THIS INTERVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE EPISODE DUE TO AIR ON DECEMBER 28th 2023
It has been a turbulent few years since Chloe Brennan and Elly Conway first met. Elly married Chloe’s brother Mark, but not before sleeping with Chloe on the eve of their wedding. Elly also got pregnant, first saying it was Mark’s baby before eventually revealing the pregnancy was the result of a one-night-stand with Shaun Watkins, the half brother of her former boyfriend, Finn Kelly, who became a chemical terrorist and tried to kill half of Ramsay Street on deserted island. Elly then left with Shaun for a new life in Switzerland with their baby. Chloe was diagnosed with a life-ending illness then got married to a billionaire (after a short-lived career as an escort) before divorcing him. She entered the high-flying world of suburban hotel management and also got engaged (briefly) to Nicolette Stone. Like we say, turbulent. And this isn’t even scratching the surface.
In the show’s 2022 finale Elly returned to Erinsborough declaring that her relationship with Shaun was over and she was back to sweep Chloe off of her feet. In a finale that saw everyone get a happy ending, it seemed like “Chelly” was endgame.
When Chloe returned to the show a few weeks ago, all didn’t seem well and we found out that she was experiencing symptoms of Huntington’s Disease. Eventually she was forced to share this news with her partner, Elly. Chloe gave Elly the option to walk away rather than watch her deteriorate, but Elly vowed to stand by her, getting down on one knee and proposing. Of course, Chloe said yes!
We got to sit down and chat with April Rose Pengilly, who plays Chloe and Jodi Gordon who plays Elly and discuss their upcoming wedding, their characters’ journeys and how life unexpectedly imitated art for one of the two.
“I think she feels like this is it!” April Rose Pengilly talks about how Chloe feels about walking down the aisle with Elly.
“I think she has faced her fears, having some early Huntington’s symptoms kinda spooked her. It really is true love.”
Chloe has definitely grown and matured since she married Pierce Greyson 4 years ago. April commented on how this relationship is now built on a lot more honesty.
“Chloe has come to Elly and said ‘I’ve got these symptoms and I know it i sgoing to be a lot and I want you to not be burdened by this’. She basically gives her an out. They come together from that place which I think is really pure and beautiful. I think Chloe is walking down the aisle very happily. Not that she wasn’t happy with her other wedding! No shade!”
Jodi agrees that the couple really approach this latest challenge in a mature way and it actually strengthens their bond.
“Chloe is a selfless character. She’s always so concerned about putting anyone else out or being a burden. I feel it made Elly just fall more in love with her. Chloe was trying to give her this space to think about it and there was really nothing to think about. If anything, it just solidified their love and the future for them.”
The Chloe and Elly story has been a turbulent one. After months of flirting, the two finally got together, the complication was that they hooked up right before Elly was due to marry Chloe’s big brother, Mark Brennan. Elly had never previously been in a same-sex partnership, Chloe was a lot more confident about what her feelings meant, it all got rather confusing and we saw Elly struggle with her iidentity.
“I think that Chloe and Elly have told that story of coming together, of trying to figure out what it means when you love someone.” Says Jodi. “Do we have to put a label on it? Who am I? All these other stories that happened within the storyline of of Chloe and Elly coming together, it was really beautiful to see that.
There was never a doubt about who she wanted to be with or what they couldn’t conquer together.”
But what does Jodi feel Elly’s ex-husband Mark feels about her marrying his sister?
“I feel that Mark is really happy for the girls. He’s got his own thing going on, I think he is alright with it now.”
This is more than a simple love story though. (Is any love story in Erinsborough ever simple?) Whilst there is true love, there is the challenge of Chloe’s illness, the same illness which took the life of her mother just a couple of years ago. The Huntington’s Disease storyline is one that April took seriously and appreciated the impact it had on some viewers.
“I’ve done research throughout the storyline. It’s really important to us to represent these things accurately. It’s not a fun thing to film. You get really protective of your character and you don’t want them to have to go through something like this. It’s a really heartbreaking illness.”
Although the story is sad for Chloe, her portrayal has bought comfort to fans who experience Huntington’s in their lives, through their own diagnosis or that of a loved one.
“When I did the Neighbours tour in March and April, we got to meet hundreds and hundreds of fans,” April continues “I had quite a few who came to me and they they had a family member who had been through Huntington’s or it had touched their lives in some way and they were so grateful that it had been represented on the show.
