
Neighbours. Everybody needs good NEIGHBOURS! Thanks to Channel 5, many of us over in the UK are very familiar with the catchy, sunny soap which glorifies life the Australian suburbs. It is amazing to think that the show has reached its 30th Anniversary and the number of storylines covered in that time.

My own Neighbours memories relate to my teenage years where the show provided an escape from the normal lunchtime TV in the school holidays; Loose Women was not the lunchtime show of choice in my house… Sitting there with egg and toast soldiers the trials and tribulations of the residents of Ramsey Street was incredibly gripping – so much so I would even re-watch the show when it was repeated on Channel 5 in the evening too.
Compared to the mostly dreary English weather the sunny Australian soap was almost a fantasy and we loved it. I’ll admit it became harder to keep up with the running storyline as A Levels kicked in, but I will always have fond memories of Neighbours. Karl and Susan Kennedy’s marriage ups and downs, Lou and Harold's in-fighting (particularly over the General Store), the various teen dramas, life in the school, the many visits to Erinsborough Hospital, the hook-ups, break-ups, the Lassiter hotel, Paul Robinson’s manipulating ways, the list goes on and on!

But before them were the well-known Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth, Delta Goodrem, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan! Kylie and Jason, in their roles as Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell, will always be seen as the ultimate Neighbours supercouple and the UK broadcast of their wedding was watched by 20 million viewers! This was such a big storyline that it inspired Donna and Ringo’s wedding in the 6000th episode, aired in 2010, and featured the original song played at Scott and Charlene’s wedding.
The 30 year anniversary is set to see iconic cast members Harold and Madge Bishop return, potentially in the form of flashbacks, which would be a lovely way to celebrate the soap’s milestone anniversary and the years of history and storytelling it has created. Congratulations Neighbours, and here’s to many more years of drama in the sun!