Toadie & Mel’s wedding party!
AND THERE’S A HOST OF FAMILIAR GUESTS…
Even as tears are shed by Neighbours fans across the world for the show’s grand finale, the residents of Erinsborough are leaving our screens with smiles on their faces, thanks to Toadie and Melanie tying the knot with a big-old Ramsay Street knees up!
“The whole idea is really cute!” explains Lucinda Cowden, who plays Mel. “Toadie and Mel split the day in two, so the other one doesn’t know what they have planned. Toadie organises the wedding and Melanie’s responsible for the reception. The wedding is at the lake, so they’re honouring Sonya, and it’s also where they had Hendrix’s memorial. It’s beautiful and they arrive in cool vintage cars. I won’t tell you about the reception – but there are pigs involved!”
Everyone from Ramsay Street celebrates with the happy couple, along with lots of familiar faces that we haven’t seen in a long time…
“Ryan [Moloney, aka Toadie] and I top and tail Neighbours,” points out Lucinda. “So it’s the best reason to get lots of people back from different times of the show. Toadie’s son, Callum, returns to see his dad get married and he’s very supportive – so I had the joy of working with Morgan [Baker, who plays him]. It was fantastic to see the others too, like Peter O’Brien [aka Shane Ramsay] and Guy Pearce [Mike Young], who are such good friends of mine.”
Their path to the altar is not without its bumps, however – chief among them is Amy, who left Erinsborough after declaring her undying love for Toadie! Could her return lead to chaos?
“Melanie mostly feels sorry for Amy,” reveals Lucinda. “She believes Amy’s confused about how she feels. A lot of bad things happened to Amy at once, and she didn’t know where to turn. But Melanie isn’t a person who judges others.”
While we won’t be able to see what the future holds for Toadie, Melanie, Nell and Hugo, Lucinda believes they’ll be together for a long time to come.
“Wherever they go, I want them to be together, and happy,” she grins.
“They love each other very much and that’s the best way to start a marriage.
“When I came back, I was only offered a few episodes, so I can’t believe that I’m still here a year-and-a -half later,” laughs Lucinda. “And I can’t believe the show is finishing with my wedding – I’m incredibly grateful. And I got to bag the Toad!”