Neighbours’ biggest stars over the last 40 years – from Kylie to Margot Robbie

Many a Neighbours fan wept this week as the show came to an end again after being axed for the third time in 40 years.

The beloved Australian soap was originally axed just three months into its run in 1985 before rival network Ten picked it up, where it remained for four more decades.

Three years ago, UK broadcaster Channel 5 axed the serial from their schedules, with a star-studded finale episode following shortly after, paying tribute to all-things Ramsay Street as stars from the past returned.

The TV gods subsequently answered fans’ prayers as Neighbours was saved by Amazon and returned to our screens for two more seasons, before ultimately being cancelled once more.

The final episode, which differs greatly to the previous finale, is now available to stream as fans are forced to say goodbye to Erinsborough once again.

Neighbours was a hotbed of storyline gold in its time but it also bred some of the best musical and acting talent this world has ever seen.

Without Neighbours we wouldn’t have Margot Robbie’s epic performance in Wolf Of Wall Street, no karaoke booth would see people emotively belting out Torn, and can you imagine a Marvel universe with anyone else filling the shoes of Thor? Exactly. We have a lot to thank Neighbours for.

As Neighbours concludes once again, we’re looking back at all the movie and music royalty the show has given us over the years.

Kylie Minogue

Is there a bigger star to come out of Ramsay Street than Kylie? The Can’t Get You Out Of My Head hitmaker rose to fame playing mechanic Charlene Mitchell (later Robinson) on the soap and her romance with Scott (Jason Donovan) captivated audiences, so much so that their wedding was viewed by 19 million viewers in the UK – a whole year after its broadcast in Aus!

Kylie left the show after two years in 1989 and embarked on a pop career, with hits such as I Should Be So Lucky, Spinning Around, On A Night Like This and Dancing scoring her several number one albums over the past five decades, making her one of the biggest music sensations of all time.

The Padam Padam singer retuned to Neighbours in 2022 for its first finale, when the show was thought to have concluded for good, reuniting with long-time love Scott.

Jason Donovan

No list of Neighbours’ greatest stars would be complete without Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson in the 80s, taking over the role from star Darius Perkins, who played the character during the Channel Seven days.

Scott’s world was rocked by Charlene and, as noted above, their love affair was one of the most famous on TV, with audiences tuning in every day to see how their romance developed.

Scott departed with Charlene in 1989 and, much like Kylie, Jason was catapulted into stardom, with hits such as Too Many Broken Hearts and duet with Kylie Especially For You proving huge successes.

The actor has had a very successful stage career, playing the leading role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, and he will tour the UK again next year as part of his Doing Fine: Encore show.

Jason returned to Neighbours for its 2022 finale with Kylie and he will appear in Emmerdale this week as himself, singing to character Lydia Dingle, who is a big fan.

Margot Robbie

There probably isn’t anyone on the planet who hasn’t heard of Margot Robbie.

The Hollywood star, best known for her portrayal of Harley Quinn in various DC projects, began her career on Ramsay Street in 2008 as Donna Freedman, who was only meant to be around for a little bit – but ended up being promoted to regular.

From inventing the shrugalero (you had to be there) to a tragic love story with Ringo – which saw the teen lovebirds marry but only a month later Ringo was killed – Donna featured in many a storyline, swiftly becoming a fan-favourite.

After the death of her husband, Donna decided to up sticks and follow her dream of working in fashion. Margo bowed out in 2011 specifically to conquer Hollywood, and look what she went and did.

The Wolf Of Wall Street star has numerous big projects under her belt since departing Erinsborough, from I, Tonya to Babylon and she will next star in an adaption of Wuthering Heights opposite Jacob Elordi. She returned to Neighbours for its 2022 finale, making a special video message for Toadie’s wedding.

Radha Mitchell

Pitch Black and London Has Fallen star Radha kicked off her career with a stint on Neighbours from 1996 to 1997 as Catherine O’Brien, an opinionated student with a passion for the environment.

Catherine was sister to Sarah Beaumont (the woman Dr K had an affair with) and had a long, tumultuous relationship with Stonie, Toadie’s brother. That eventually didn’t work out, and she realised she was having feelings for Mal Kennedy instead.

The couple went on to marry in 2001, but not before she cheated on him with Darren Stark. But all’s well that ends well, they’re said to be still married to this day.

Radha is now rubbing shoulders with Hollywood elite like Vin Diesel and Gerard Butler.

