Soap fans who have watched a show from the beginning are always delighted when a character from back in the day makes a return, even if it is only briefly. And in recent years Neighbours fans have been pleased to see Clive Gibbons and Beverly Robinson return as recurring characters, as well as Des Clarke, Lucy Robinson, Sky Mangel and Mark Gottlieb to name just a few. So fans of the soap are thrilled to see Amy Greenwood and Melanie Pearson make a long-awaited return to Ramsay Street.
Both characters were very popular back in the nineties, although Amy and Melanie were never neighbours because they both lived on Ramsay Street at different times. Melanie first appeared in the eighties as a recurring character - a girlfriend of Henry Ramsay with a laugh that made most people think she was in need of oxygen! A couple of years later, after Henry had moved to New Zealand and married Bronwen Davies, Melanie became a Ramsay Street regular when she moved into number 32 as Joe Mangel's housemate. She then went on to become Joe's wife (thus Jane Harris' aunt!) and the Mangels left Erinsborough to start a new life - although the marriage did not last long and Joe returned to Ramsay Street on the lookout for wife number four.
Amy was a popular character back in the mid-nineties who was part of the Erinsborough High group of friends who were made up of Toadfish Rebbechi, Billy Kennedy, and twins Lance and Anne Wilkinson. One of the most popular girls at high school, Amy ended up dating geeky Lance Wilkinson and had an on-off relationship with him before cheating on him with her colleague Damien and becoming pregnant with Damien's baby which inevitably put paid to her relationship with Lance. But being the gent that he was, Lance got Amy and Damien to reconcile, and Amy left the street to start a new life with Damien and their baby.
Both Amy and Melanie appeared on Annalise Hartman's documentary (as part of the show's twenty fifth anniversary celebrations) but this is the first time both characters have returned to Ramsay Street since leaving. We've just seen Melanie catch up with Des and Jane - and have Paul running and hiding from her in terror - and Amy has just started dating Shane Rebbechi. Despite being a little on the annoying side, and we see not much has changed, both characters injected so much fun into the show when they were around the first time - it would be so great to see them back as regulars.
We take a look at other characters, who much to the delight of fans, couldn't keep away from Erinsborough!
JANE HARRIS (Annie Jones)
Neighbours' fans were delighted when it was announced back in 2018 that actress Annie Jones would be reprising her role as Ramsay Street favourite Jane 'Superbrain' Harris after an absence of twenty nine years. However it was a bit of a shock to see that the glamourous Lassiter's Girl had been replaced with a younger version of her stickybeak grandmother Nell Mangel!
Annie made three guest appearances over a period of two years before finally being brought back as a regular this year. It's just a pity her overbearing daughter Nicolette came along too, who definitely has Nan Mangel's malicious streak.
2. CAROLINE AND CHRISTINA ALESSI (Gayle and Gillian Blakeney)
It was quite an accomplishment getting the Alessi Twins to make a return as the actresses who played them back in the early nineties, Gayle and Gillian Blakeney, had actually given up acting and were enjoying life in California.
But thankfully for the long-time fans of the show, Gayle and Gillian agreed to reprise the roles that made them household names in Britain, and return for a storyline involving Paul Robinson. Their time on screen was definitely not long enough and we definitely hope they'll be asked to return again soon - and this time stay a little longer.
3. GAIL LEWIS (Fiona Corke)
While no one can deny that Paul has met his match in the current Mrs. Robinson, Therese, wife number two Gail Lewis is still a firm favourite with fans. Like Therese, Gail didn't take much nonsense from Paul Robinson, but she couldn't get him to give up his workaholic ways, and viewers were saddened when Gail walked out on him while pregnant with their much-longed for triplets.
Over the years, Fiona Corke has returned to Ramsay Street for brief stints as Gail - she made her last appearance in 2019. We cannot wait to see Gail make another return to Erinsborough and as her granddaughter Harlow is now living on the Street, Gail has a very good reason for paying a visit.
4. GEMMA RAMSAY (Beth Buchanan)
The last time viewers saw Madge Bishop's niece Gemma on the show, she was saying a tearful goodbye to her boyfriend Adam Willis before boarding a bus to Newcastle to start attending veterinary school. The couple then married off-screen before moving to Darwin.
Then last spring, after an absence of thirty years, Gemma made a surprise visit to Ramsay Street with her wayward daughter Roxy in tow, in the hope that her former sister-in-law Therese would take Roxy in. Gemma then made another visit to Erinsborough, disappointing fans with the news that she and Adam had split up. Perhaps this won't be the last we see of Gemma...
But what most of us want to know is how does Beth Buchanan who played Gemma look exactly the same thirty years later? Incidentally Simone Buchanan, Beth's equally talented sister, also made a return to the soap as lawyer Sam Fitzgerald, eager to settle some old scores with the Kennedys. Good genes clearly run in that family.
5. JIM ROBINSON (Alan Dale)
Now this was a comeback nobody could have predicted - Jim Robinson back from the dead! Well as a figment of son Paul's conscience anyway. Twenty seven years ago, horrified viewers watched as Street stalwart Jim collapsed and died of a heart attack while his shady girlfriend, Fiona, took the opportunity to fleece him. Fans didn't know it at the time but Jim had been written out of the show after a disagreement between actor Alan Dale and the powers that be on the show.
Clearly Dale and Neighbours' bosses eventually agreed to let bygones be bygones, and Jim Robinson made his comeback, warning Paul to change his ways. Obviously Alan Dale could never return to the soap as anything other than a ghost, but seeing as his career has gone from strength to strength, especially in America, we don't think he's too fussed!
Who would you like to see back in Ramsay Street?
Photos: YouTube
Word Cloud: Angel Noire
It looks as though you can add Scott and Charlene to this list as well seeing as they're meant to be returning. Who would've thought, eh?
I really liked Zeke, Rachel, Donna and Ringo. That was my era when it came it watching Neighbours. So it would be great if anyone from that sort of period would make a comeback. Although sadly we know that Ringo can't ever return. I hate that they killed off his character.
As I commented on another post, Glen Donnelly is returning to Neighbours. I've no idea if it's a guest role or something more permanent but this is one character I never thought I'd se back in Ramsay Street. I can't even remember the last time Paul uttered his name!