Sad news was announced recently – the beloved Australian soap Neighbours has been cancelled due to cost and the main funder UK’s Channel 5 pulling out. https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/neighbours-canceled-rested-1235194930/
I watched this show when I was a teenager in the 90s – it was always on at lunch time and repeated when I got home from school. So, watching the same episode twice in one day was not that uncommon, if you could get home during your lunch break. What was the appeal? Mainly the constant sunshine and the exotic accents! There wasn’t much exposure to Australian culture back then, other than the Crocodile Dundee films.
I stopped watching the show, probably around the same time it moved from BBC1 to Channel 5 in 2008, but for a good ten years or so I followed it avidly. The thought of it coming to an end this summer after 37 years is quite sad, it’s the end of an era and part of my childhood.
Neighbours is set in the fictional town of Erinsborough and is filmed in and around Melbourne, the largest city in the south-eastern state of Victoria. Visiting Ramsey Street is a pilgrimage for most Brits going ‘down under’. Of course, I had to do it when I was in Australia backpacking in 2007. I’ve found my diary from that time and picked out three days where I visited the locations, saw the artifacts on display in the Melbourne’s Museum and finally partied with the stars!
A Geek Down-under 26/7/2007
Ask what’s been filmed in New Zealand and you’ll probably get the answer ‘The Lord of the Rings’. Say Australia and you probably get ‘Neighbours’. Yes, that Aussie TV show that has always been there, reassuringly on twice a day for as long as I can remember.
As I’m visiting Melbourne, home of the studios and locations, it was only proper of me to do on official “Neighbours Tour”. For $40 I joined a bus full of fellow fans (mostly English, a couple of Welsh / Irish and some Australians). The bus was decked out in less than subtle livery. Our guide – a self-proclaimed genuine ‘Aussie Shelia’ with a genuine enthusiasm for the show (but not of Melbourne suburbs!) was great.
First stop was the ‘shop’ – well a few T-shirts and videos on a shelf. Then we headed off into the suburbs. First location was the school used as Erinsborough High called Blackburn School and taught English to non-natives. Our guide got a paste board sign out of the back of the bus, then hooked it on the fence – voila! Instant Erinsborough High! After a photo op we were back on the bus (we had a DVD player on board and got to watch some episodes while we were driving about, Scott & Charlene’s wedding and Brad & Beth’s, along with some music videos made by several actors / actresses).
We drove past the studios and home of Lassiter’s Hotel and other sets, but we couldn’t see much through the gates. Then we arrived at Pinoak Close https://findthatlocation.com/television-show/neighbours/location/330 Ramsey Street itself. The first reaction, said in unison, by everyone was “it’s so much smaller in real life”. It really does seem too small, but it is instantly recognisable. It was a little surreal to stand in the middle of the road and look across at Paul Robinson’s home, Harold Bishop’s and Karl & Susan’s! They look exactly as they do on TV apart from a few small cosmetic changes, like house numbers. People really live in these houses – how they cope I don’t know. They have 24hour security to protect them from opportunist fans – stealing bits has been a problem and trespassing. We could take as many photos as we liked – we just couldn’t go onto the property – or the ever-present security guy would get out of his car and ask us to move. It must be the strangest job! I got to stand in front of the Bishop’s holding a replica Ramsey Street sign post. Our guide told us about recent filming that she had seen and teased what was going to be happening in forthcoming episodes and even acted a little out, bless her!
We knew we would get to meet a ‘star’ of the show as part of the tour – our guide wouldn’t tell us who it would be (it can often change last minute etc.). We got driven to St. Kilda a seaside resort. Our guide asked who in the show got engaged at Luna Park, the answer being Sky and Dylan. We turned the corner and who was just hanging about but man himself Dylan! (I have no idea of his real name!). Although no longer in the show he was obviously up for a ‘meet and greet’ and was very friendly and enthusiastic. He welcomed us, wanted us to ask questions and after some chatting posed for photos with everyone, suggesting novelty poses and really knew how to work a bus full of fans (who might have expected someone who was still in the show – he admittedly made a joke about it himself!). Really nice guy – though I didn’t bother with an autograph – photos were great. We bid him farewell (he disappeared with a couple of girls to get photos outside Luna Park), and we headed back to the city.