Eliza Taylor

Best known for her work on The CW’s The 100, Eliza Taylor rose to fame playing Janae Timmins on Neighbours between 2005 and 2008.

Janae featured in numerous stories, including her relationship with Boyd Hoyland, a cheating scandal, and the sudden death of her brother Stingray which, quite frankly, we’re still not over.

Eliza went on to play Clarke Griffin in The 100 alongside fellow former Neighbour-ite Bob Morley. The pair are now married and have a child, born in March 2022.

Bob Morley

Eliza’s other half, Bob Morley, tootled along to Ramsay Street in 2011 as Aidan Foster, a nurse at the local hospital. He was introduced as the love interest of Chris Pappas and their love affair was sweet as it came at a time when Chris was just becoming comfortable with his sexuality.

Aidan didn’t hang around too long though, and he bowed out when he and Chris split. Bob went on to play Bellamy in The 100 and thus we have Neighbours to thank for one of the biggest TV plot twists of the last decade.

Natalie Bassingthwaite

Natalie Basssingthwaite is best known for playing the immoral and ‘manipulative schemer’ Izzy Hoyland, joining in 2003 until 2006, with a couple of returns later down the line.

She was sister of Max Hoyland and famously had a relationship with Karl Kennedy after he broke up with wife Susan.

She also dated Paul Robinson, who she said she was madly in love with, but ultimately wanted Karl back and went to great lengths to get him. Over her time, she faked pregnancies, went through a drug addiction, and even drugged Karl to get him into bed, which led to baby Holly.

In 2018, when she returned, she learned Karl had taken part in a fertility study, so she somehow stole some of his sperm to try and impregnate herself to have baby number two.

After the show, Natalie became the lead singer of Rogue Traders after collaborating with them on their single Voodoo Child, and she became a judge on X Factor Australia – and she’s also set to appear in the 2026 series of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

Alan Dale

Dynasty star Alan Dale is the god of box set TV but he started his career on The Young Doctors before landing the role of much-loved patriarch Jim Robinson, Paul’s dad, on Neighbours.

Jim arrived on the scene in 1985, back when the show started, along with his four kids and mother-in-law Helen Daniels, but died it from a heart-attack back in 1993. He then returned as an apparition in a bauble during Christmas 2018.

After Neighbours, Alan went off conquering the TV world in the US, appearing in the likes of Lost, 24 and The West Wing, with key roles in The OC and remake of classic soap Dynasty.

Caitlin Stasey

Best known for her work on Reign and as the face of Smile, Caitlin Stasey won the hearts of fans in the UK and Aus as Neigbours’ Rachel Kinski, daughter of Alan who was looked after by stalwart Susan and her longtime love Karl upon her dad’s death.

Rachel swiftly became a fan-favourite upon her debut in 2005 and is perhaps best remembered for finding her voice again courtesy of Ty Harper, who encouraged her to sing at the school formal.

Their original song Unforgettable, penned by Ty star Dean Geyer, was an instant classic, peaking at No. 40 on the ARIA charts. Rachel sang the song once more at the Halloween party in 2008 and it was used on a further occasions throughout both Rachel and Ty’s stints.

The song still hits, just in case you were tempted to look it up!

Caitlin left Neighbours and subsequently landed a leading role in The CW series Reign and appeared in Laura Hasn’t Slept, reprising the role from said project in Smile, in which she appears on the horror film’s now iconic poster.

Liam Hemsworth

Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth played the unlucky in love Josh Taylor between 2007 and 2008, coincidentally appearing around the same time as Margot Robbie and Caitlin Stasey.

Josh was smitten with Bridget Parker when they met at the hospital but, as their fledgling relationship blossomed, she began to develop feelings for Declan, prompting Josh to react badly.

Ultimately, Josh couldn’t compete with her feelings for Declan. Thank goodness he didn’t otherwise who would have been Katniss’ right-hand man?

Liam would go on to achieve huge success, with roles in Independence Day: Resurgence and of course The Hunger Games saga, before taking over from Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia in the final two seasons of Netflix’s The Witcher.

Chris Hemsworth

Without Neighbours, it’s possible that another actor would be playing Thor right now in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Snow White and The Huntsman star Chris Hemsworth had a teeny stint on Neighbours before brother Liam, which helped launch him into the acting world.

