Neighbours' fans who have watched the show from the early days are beside themselves with excitement after it was announced that Caroline Alessi and her twin sister Christina would be returning to Ramsay Street. This is the most recent in a line of blasts from the pasts as lately Jane Harris, Dr. Beverly Marshall, Gemma Willis and even the deceased Jim Robinson have all made brief returns to the show.
Clearly the powers that be have picked up on how much viewers love getting all nostalgic and seeing the old faces return so hopefully there'll be more past characters to grace Melbourne's most famous cul-de-sac with their presence. If anyone's listening, could you please bring back Gaby Willis, Bronwyn Davies, her sister Sharon, Nick Page and Melissa Jarrett? Cool!
What's even more surprising about this return is that it was believed that the actresses who played the Alessis, real-life twins, Gayle and Gillian Blakeney, had given up acting so no one expected them to reprise the roles that made them mega famous in the UK. And mega famous they were! During their time on Neighbours, Gayle and Gillian graced pretty much every magazine cover; appeared on countless TV shows, and even performed in the mandatory pantomime that every Neighbours and Home and Away actor and actress was obligated to do during the nineties (oh no they didn't!) Even after leaving the show, they were still very much in the public eye especially in the UK. And yes - there was a pop career!
But then from being everywhere, the Blakeney twins were nowhere. No, they had not declined in popularity but rather they quit showbiz while still at the top of their game; left their native Australia for a new life in America where they opted to live out of the spotlight; getting married and families. It's no surprise then, according to a lot of social media comments, that Neighbours viewers today - especially those who were born after Gayle and Gillian quit Neighbours - aren't too sure who the Alessi twins are or why their return is such a big deal. Hopefully this post will clear that up!
CAROLINE AND CHRISTINA ALESSI
Who is Linda Giles?
And no it's not Cockney rhyming slang for uncomfortable ailments! When the mysterious Linda Giles moved to Ramsay Street as a tenant in Paul Robinson's old house and took a job working for him at Lassiter's, many of the residents - especially Joe Mangel - felt there was more to Ms. Giles than met the eye. And they were right - there was a lot more. Twice as much in fact!
Because Linda Giles didn't really exist. 'She' was actually two people - twin sisters Caroline and Christina Alessi. The sisters had witnessed a murder a while back and had to go into witness protection. They were advised by police to pose as one person so they assumed the identity of Linda Giles. They were rumbled by Paul who agreed to keep their secret, but once the killer had been caught, the sisters were no longer forced to hide behind an assumed identity and were given a warm welcome by the rest of the Street.
However there was no protection program that could protect them from the charms of Paul Robinson (as most of the women in Erinsborough have discovered, usually to their cost!) Christina fell in love with Paul and went on to become the third Mrs. Robinson and mum to Paul's fifth child Andrew (viewers didn't know about Paul's twin sons, David and Leo, back then!) but was left devastated when she discovered that Paul had become romantically entangled with her sister which led Caroline to flee Erinsborough and start a new life in Italy. Christina eventually forgave Paul and the two left Ramsay Street to start a new life in Hawaii. Sadly it wasn't to be and the two divorced with Paul heading back to Erinsbrough, and Christina and Andrew going to live in Scotland before returning to Australia.
Alessi Twintastic Facts
The Alessi twins were in Neighbours for a period of two years starting in 1990.
The sisters were of Italian descent with Caroline being the elder of the two.
Both twins replaced Paul's ex-wife Gail in every way possible! Both lived in her former marital home after Gail left Paul. Caroline took over Gail's old job of assistant manager at Lassiter's, while Christina ran the gift shop which had also previously been run by Gail. Christina also went on to marry Paul, and not long afterwards baby Andrew came along.
Even though Christina ended up marrying Paul, viewers often forget that in the beginning both girls had a crush on Paul but decided that neither should go there. And they stuck to that until Caroline starting dating Adam Willis, leaving Christina free to pursue Paul.
Viewers remember the scandal when Caroline became romantically involved with her brother-in-law Paul. But she also had a relationship with his dad, Jim! Caroline and Jim began a relationship when his marriage to Beverly hit the rocks, although husband and wife soon reunited when they discovered that Beverly was pregnant.
