On Sunday evening almost 2,500 Neighbours fans packed into the Hamer Hall in Melbourne for the final date of the Neighbours Celebration Tour. Following on from a sell-out 15-date tour across the United Kingdom, the show landed in Melbourne to delight fans with tales from cast members covering the entire 38-year history of the show.
It was announced that one of the stars on the tour, Lucinda Cowden, would be returning to the show when filming resumes tomorrow (April 17th). Lucinda dazzled fans with her larger-than-life portrayal of Melanie Pearson from 1987 until 1991, leaving after marrying Joe Mangel. She returned in early 2021 and remained through until the “final” episode in July 2022, which centred around her wedding to Erinsborough legend, Toadfish Rebecchi.
Lucinda’s return as Melanie follows on from the previous announcements that Alan Fletcher (Karl), Jackie Woodburne (Susan), Stefan Dennis (Paul), Ryan Moloney (Toadie), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Terese), Georgie Stone (Mackenzie), Tim Kano (Leo) and Annie Jones (Jane) would be returning as full-time cast members. Additionally April Rose Pengilly (Chloe), Ian Smith (Harold) and Melissa Bell (Lucy) will be returning for the new series in a guest capacity.
Filming resumes on Neighbours at the Nunawading Studios on Monday April 17th and the new episodes will begin streaming in the UK on Amazon Freevee later in the year.
Viewers can catch-up with the goings on in Erinsborough from 2012 and 2013 on the streaming platform now, with episodes from 2014 landing this Thursday, April 20th.
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