The day was most definitely worth doing – I can always now claim that I’ve been to Ramsey Street!
At the museum 27/7/2007
Went to Melbourne Museum – great place, and they have an Australian culture section in which they have the original Robinson kitchen set! You get to walk onto it, open a few cupboards etc, Scott and Charlene’s wedding cake is in the fridge! You can see the graffiti done by the cast on the back of the set. Thought for the day – Scott & Charlene have been ‘married’ for 20 years – eek!
Neighbours experience is not over yet – going to the Neighbours trivia night on Monday!
Only in Oz 30/7/2007
The world-famous Neighbours Trivia night! Got my ticket ($35 + $5 extra as Dr Karl’s band would be playing). Got the Neighbours Tour bus from the hostel to the Elephant & Wheelbarrow (English pub apparently – don’t ask!) in St. Kilda, think Blackpool out of season. Good grief there where a lot of people there, mostly English and of an average age of 20.
Clutching my free drink token I headed to the bar, by the time I’d got my half pint I’d been spotted by two girls (Liz and Gemma) from Preston who I’d met in a hostel in Adelaide. I joined their table with a few others and became the “Neighbour-oo’s” team. This was about 7pm and nothing really kicked off until 8 – lots of time to spend money at the bar me thinks and to suffer the pounding dance music.
After a few fake announcements the “Backpacker King” himself appeared (think Danny Baker on an off day) and indulged in some stereotype nationality jokes. Eventually what we were waiting for – the stars themselves were introduced. To much whooping and flashing of cameras they appeared – the guy who played Dylan, the woman who played his mum Janelle, then Mal Kennedy (who’d left ages ago but was apparently near to being persuaded to come back) and the man of the moment himself Dr Karl Kennedy AKA Alan ‘The Fletch’ Fletcher.
Each actor had a bit of chat with the ‘King’ and everyone was excited to see them. The ‘King’ told us that during the quiz the actors would mingle for photos (no autographs) and told us not to follow them round! So, we stayed put and got on with the quiz hosted by ‘Safari Pete’ – 3 rounds of 2 questions of varying subjects and difficulty (one or two Neighbours questions). The final round was intermixed with a dance off (good grief) and each table boogied between questions! All sheets were handed in at the end of each round and some very ‘18-30s’ type “embarrass yourself for a prize” competitions were held. There was also some poor person wearing a Bouncer the dog costume.
While everything was going on, true to their word, the actors came round, all where very nice. I reminded ‘Dylan’ we’d met last week and posed for another photo. To give the man credit, when asked at the beginning if he’d any plans of having a pop career he firmly said ‘no’ then proceeded to give a version of his character as a member of a boy band – which was very funny. I even got a peck on the cheek from Dr Karl, boy was he popular – and loving every minute. In this room the man was worshiped as a god! Two of the lads on our table got rather excitable and one had his t-shirt signed (he brought the pen especially) and his mate got his stomach signed – I think he surprised himself with that!
The winners of the quiz were announced, I don’t remember hearing our team’s name, so I don’t think we made it into the top 5, ah well. All the actors, bar Dr Karl, were announced as leaving and we cheered them out in turn.
Then all the tables and chairs were moved, and the main event began. Dr Karl Kennedy’s band with main singer ‘Fletch’, “The Waiting Room” (T-shirts & CDs available, and they’re on iTunes!). This group had been touring the universities of the UK and really knew how to play to the crowd (must have been over 100 people easily). Kind of a rock group – Kaiser Chiefs, Proclaimers, Beatles covers and a few songs of their own. ‘Fletch’ was great and was clearly loving it – for a man around 50 he was surely living a fantasy – it might not have been Wembley, but he had an adoring crowd in front of him. The set was about an hour, and everything was finished by just before midnight. It was a good, fun night out.
Present day – April 2022
The final episode of Neighbours is due to air on the 1st August 2022. Hopefully there will be lots of the original cast returning, along with a few cameos from some of the more famous Neighbours alumni – fingers crossed for Kylie Minogue! I’ve no doubt the Neighbours tours will continue once the show ends but I’m grateful I got to do my trip when I did.
From scene to seen 