REVIEW - Neighbours celebrates their 40th Anniversary in perfect style for the die-hard fans to soak up every minute!

On Tuesday, we excitedly headed to the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester to watch Neighbours - The 40th Anniversary Tour. Read what our reviewer and huge Neighbours fan, Robert Jones had to say about this superb evening...

In 2022, lovers of the Australian soap, Neighbours, were genuinely shell-shocked to hear the news that their beloved programme was coming to an end. For a lot of fans, especially in the UK, where the heart of the show has continued to pump, we were deeply upset. I had and still haven’t missed an episode since it hit our screens in the UK in October 1986. It’s been a major part of my life, just like it has for millions of others. Despite our pleas and cries for it to stay alive, as we booked our tickets for the Neighbours Farewell Tour in 2023, we were still grieving but at least we could say goodbye in person to our favourites as Karl, Susan, Paul, Toadie, Jane and Chloe were coming to our hometowns. A chance to meet them, hug them and sign off the best way we could. Then suddenly hold your horses! (Don’t mention horses in front of Drew) Amazon had come to the rescue. As bitter as we may have felt towards Channel 5 for not renewing (rightly so or not!), we no longer cared. Rename the “Farewell Tour” – it was time to party as “Celebration Tour” was on it’s way. What a tour that was! I’m still buzzing from it two years on as the cast were incredible and 100 times friendlier than you could have dreamed of on the “Meet and Greet” pre-show. I was one of the lucky ones to get my ticket first so got front row seats and met the Neighbours “dream team” before the show. Manchester was second to get the tour and the Bridgewater Hall was rocking. The show started late as the “Meet and Greet” line went on forever and the actors were so generous with their time. The evening was special and so emotional as we celebrated as one, Neighbours would remain on our screens. It was a victory for the fans and as the cast and crew still admit today, if it wasn’t for us, the show would be history now.

You can read my review from the previous tour here. It will also give you a background for my love for the show.

Fast forward two years on, a new tour is back – this time with new cast, new stories, new surprises. We gather again, but this time to celebrate 40 years of Neighbours. I would have swapped one of my kidneys to be there again and of course I got centre seats on the front row for my wife and I. When booking the tickets, the line-up hadn’t been announced but I didn’t care if it was six extras from the Waterhole appearing on stage. If there was any Erinsborough connection, I was there!

So with “Meet and Greet” and prime seats booked, we were teased on socials one by one by Maple Tree Entertainment, who will be flying to the UK and finally the six actors were revealed. I’ll introduce one by one in my write up, and although fans who missed the last tour would have been a little disappointed not to be seeing Karl, Susan, Toadie, Paul or other favourites, understandably word had got out on Ramsay Street and they all want a piece of UK action, and therefore, a fresh line up was to grace our stage.

Lucinda Cowden (Melanie Pearson), Kym Valentine (Libby Kennedy), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Terese Willis), Tim Kano (Leo Tanaka), Majella Davis (Krista Sinclair) and Dan Paris (Drew Kirk) made up the star cast for the tour. Meeting them pre-show was lovely. It felt like a university reunion with mates you hadn’t seen for ages. They made you feel so welcome and the set up, like last time, was professionally done. You didn’t feel like you were on some conveyor belt with a false smile, quick photo and toodle-pip – “bugger off, next!” All six cast members were genuine, loving and chatty. You could hug them, have a good natter and create beautiful memories together. That for me was important. The fans are so important to the whole foundation of the show and there is massive respect given from the cast and crew, completely rewarding us with personal one to ones.

