isla, Nicolette instead gave him another baby, who turned out to be Isla’s cousin. What a drama!
It would seem appropriate to invite Nicolette, David, and Aaron back because Paul, Jane, and Leo are still in the area. However, Charlotte Chimes appeared to reveal in an Instagram Live video she posted on April 1 that while the character of Nicolette will be back, Charlotte herself won’t, as the role has been recast.
It remains to be known if this was an April Fool’s joke and the fiery redhead will return to the set on Monday, April 17.
In recent months, Annie Jones has hinted in a variety of cryptic ways that her character Jane may have more kids than the two we’ve already met, Nicolette and Byron. Could there be more siblings for Nicolette on the way?
Aaron Brennan as well as David Tanaka (Takaya Honda) (Matt Wilson)
When asked whether he will be returning to Neighbours as Aaron Brennan during an Instagram Q&A, Matt Wilson opted to keep quiet.
Matt replied jestingly, “I told producers I would only come back if there was a love triangle between Aaron, David, and @russellbrand,” rather than providing a firm response. Now, I suppose, it’s up to him.
Actor Takaya Honda responded to a question on Instagram about whether he would be returning to the series with a shrug emoji, which is even more ambiguous.
That’s a… maybe, then?
Ingrid Conway (Jodi Gordon)
When asked in February by Studio 10 anchor Angela Bishop if she would be coming back, Jodi’s answer was evasive but encouraging:
There are discussions going on, she informed Bishop. And I’m grinning broadly as I say that.
In the final episodes, Elly and Chloe reconnected and reignited their romance before relocating to Sydney together. Elly is probably going to return at some time since Chloe has already stated that she would be returning on Ramsay Street in a guest role.
Who will never watch Neighbours again?
While some who are returning are keeping quiet, a few cast members have declared they won’t be returning to the Nunawading studios the following week.
At the end of February, Freya Van Dyke, who played Amy’s daughter Zara Selwyn, tweeted on Instagram to clarify that Zara wouldn’t be coming back.
Zara won’t be going back, she wrote in her message. Nothing more than the storylines they’ve chosen to follow has anything to do with it.
“I am overjoyed that the entire cast will be returning. There will be some amazing narratives, and it will be simply great. I am really excited for you to see it.
Ben Hall, who played Ned Willis, also acknowledged that he hadn’t received a follow-up invitation in a reply to a fan.
In a birthday greeting to the sister of David Trotter, a fan of Neighbours, Ben wrote: “Am I thinking about going back? I can tell you that Ned hasn’t been asked to come back.
“At this time, he isn’t returning, but it is Neighbors; you never know what will happen. Tomorrow, I might receive a call asking, “Hey, can you come in?”
“Y’know, if they deign to bring back Ned Willis, then I’d love to be there. It’s not far from me; it’s actually just down the road.
“I truly hope to see everyone again. I’m missing everybody.
What’s the premise?
The first episode back when the show returns—episode 8904 for those keeping score—will almost certainly be greater than the ending.
If not more, we anticipate that Jason Herbison, who also wrote the final episode of the series, will pen the return episode. If there’s one thing Jason excels at, it’s giving fans a twisty tale!
In the finale, several significant stories were begun that we anticipate will be finished when the show resumes.
Mike and Jane?
When word of the show’s demise spread, a number of well-known former cast members agreed to appear. They included Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, but Guy Pearce really stood out because of how much he was featured in the final episodes.
Guy’s persona After reconnecting with Jane after more than thirty years, Mike made the decision to purchase 24 Ramsay Street. His daughter Sam (Henrietta Ellis), who had accepted a position at Lassiters as Chloe’s assistant, was also closer to him thanks to the relocation.
When the show resumes, will Mike continue to participate? Although Guy Pearce is unlikely to stay on for the long haul, Mike and Jane are still eligible to remain together as the plot implies that he relocated for work.
Is Amy carrying Joel’s child?
Joel Samuels, played by Daniel MacPherson, was another previous cast member who made a comeback. Even though his appearance was brief, it felt like it lasted long enough for Amy (Jacinta Stapleton), who had been desiring to become pregnant for the last several episodes of the series, to achieve her goal.
Amy’s confirmation of her pregnancy, which seemed to imply that Joel might be the father, was equivocal. What transpires is still uncertain because neither actor has been confirmed to return to the series.
A time shift?
To make sure that the in-universe world matches the chronology on the outside world, it nearly seems certain that the series will be compelled to use a time jump, a common plot device in soap operas.
It is unclear if this refers to a certain date or merely a certain amount of time.
