Full of street smarts and the place where stars were born

IT was a joyful and nostalgic moment when Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan released photos this week of their return to Neighbours.

Kylie and Jason headed back to Ramsay St to film the final episodes of the Australian soap, which wraps up on July 28 after 37 years.

It’s a credit to them that at age 54 they are both still thriving in an industry that is so damn tough. It’s also a credit to Neighbours, which set Kylie and Jason on their way to superstardom thanks to some of the best casting in Australian television history, and two characters named Scott and Charlene.

Their success, alongside many others, including Guy Pearce, Margot Robbie, Delta Goodrem, Natalie Imbruglia and Daniel Macpherson, can be credited to the little show filmed out of Nunawading that became a factory for stars.

Back in the days when Scott and Charlene were dating and the famous wedding that followed, every inch of what Kylie and Jason and the characters did was covered by The Sun newspaper.

The cast used to travel around shopping centres, with thousands of fans creating a media frenzy.

For any entertainment journalist in Melbourne, it was a rite of passage to drive out to the studios in Nunawading to interview a cast member and walk into that unremarkable studio foyer that hasn’t changed in decades.

As a fresh young 22-yearold entertainment reporter at the Herald Sun, one of my early trips was heading to the Lassiters cafe bridge to interview Delta Goodrem, then 17. It was 2002, and the story was Delta launching her own single, Born To Try, on the show.

In the office we were sceptical. However, I was immediately impressed with Delta, who has an incredible warmth when you meet her. Back at work, I said: “This girl is going to be a star.”

You could just tell. Not long after, Born To Try hit No.1 and stayed there for weeks.

Margot Robbie, who played Donna Freedman, also had that star quality.

Neighbours has delivered so many amazing memories for all of us. To the cast, crew, the producers, the publicists, everyone at Network Ten and Fremantle Australia, thanks for everything, and you all deserve a champagne or three on the final show on July 28.

Neighbours really was good friend to us all.