So on to the show itself. There was excitement in the venue - the beautiful, spacious Bridgewater Hall and as we are warmed up with a slide show of fans with cast members over the years rolling on the big screen. It’s not long before the start as after a highlights video ends, our host Leah Boleto walks on. Leah is a super-fan, just like all of us in the room. She did an incredible job hosting the last tour so it made sense she was to return to glue everything together. She’s gone from Neighbours hosting rookie to hot cookie as the confidence in her presentation was simply flawless. She’ll probably admit the last tour, she felt star-struck and lots of “pinch me moments”. Well this time round, she subtly owned the stage whilst shining a light on the celebs and letting them glow. We all love Leah. She shares our love for the show, she’s emotional and wears her heart on her sleeve. She’s living our dream. Even her husband, Ricky got a cameo tonight as he briefly came on stage. My wife asked me, “is that Leah’s hubby?” as we then witness a quick kiss between them, and my swift reply of “I hope so!” followed.

Leah introduced Rebekah Elmaloglou on stage first. The crowd love Terese Willis. She was clearly loving the Manchester audience too and we soon settled in to a comfy chat and learned more about how Rebekah got the role, how she thought one year living away from Sydney ended up being 12 years and counting in Melbourne - her new home, and how she admitted that Terese has been a bit of a hussy chalking up more lovers than Harold, but not as many as Paul. When she listed the other halves in her lives, I was thinking, “Oh yeah, forgot about him”. A bit of a dark horse Terese is! (Don’t mention horses in front of Drew!) I really enjoyed how Rebekah got in a few smutty innuedos too – I’m sure a few Sid James dirty laughs thrown in, we could easily create “Carry On Eirene Rising”.

The second member to join the stage was Tim Kano who plays Leo Tanaka. Not only does this man have eyebrows that should win a special award at The Logies, he’s charming, good looking and a true gentleman. Meeting him before the show, I wanted to express how much I admire him. He’s a brilliant actor and a fantastic addition to the show since he joined nearly a decade ago. When Leah chatted to him, the atmosphere in the room was very relaxing. It reminded me of when Annie Jones (Jane Harris) took centre stage last time. They both appear similar characters on and off the screen. At this point in the show tonight, I felt like I was wearing my joggers and could have budged up to Terese and Toadie over a movie marathon. It’s exactly the atmosphere I wanted tonight – like a great sleepover with best buddies and everyone was chilling with their hot chocolates and PJ’s on whilst giggling away together – The perfect blend (sorry, had to get that predictable line in somewhere!)

Tim discussed his love for his on-screen brother David (Takaya Honda) and described David’s final day on set as we relived that emotional farewell to David’s character. For me, Daphne’s death will always stay in mind as she was the first major character to be killed off, but of recent times, Sonya and David’s deaths were heart-breaking and both dramatic. Leo was always there for David as his twin brother, especially through the harder times like when he “came out” and Tim reinforced why Neighbours has been so ground-breaking, supportive and inclusive for all, another reason the show is admired and adored by many.

Next up to join the party was the majestic Majella Davis. Not only stunning but genuinely a lovely lady. Again, getting to meet her pre-show, she made my wife and I feel so welcomed and was clearly loving her first time in the UK. Her character, Krista Sinclair, graced our screens when Neighbours was revived on Amazon but my word, she’s had some epic story lines already. From losing a baby and recovering from drugs, right up to the 40^th Anniversary week of the wedding to Leo. Will she become Mrs Tanaka? If Leo had his way, wild horses wouldn’t stop her from marrying him (don’t mention horses in front of Drew) but in true soap style, a wedding wouldn’t be a wedding without massive drama. We’ll all be watching in suspense to see what happens.

A big cheer then came as Lucinda Cowden who plays Melanie Pearson entered the stage. She’s a crowd favourite, not only for her character’s famous laugh, but for her cooky ways Melanie is known for. Sadly she has now left the show, and just like April Rose Pengilly (who played Chloe), and quite a number of cast members who were axed, I get the feeling, reading between the lines, they never wanted to leave the show. Now, as fans, we don’t want to know the politics and any bad feeling behind the scenes, afterall, it’s our time-out happy place each day, and no different to watching Dynamo. We love his magic but we don’t want to see how it’s really done. However, we as fans, not only love the characters in Neighbours, we’ve fallen in love with the actors too and it’s no surprise to hear there’s a petition to bring back Melanie, and how Kym Valentine (who plays Libby) constantly gets asked, “Are you going to come back?” Its because we love them and they became part of our households. As Lucinda jokingly commented later on in tonight’s event, when they filmed the outback scene, she realised that most of the actors out there in the middle of Woop Woop with her were actually filming their final scenes together and she pondered, “Would any of us actually make it back to Melbourne?” Well it’s fair to say, the bonkers world of Melanie Pearson needs to collide with Erinsborough again. Best get Madame Zolga on the case and predict a return for one of our favourite characters who has been on and off our screens since 1987.

