Toadie drives Dee off a cliff
AnotherNeighbours wedding for the history books,though this one had a far more morbid ending. In 2003,Dee and Toadie (Ryan Moloney) finally married,but following the reception,Toadie accidentally drove off a cliff,killing his bride. In trueNeighbours fashion,this wasn’t the last we’d see of Dee,or at least Madeleine West,the actress who played her. She returned to Erinsborough in 2017 as Andrea,Dee’s long-lost (and very evil) twin sister.
Farewell,Madge
There wasn’t a dry eye on Ramsay Street when the time came to farewell Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston),who passed in 2001 from pancreatic cancer. Madge Bishop was a part of the furniture,and her departure marked the end of the magical Madge and Harold double act. Luckily,the writers treated us to yet another fantasy sequence return,allowing fans a smidge more Madge in 2014 when she appeared in Harold’s dream.
Harold is swept out to sea
Madge’s husband had his own dramas on the long-running soap,disappearing from screens in 1991 when he was swept out to sea,becoming the second most famous Australian named Harold to go missing at the beach. Five years without Harold (Ian Smith) was enough,and in 1996 he made a triumphant return to the show. We learned that he was suffering from amnesia and now went by Ted,a tuba player in the Salvation Army band. With Madge’s help,Harold’s memory returned,and everything was as it should be.
Karl Kennedy breaks our hearts
There’s not aNeighbours fan who didn’t love Karl (Alan Fletcher) and Susan (Jackie Woodburne) as a couple,which made Karl’s betrayal all the juicier. In 1998 rock-solid Karl decided to embark on an affair with his colleague Sarah (Nicola Charles).
When Susan learned of Karl’s infidelity,she did what everyone in the nation wanted to do and unleashed a vicious slap upon her husband.
Lassiters burns down,and the return of Paul Robinson
Aside from beingNeighbours longest-serving character,Paul Robinson is also its most evil,a point provided in the 2004 season finale when he returned to the show to burn Lassiters to the ground.
The fiery plane crash
Pulling a page right out of theLostplaybook,Neighboursstaged its very own plane crash in 2005. To celebrate Lassiters’ 20th anniversary,Paul Robinson organised a flight to Tasmania for friends and family. Midday through the flight,a bomb went off (planted by Paul’s son Robert) and the plane crashed into the ocean claiming the lives of Harold Bishop’s son David,daughter-in-law Liljana and granddaughter Serena.
Neighbours introduces its first trans character
Australian television has long been criticised for its lack of representation,withNeighbours no exception, though the soap can lay claim to a few firsts. In 2019,a transgender actress and activist,Georgie Stone,was cast as Mackenzie Hargreaves. The year before,Neighbours hosted its first gay wedding,officiated by Magda Szubanski,which saw Erinsborough lovebirds,David Tanaka (Takaya Honda) and Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) tie the knot. Sadly,the show’s first gay character didn’t arrive until 2011,when James Mason joined the cast as Chris Pappas.
A killer tornado and an emergency tracheotomy
Erinsborough is a remarkably unlucky suburb,with the postcode suffering several disasters duringNeighbourslife. There have been fires and floods aplenty,but nothing measures up to the tornado that struck the town in 2014. It nearly claimed the life of fan favourite,Lou Carpenter,who found himself struggling to breathe after being pinned under the roof of Harold’s cafe. Fortunately,Susan Kennedy performed an emergency tracheotomy (with Karl instructing over the phone),and Lou was spared.
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