Do you recognise her? That’s Neighbours icon Jackie Woodburne like you’ve never seen her before, as she bows out of Ramsay Street for a brand new role.
The esteemed actress, 69, has been on our screens for the last 31 years as much-loved matriarch Susan Kennedy.
Alongside Alan Fletcher, who plays husband Karl, the pair have cemented themselves as Australia’s favourite television couple.
Throughout the last three decades Jackie’s seen it all as Susan – from tornados to arson attacks, slipping on milk and believing she’s 16 again, facing off with a serial killer and a multiple sclerosis diagnosis.
But with Neighbours ending soon, it’s now time for the star to step into someone else’s shoes, as she prepares to appear in a new Channel 5 drama.
What is Jackie Woodburne’s new role?
Jackie has been cast in Imposter, a four-part series created and produced by Jason Herbsion, who was executive producer of Neighbours for 9 years.
She looks worlds away from Susan in a grey wig and Deirdre Barlow style glasses.
Commissioned by Channel 5 in the UK, it will also air Down Under on Channel 10.
Interior scenes for Imposter have been shot at the Nunawading Studios, home to Neighbours since 1986, and is set in a small, coastal town in Victoria.
We meet Helen (Woodburne), who is under pressure from her three children to sell the family business – a sprawling seafront hotel. She’s keeping a huge secret, as little do her kids know, they have a secret sibling that was placed up for adoption years ago.
Helen’s thrilled when long-lost Amanda arrives on her doorstep, but is she who she says she is?
Judging by the show’s title, we think not!
Everyone is desperate to get their hands on the hotel, which will ultimately lead to betrayal… and murder.
Starring alongside Jackie is Coronation Street royalty Kym Marsh, her first new role since leaving Waterloo Road. Singer, television personality and actress Dannii Minogue will also appear.
Greg Barnett, Commissioning Editor for Channel 5 said: ‘I am delighted to have such a stellar cast and three hugely iconic female stars in the key roles in Jackie, Kym and Dannii.
‘Imposter promises to keep viewers gripped with its intense twists and turns.’
Having wrapped earlier this month, it will be on our screens soon.
When is Neighbours ending?
Unfortunately, there are just 60 Neighbours episodes left to air. The show will conclude on Thursday, December 11.
Metro understands that Amazon Prime Video effectively dealt a lifeline by extending their original slate of commissioned episodes to producers Fremantle Media, so that the show could properly conclude.
Very sadly, it will not continue beyond this point, being axed for the third time in 40 years.
The show wrapped filming in July, and a number of cast members have already moved onto new projects.
What has Jackie said about her time on Neighbours?
Jackie reflected on Neighbours’ legacy as the cameras stopped rolling for the final time.
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‘It’s impossible to measure the gratitude I feel for the gift of 30 years on Neighbours,’ she told us.
‘To do so I would have to calculate the number of extraordinary cast and crew I have been privileged to work with, count the number of laughs I have shared with them, measure the pride I feel for the diverse, dramatic (and sometimes outrageous!) storytelling we have all been a part of.
‘We are the best version of ‘family’. It has been a wild ride into a happy life. [I] wouldn’t change it for quids!’