It was Drew and Libby’s time to shine. First up Dan Paris (Drew Kirk) had a one to one with Leah. Dan was on the show for 4 years (1998-2002) and he decided his time on Neighbours was up and he wanted to go travelling. The producers begged him to stay but he’d already made plans and the curtain on Drew was closing. He met his fate by falling off a horse (sorry Drew, time to face the music and that fatal horse) Dan is somewhat surprised years later we all remember him. I mean, who couldn’t forget that tragic death and his funeral all in one episode? Kym Valentine (Libby Kennedy) who had now joined in the conversation, starting mocking that famous scene as she hilariously shouted, “I’ve fallen off taller bar stools than that!”  In true Neighbours style, you have to question how a man over six foot could fall off a Shetland pony and die, but when you’ve got to go travelling around the world and written out of the show, drastic times call for drastic measures. Dan looks back with regret on his decision. Yes, he became a professional photographer, and he no doubt had his passport stamped more times than Michael Palin, but I’m sure he’d still love be live and kicking and working in the local garage or at least if he was to die falling off a horse, bring in a Shire horse next time!

Kym Valentine was glowing and absolutely loving Manchester. Just like her character Libby, she brought a fresh burst of energy.  She shared her fondness for Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher, her on-screen parents, Susan and Karl, who she affectionately refers to as Mum and Dad (or Daddy when she was being a little naughty!) Once a Kennedy, always a Kennedy!

Kym works closely with the government in Australia and is really proud of her work as a Domestic Violence Advocate. She also teaches acting classes, but I feel that one day, she’ll return to Ramsay Street. We need Libby back and I think Kym would jump at the chance to keep the Kennedy flag flying high over number 28. Kym and a lady next to us on the front row made the audience chuckle as they gave Melanie a run for her money when it came to the most infectious laugh. It was delightful to witness and again these little moments that display the love between the cast members and the fans.


After the interval, all six cast members joined Leah on stage to dive deeper into the show. With the two men (Tim and Dan) sometimes quietly sitting like bookends to an Aussie version of Loose Women, it was so enjoyable to watch. The ladies dominated the show with such love and laughter whilst the male cast would chip in and add to the warm fuzziness. There were plenty of background videos to complement what the cast were discussing. I mentioned this previously from the last tour – I really liked how they used this technique and not just stick on a famous clip and get the cast to discuss the “Greatest Hits” of Neighbours. That would have been too predictable.

The night was a rollercoaster of emotions too as we reflected on the wonderful acting from Janet Andrewartha (who played Lynn Scully) who sadly lost her life last year. Kym Valentine paid tribute to her and described how in awe she was when working with her. Kym also described how she got into character when playing emotional scenes like when Drew died. A crew member on set, Ben Heeps, tragically died at the time so Kym used her real life emotions at the time to play the hard scenes. We also learnt this is why Drew and Libby’s son was named Ben. Very sad story but a lovely way to honour Ben’s life.

Lucinda informed us about the latest news about Ian Smith (Harold Bishop). We were all shocked to hear in December that Ian has terminal cancer and when he announced the news, he was expected to have only eight weeks to live. However, Lucinda proudly announced that after Smithy’s latest treatment, the 86 year old legend is feeling stronger and his outcome looks brighter. He may never return to Erinsborough, but the coffee shop with his name proudly displayed in the front window and his wonderful portrayal of Harold Bishop will live forever! Long life Jellybelly!!!

