Neighbour who is more than a good friend
IT is 30 years since it first aired in the UK and only one star from the original line-up still appears on the show.
Now Stefan Dennis, who still plays Neighbours bad boy Paul Robinson, has a new on-screen enemy – his real life Scottish wife.
Gail Easdale, who hails from Milngavie, Dunbartonshire, is currently on screen in a guest role as a nemesis for Robinson, although in real life, the couple have been happily married for two decades.
Miss Easdale, who has three children with her actor husband, started dancing in Glasgow with the Elizabeth Henderson School before going on to study performing arts in London.
She met the actor, who has also appeared in BBC Scotland soap River City, when they worked together in 1992.
She said: ‘My first job was the one I met Stefan in. We were performing in Aladdin at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton in 1992.’
And she confessed that she was a fan of the Australian soap opera that became a UK ratings phenomenon, making stars of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. She said: ‘I think most people were Neighbours fans in the UK in the 90s, weren’t we?
‘I did watch it when I was younger and I have many fond memories of sitting down with my girlfriends with a cuppa to watch the latest gossip in Ramsay Street.
‘Stefan and I had friends in common so I had heard he was a great guy. We got on really well.’
When they met, Dennis was in a relationship with Gayle Blakeney, the actress who played his second wife Christina on the show, but he and Miss Easdale became friends until he became single again – and sent her a plane ticket to Australia.
He said: ‘I pretty much fell in love with her the minute she got off the plane.’
They finally got married in 2000, with Dennis sporting a kilt. Miss Easdale, 43, said: ‘We married in Scotland at the gorgeous Borthwick Castle.
‘We were best friends for many years before we realised we were actually seriously in love with each other. It’s a great thing to fall in love with your best friend because nobody plays games.’
Now they are playing opposite each other in Ramsay Street, which has welcomed a number of Scottish actors in recent years, including Jordan Smith, 26, who hails from Fife and who played Paul Robinson’s son.
Kaiya Jones, 19, from Glasgow, played the veteran actor’s niece in the soap. Miss Easdale plays Julie Quill, the new owner of Lassiter’s bar and her position of power sees her clash with veteran character Robinson.
She said: ‘I do read his lines with him, so I feel like I know Paul really well after reading nearly every scene with him at night, so I’ve seen the journey he is going through.’