Warrington Neighbours super fan on the end of a 36-year fandom

It was a day probably much like any other, except for one notable occurrence. For this was the day I watched the first episode of a new daytime soap opera on BBC1, set in bright and sunny Australia and feeling like the very antithesis of the UK’s grey and gloomy EastEnders, which had been launched the year before. The programme was Neighbours, and I instantly became hooked on it.

In that opening episode, we were introduced to the show’s two main families – the Robinsons and the Ramsays (after whom the setting of Ramsay Street, in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough, was named).

We saw Des Clarke jilted by Lorraine Kingham on the morning of their wedding. We also met Daphne Lawrence, who had been hired as a stripper for Des’ stag party (or bucks’ night, in this brave new world of Aussie lingo). Daphne would later fall in love with Des and marry him, only to then become the first regular character to be killed off, after being involved in a car crash on her way to her father’s funeral.

In episode one, we also got to hear Tony Hatch and Jackie Trent’s unforgettable theme song for the first time, reminding us that everybody needs good neighbours, and next door is only a footstep away. Now, 36 years and nearly 9,000 episodes later, the unthinkable has happened and we have reached the point where that jaunty theme tune will soon be heard no more. The axe has fallen on Neighbours because its production company Fremantle has been unable to find a new UK broadcast partner after Channel 5 dropped the programme.

Ian at Erinsborough High

When I heard the news, it hit me hard. I don’t quite understand how a show that’s still so popular, with more than a million viewers every day, hasn’t been picked up by another channel. Neither do I understand why the programme has become so reliant upon UK financial backing. Surely many Australian programmes are made without such support, so why is Neighbours different? But whatever the reasons, we are where we are, and my feelings are now akin to being at a funeral – a strange mixture of celebrating what was, and grieving for what is (or soon will be) no more.

Every weekday for 36 years, Neighbours has provided me with a half-hour escape from the stresses of everyday life. I confess that I have not watched every single episode, of course. These days it is easy to ensure that you never miss an episode, what with multiple TV screenings, video sharing platforms and on-demand services. Back in the day, though, I had to rely on setting my trusty VCR to record the show while I was at work, and some days the technology let me down. The last episode I can recall missing was around 15 years ago, when I got home from work and found that a morning power cut had scuppered my recording. It haunts me still.

Lassiters Lake

Throughout my years of hardcore Neighbours fandom, I always hoped that one day I would be able to visit Ramsay Street, and in 2008 my ultimate dream finally came true. After spending two weeks exploring Sydney, I took a Qantas flight to Melbourne for a further week, on a mission to fully indulge in all things Neighbours-related.

Just up the street from Melbourne’s magnificent Flinders Street railway station, there is a small office where the operators of Official Neighbours Tours are based. On my first full day in the city, I rocked up there with a fistful of colourful Australian dollars and booked a tour a couple of days ahead. On the morning of the event, I arrived back at the tour office, where myself and about a dozen other excited fans eagerly climbed into a minibus and began the drive out to Ramsay Street (which in reality is Pin Oak Court in the suburb of Vermont South).

Lassiters

Arriving there, and seeing all those famous houses that I had watched on TV for so many years, was a quite surreal experience. We walked around, had our pictures taken in front of the houses and with the Ramsay Street sign, then it was back into the minibus and off to visit some more of the show’s iconic filming locations – Erinsborough High School, Lassiters Hotel, Toadie Rebecchi’s law office, and Carpenter’s Mechanics.

For a fan like me, this was mind-blowing stuff, and for a final surprise we got to meet a cast member, who on this particular day turned out to be Nell Feeney, who played bogan matriarch Janelle Timmins. She spent about 30 minutes chatting to us, answering our questions and posing for pictures – truly a day to remember!

Ian with Nell Feeney

This was not yet the end of my Neighbours escapades, though. The tour office also sells tickets for a weekly Neighbours Trivia Night, held in the marvellously-named Elephant and Wheelbarrow pub in the district of St Kilda, so of course I had to get along to that too!

The trivia night is quite a rowdy affair, where the show’s younger fans get a few beers down their neck and take part in a fun quiz, with several cast members in attendance. You get to chat to the stars and take the obligatory selfies, but it’s pot luck as to which actors are there on any given night. On this occasion, though, my luck was definitely in, as I got to meet the legend that is Dr Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher), along with Stingray Timmins (Ben Nicholas), Boyd Hoyland (Kyal Marsh) and Steve Parker (Steve Bastoni). An unforgettable night and well worth the ensuing hangover!

Dr Karl and his wife Susan (Jackie Woodburne) have been in the show since 1994 and are certainly among my all-time favourite characters, along with arch-villain Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis), who appeared in the first episode and is still there to this day. These characters have been a part of my life for so long, and I shall miss them greatly when the curtain finally comes down on Neighbours later this year.

Outside Rebecchi Law

The optimist in me still hopes that there will be a miraculous 11th hour reprieve for the show, with some channel or generous benefactor stepping in to become its saviour. If that day never comes, though, there will be nothing left to say but ‘thank you, Neighbours, for all the wonderful memories’. In these harrowing times of pandemic, climate change, and war in Europe, the fate of an Australian soap opera might seem of little or no consequence. Maybe so. But perhaps now, more than ever, we need to be reminded of the importance of good neighbours and good friends.