Other touching tales was Dan’s admiration for Tom Oliver (who played Lou Carpenter) and Rebekah telling us how Ray Meagher (who plays Alf Stewart in Home and Away) phoned her up when the news broke that Neighbours was being axed. She spoke warmly about how genuine he was. It goes to show, we don’t have to choose between Neighbours and Home and Away. We can enjoy both Aussie soaps. Although we know Neighbours wins hands down!!!

The chemistry on stage was gorgeous. There’s so much love between Tim and Majella (just like their characters). Majella is very close to Lucinda too as Krista and Melanie were bonded on screen many times whilst sharing dramatic storylines. Kym Valentine and Dan Paris’ friendship has been reignited due to this tour and Dan admitted how Kym looked after him and mentored him (even if quite firmly) when he joined Neighbours. Yes, we heard it from the horse’s mouth (don’t mention horses in front of Drew!) Even though Stefan Dennis wasn’t there, Rebekah talked fondly about him. Yes, his long storytelling late at night may test her patience but her admiration for Stefan as an actor was clear to see. We all love Moneybags as much as Rebekah does!

Two major highlights worth the price of the ticket alone were the bloopers reel we were treated to. So funny! I hope it comes available on YouTube for the masses to enjoy as much as we did tonight. Finally, the big climax of the show, as Lucinda Cowden treated us to a song about her character, “Poor Mel”. It was epic, hilarious, witty and the perfect ending to a fabulous night. We have to get that released as a single. We’ll even let Doctor Karl have “Free As A River” on the B-side.

The cast maybe flying back to Australia tomorrow but they saved the best to last and in return Manchester’s audience gave our favourite celebs a great northern welcome, just like two years ago. They warmed up a cold February evening and spread the sunshine of Erinsborough throughout our city.

As we sang the famous theme song together to conclude the evening, it felt like one big family gathering. I witnessed die-hard fans meet each other for the first time. Clearly they knew each other by name online but to share a photo together in front of the stage during the interval was lovely to see. We all share our love for that little cul-de-sac in the fictional suburb of Melbourne and how the 23 minutes of escapism makes our day, apart from Fridays when we have no daily dose to digest. Bloody Fridays! I can’t cope with a Neighbours-less Friday! It feels like I’ve lost a limb (sorry, that wasn’t a dig at Paul Robinson)

There are still questions to be asked - huge questions! As I couldn’t help feel worried looking at the cast when Rebekah mentioned the uncertainty of the show when the contract with Amazon runs out. Afterall, the love in the UK and Australia keeps the show going, especially in the UK, so will America jump onboard? We, as fans, will continue to shout from the rooftops why we love Neighbours. It’s always angered me why the actors don’t get the recognition too for their acting skills. Eastenders, Corrie, Emmerdale and generally any other soap I can name, doesn’t come close to the high standards of acting from the cast of Neighbours. Yes, there are cheesy moments but the days of Mrs Mangel falling off a chair and passing out or Drew’s life coming to an end after falling off My Little Pony have long gone.

As we left the Bridgewater Hall singing a favourite coffee shop hit, “One Good Reason”,  I thought to myself, I could give Amazon a thousand reasons to resign Neighbours. We need reinsurances as fans quickly so we can continue to love our show for many years to come. Let’s make it to 50 years at least. Come on Amazon, just sign Neighbours up on a bigger contract and then the only answers we need answering are:

Will Leo and Krista live happily ever after?
Will Terese return to Lassiters?
Will Drew return as a Zombie on his ghost horse?
Will Libby rescue Karl and Susan from the retirement home?
Will we hear Melanie’s seal/donkey laugh again on Ramsay Street?

And more importantly....

What the hell is in Karl and Susan’s blue box?

WE SCORE NEIGHBOURS - THE 40th ANNIVERSARY TOUR...