To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Huntington’s before the storyline and they say a lot of people haven’t. They were able to say to people ‘My father has the thing that Chloe on Neighbours has’ as a kind of reference point for them. So, as difficult as it can be shooting these storylines, there is a lot of responsibility.
To know that we are helping in some small way makes it worth it.”
While the union of Chloe and Elly forces us to talk about some serious issues, ultimately, a wedding is a joyous event. These scenes are made more joyous as we are introduced to Elly’s daughter. Aster was born on Christmas Day in 2019 whilst Elly was being held hostage by prison escapee, Robert Robinson.
As a baby she spent a period of time being raised in prison whilst mother Elly was jailed for the death of Finn Kelly (Who just also happens to be Aster’s uncle) and she was also kidnapped by Claudia Watkins, her paternal grandmother.
These events early in Aster’s life clearly didn’t have too much affect (Aside from clearly making her older than the 4 years she should be – just part of Neighbours’ time-bending skills) and is now played by seven-year-old Amelia Gavin. Jodi Gordon seems to adore her on-screen daughter.
“I thought that was one of the most special parts of the wedding, seeing the family dynamic between the three girls, I absolutely love that. It was the first TV show that (Amelia) has been on.”
April celebrated Jodi’s maternal instinct, having her own nine-year, old, Aleeia.
“Jodi’s a mum and amazing with kids. I am not around a lot of kids and don’t know what to do with them! Jodi came in and made sure we had time set aside to spend time with her and run the scenes. Jodi bought her some gifts and went above and beyond to make her feel comfortable.”
And as flower girl, she is definitely a scene-stealer. How long will it be until she is knocking on great Aunt Susan’s door looking for somewhere to live?
The Chelly wedding is also a case of life imitating art, as the same week as Elly popped the question to Chloe, April’s own real-life boyfriend, Adam Paul, got down on one knee too.
When filming her Chelly engagement back in July, did April ever image that the same week this aired, she would be getting engaged herself?
“It’s all weird timing isn’t it? When we filmed we weren’t given a definite air date yet, so I didn’t know when any of this was going to play out (on screen) nor did my partner. So, it is very weird, quite lovely and serendipitous, isn’t it?”
But some people confused April’s real-life engagement photos with a Neighbours storyline, which came as a shock to Jodi.
“I saw one person say ‘Jodi, I thought that was you!”
April laughed as she added “So many people did because the picture was out of focus and my partner’s got long hair. ‘I thought this was a storyline for you and Jodi’.”
Jodi is quick to point out the differences between her and Adam.
“I’m clearly not that muscly!”
The lead-up to the wedding stretches the entire Christmas week. Whilst we don’t want to tell you all the tiny details, there are some things that don’t go to plan, some family members let the couple down and a heartbreaking moment on the day of the wedding which ultimately makes the ceremony even more special.
After the wedding there is a bit of wonderful writing which sees the newly-married couple interact with Chloe’s ex-fiancee, Nicolette and ends in a very special moment. Again, we don’t want to spoil the details as it feels like a very personal shout-out to the fans, but Jodi seemed to love it.
“It was very, very emotional. It was the final scene we shot.”
“When I read the script, I thought that scene was so cute, so meta, I loved it.” April added.
April also shared what it was like working with Hannah Monson, who has taken over the role of Nicolette, after working so closely with Charlotte Chimes who played the character previously.
“It was strange to adjust to, but she’s doing such a great job. It’s a very daunting thing to have to do, stepping into the shoes of another actor and try to make it your own AND try to make the fans happy as well.
She is doing a great job, it was a lot of fun working with her.”
Of course, April is very used to her ex-love interests changing appearance drastically.
“It’s the second time I have had to do that, Chloe had two Pierce’s as well. Don’t fall in love with Chloe, you will get a face transplant!”
That final scene sees Chloe and Elly drive off into the sunset for their honeymoon. The Chloe and Elly relationship story completes it’s arc and there is some feeling of finality about it, so will the couple be back on screen?
“We don’t know what the future holds for the couple or if we will be back,” says Jodi, “I certainly hope so.”
April agrees.
“Yes, we are very much open to it. We don’t know anything just yet. Chloe and Elly are off on a big, fat, long honeymoon courtesy of Paul Robinson, so I think they are going to be milking that for a while.”
What does April hope the fan reaction be?
“I think they’ll be happy. I hope they are going to be happy. We want to do the Chloe and Elly storyline justice.”
The Chelly wedding will be the final Neighbours episode of 2023, airing on December 28th, with the episode streaming from 7am on Amazon Freevee and Amazon Prime Video. New episodes are available every Monday-Thursday from 7am.