He appeared in one episode as Jamie Kane, Steph’s employee, in 2008. That’s the power of Neighbours, one episode was all it took. He did also have a long stint in Home and Away which might possibly have something to do with it too, but we’re backing Neighbours on this one.

Chris has enjoyed huge success since his stints on both Aus soaps, with his most known role being that of Thor in the MCU, having played the god of thunder in eight feature films thus far.

Holly Valance

Before Kiss Kiss, Holly Valance was best known as Flick Scully, who hung about on Ramsay Street from 1999 until 2002. Flick left Erinsborough in a blaze of shame after getting it on with her sister Steph’s fiancé – which was discovered on their wedding day.

After she fled town, Stuart Parker tracked her down and proposed, but that relationship eventually went up in smoke and Flick was gone for good.

And thus Kiss Kiss was born. As well as her music career, Holly also continued her acting and ended up playing a singer in Taken, alongside Liam Neeson.

She reprised her role as Flick in the 2022 finale, appearing in a special scene opposite Natalie Imbruglia.

Dean Geyer

Dean Geyer landed the role of Ty Harper in 2008, shortly after competing on Australian Idol. Singer-songwriter Ty was pretty Unforgettable (See what we did there?) and enjoyed romances with both Rachel and Libby Kennedy during his time in Ramsay Street.

He ultimately departed after just one year, with If You Don’t Mean It singer Dean enjoying success in the Australian music industry with his debut album Rush, which peaked at No. 7 on the ARIA charts.

Dean went on to star in Fox series Terra Nova, before landing the role of Brody Weston in the fourth season of Glee, where he portrayed mainstay Rachel Berry’s love interest at NYADA, which also allowed him to use those super pipes of his on tracks such as How To Be A Heartbreaker and Creep.

In addition to Glee, he also starred in the reboot of Zoey 101, entitled Zoey 102, which released in 2023.

Delta Goodrem

Delta Goodrem arrived as Nina Tucker in 2002 and from there she went on to have a very messy love life before heading off to become an actress after being cheated on.

She later returned, and has since had several reprisal stints, but ultimately Delta settled on the life of a chart-topping singer away from soap acting.

The Born To Try singer appeared on the panel for The Voice Australia and returned to Neighbours in 2022 for the first finale, sending a video message to the Kennedys for Toadie’s big day.

Last year, Delta released the very catchy tune Hearts On The Run.

Natalie Imbruglia

Johnny English star Natalie rose to fame as Beth Brennan in Neighbours, making her debut in 1992.

An abuse survivor who had one of the best Neighbours love affairs from the 90s with Brad Willis, Beth featured in numerous big stories and scenes over the years and, in 1994, she and Brad planned to elope.

They ended up scrapping that plan and marrying in front of their neighbours, but then they still quit the street for Perth. And that decision is what we have to thank for that little earworm Torn.

Natalie, who reprised her role in the 2022 finale, also competed in two editions of The Masked Singer, winning the UK version.

Russell Crowe

Gladiator star Russell Crowe was one of the early birds in the soap, starting back in 1987 – and for only four episodes as Kenny Larkin, a convict after revenge.

Four episodes was all he needed to launch himself into super stardom. There in lies the power of Neighbours, you only need to show your face and bam, you’re Hollywood material.

The actor has appeared in many major projects in the years since Ramsay Street, including the aforementioned Gladiator, Les Miserables and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Guy Pearce

Iron Man 3 star Guy Pearce made a name for himself as Mike Young in Neighbours and his romance with Jane Harris was one of Neighbours’ most iconic.

After going away for a bit, Mike came back to learn that Jane and Des were together and this sent him on a bit of a spiral, but he eventually reasoned there was not much left for him in Ramsay Street and thus went to care for his mother who had been injured in a plane crash.

Guy returned to the show as part of the finale in 2022 (and again for its return between 2023 and 2024) as Mike and Jane reunited. However, they were forced to split once more.

Away from Neighbours, The Brutalist star Guy is best known for his work in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Jack Irish and LA Confidential.

Jesse Spencer

Ah good old Billy Kennedy. Star Jesse Spencer graced Ramsay Street as Billy in 1994 and then hung around for five years before his character took off with the love of his life Anne to start a family elsewhere.

Following Neighbours, Jesse bagged a huge role as Dr Robert Chase alongside Hugh Laurie in House and has since starred in Chicago Fire.

Much like a number of other stars on this list, he also appeared in the Channel 5 finale of Neighbours.

Neighbours’ finale is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. 

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