Caroline and Christina had a telepathic connection and used it to try to locate the other's whereabouts, or could sense when the other was in pain. The Alessis are the only twins on the show where Neighbours has highlighted the twins telepathic bond.
Everyone remembers Paul and Christina's bickering over what they were going to call their new baby. Christina insisted on him being Benito after her uncle in order to keep her dad happy. Benito ended up being one of baby Andrew's middle names...
...While Uncle Benito and his family moved into Paul and Christina's former home after the couple left Ramsay Street to move to Hawaii.
Both the Alessi twins moved abroad after they left Erinsbrough, with Caroline going to Italy, and Christina moving to Hawaii and then Brazil with Paul; before heading over to Scotland after their divorce, and finally moving to Sydney where she's still believed to be living.
Gayle and Gillian Blakeney
The Blakeney twins joined Neighbours when the show was at the height of its fame but Gayle and Gillian were not showbiz newbies as they had been in the business since they were ten years old and were already well known in their native Australia. They made appearances in music videos for pop band The Monitors, before becoming presenters on shows such as Wombat.
But it was Neighbours that turned Gayle and Gillian into household names in countries where Neighbours was shown. After their two year stint on the soap, the Blakeneys decided to focus on their music career, so they moved to the UK and became a pop duo called er, The Twins and signed up with the legendary Stock Aitken Waterman. They released three singles, All Mixed Up; I Wanna Be Your Lover, and Mad If You Don't. As fab as The Twins were, they didn't reach the dizzying heights of musical fame as fellow Neighbours' alumni Kylie and Jason. But they stayed on in the UK and even became co-hosts along with Des O'Connor on Take Your Pick.
But then life-changing roles beckoned when they filmed an episode of American detective show Silk Stalkings. After years of being in the public eye, Gayle and Gillian loved the anonymity that came with being in America. And they liked it so much, they decided to stay. They're still based in California where they've lived for more than twenty years, raising their families, and building businesses and brands. In a podcast interview with Georoid Farrelly, Gillian revealed that by the time the Blakeneys arrived in America, she had already decided on a different career path for herself and quit showbiz before going on to run a vitamin company and then a toy company with Gayle. Today Gillian is the co-founder of scarf emporium, Leigh and Luca.
But none of that has stopped Gayle and Gillian from returning to the set of Neighbours after twenty seven years to film three episodes that will air in September.
It's been a long time and we can't wait!
Blakeney Twintastic Facts
Gillian's name is pronounced with a hard 'g' sound (as in grace) rather than the usual 'j' sound.
Christina Alessi became Paul's wife, and in real-life Gayle Blakeney was in a relationship that lasted two and a half years with Stefan Dennis who played Paul.
In an interview with News of the World's Sunday magazine after they had left Neighbours, Gillian Blakeney revealed that she was glad to have hung up Caroline's business attire for good as it really wasn't her. Gillian said that she was more of a new-age hippy and loved wearing silver jewellery and silk shirts with jeans.
In the same interview, the Blakeney twins talked about their belief in astrology and how it was guiding their career.
Gayle and Gillian moved to England to kickstart their pop career, but eventually left to start a new life in California.
Gayle is married with two children - a boy and a girl.
Gillian married for the second time a couple of years back and adopted her new husband's two kids - a girl and a boy. She also has a daughter from her first marriage.
Gillian is the co-founder of a scarf company called Leigh and Luca
The Blakeney Twins interest in twin psychology might explain why Caroline and Christina's telepathic connection was written into storylines as the girls worked very closely with writers to get that portrayed convincingly.
When they were filming their Head and Shoulders commercials, Gayle and Gillian had to dye their espresso coloured locks black as it appeared too red under the studio's lights.
Gayle and Gillian, we can't wait to see you back on Ramsay Street!
Photos from YouTube
Word Cloud by Angel Noire
@Bailamos - Hmm... that's debatable but no one can deny that they were at the top of their game back in the early nineties until they quit showbiz.
I saw a repeat of Neighbours' with The Twins in it. Sorry but I don't think acting was their strongest point.
@LucieD: It was a huge surprise as it was known that they were no longer acting so I don't think anyone expected to see them pop back up on Ramsay Street. Let's hope they come back again soon.
During their Neighbours stint, the twins were mega famous. It was a real blast from the past when they returned.