So another member of the famous Donovan dynasty made her debut in Neighbours this week. After much press attention, Jemma Donovan, daughter of that other famous JD - the legendary Jason Donovan - made her first appearance as Harlow Robinson.
As with her dad's character, Scott, Harlow is a member of the iconic Robinson clan, and when it was first announced that Jemma would be joining the long-running Australian soap, fans were trying to figure out exactly how Harlow would fit into the Robinson family tree. Just before Jemma's first episode aired, it was revealed that Harlow is the granddaughter of Paul Robinson and Gail Lewis, and therefore Scott Robinson's great-niece!
While viewers cannot wait to see what's in store for the latest Robinson, it's interesting to note that there have now been three generations of Donovans to appear in Neighbours - Jemma's granddad, Terence Donovan, played the lovable Doug Willis on and off from the early nineties until his character was killed off in 2016. And let's not forget that Jason's sister, Stephanie McIntosh also appeared as Harold Bishop's granddaughter, Skye. It's so not fair - all that talent and great looks in one family!
Jemma following in the footsteps of her father, grandfather, and aunt.
But funnily enough during the show's thirty-four year history, it hasn't been that unusual - unlike a lot of other soaps - for a relative to follow in the acting footsteps of an equally talented family member and make an appearance on Ramsay Street. Over the years, the Valance sisters, Holly and then Olympia (Flick Scully and Paige Smith) have both appeared in Neighbours, and Harley Bonner who played Josh Willis is the real-life son of Carla Bonner (Steph Scully.) The villainous Julie Quill who was responsible for the Lassiter's explosion that killed two members of the Willis family, was played by Stefan Dennis's (Paul Robinson) real-life wife, Gail Easdale. And Kate Gorman, who plays the loathsome Sue Parker has appeared in Neighbours on and off since the early days, while her parents, Reg Gorman and Judith Roberts have also had guest roles in the soap, as has her sister Charmaine who played Clive Gibbons niece, Vicki, back in the eighties. Talk about giving that Donovan clan a run for their money!
We take a look at other Neighbours' characters who were played by actors who proved that talent really does run in the family.
1. SUE JONES and KYLIE MINOGUE
(aunt and niece)
Everyone knows that Terence Donovan who played Doug Willis is Jason Donovan's father and it's believed that the actress who played Doug's wife Pam, Sue Jones, is the real-life sister of Kylie Minogue's mum, Carol, so therefore she's Aunty Sue to Kylie... Or is she???
This intriguing snippet of information about the Minogue family was given a brief mention in teen and TV mags during the early nineties, and Jason also hinted that the two were related in his autobiography Between The Lines but it's not for certain that he was talking about that Sue Jones. Sue has been working steadily since leaving Neighbours, and there's no need to mention Kylie's post-Neighbours career! But neither mentions the other in interviews, and in more recent times there's not much info which confirms that the two former Neighbours' actresses are actually related although there is some evidence to suggest that they are.
Kylie, care to comment?
2. ANNE HADDY and JAMES CONDON
(Husband and wife)
Despite their extensive careers in entertainment, real-life husband and wife James Condon and Anne Haddy have only acted together twice - and both times were in Neighbours!
James had two guest roles in the soap in which he played different characters at different times: the first was con artist Douglas Blake in the eighties, before going on to play Reuban White in 1995. Both characters became romantically involved with everyone's favourite gran, Helen Daniels with Reuban actually going on to marry Helen... who just happened to be played by James's real-life wife Anne!
Sadly James and Anne are no longer with us but their talent and the roles they played will always be remembered by those who admired their work. Here's a quote by James taken from an interview with Perfect Blend in which he describes working with Anne when he played Reuban; it sums up everything about their relationship and has you going "Aw, that's so sweet!"
"...our being married again on camera was very special - no acting required - just living and loving it."
3. BETH BUCHANAN and SIMONE BUCHANAN
(Sisters)
Beth's character Gemma Ramsay was only in Ramsay Street for about a year back in the early nineties. Her off-screen marriage to Doug and Pam's son Adam created a union for two of the show's most iconic families: the Ramsays and the Willises. Beth's return to Neighbours this year as she reprised her role as Gemma briefly in order to bring her daughter Roxy to Erinsborough created a lot of excitement among long-time fans of the show.
Beth's sister Simone is an instantly recognisable face in Australia thanks to an acting career that goes back to the late seventies and appearances in top shows such as Blue Heelers, Flying Doctors, A Country Practice, and The Sullivans to name just a few. But Simone will be familiar to British audiences as Neighbours' lawyer Samantha Fitzgerald, Dan Fitzgerald's first wife.
The Buchanan sisters aren't just famous for their acting abilities but for their amazing genes which mean they don't look a day older than when they first appeared on screen. We're so jealous!
4. KRISTIAN SCHMID and KRISTA VENDY
(cousins)
Aah, Todd Landers, an absolute sweetie with a good head on his shoulders, a slightly rebellious streak, and was never short of attention from the girls. Kristian Schmid did such an excellent job of playing Beverly Marshall's teenage nephew that twenty seven years after Todd was tragically killed off, he is still one of the most memorable of Neighbours' characters.
Kristian has gone on to star in a whole host of shows since he left the soap including a role in Home and Away as Mick Jenner - a character as far removed as Todd Landers as you can get - but it's his role in Neighbours which we will forever remember him for.
Eleven years after Kristian first appeared in Neighbours, his cousin Krista joined the cast as Tess Bell, one of the most glamorous teachers ever to work at Erinsborough High, although she had originally auditioned to play Sarah Beaumont - a role that eventually went to Nicola Charles. So Krista narrowly missed out on playing the first woman to wreak havoc in the Kennedy's marriage! A neat freak who didn't have the best of luck when it came to men, Tess left Erinsborough after jilting the dastardly Darcy at the alter.
With the return of Tess's best friend, Dee Bliss, is there any chance that Krista might reprise her role as Ms. Bell and come back to Ramsay Street too?
5. SIMONE ROBERTSON and AIMEE ROBERTSON
(Sisters)
Simone captured the hearts of Neighbours fans with her portrayal of teenage mum, Phoebe Bright (later Gottlieb) which wasn't bad for someone whose character was only supposed to be in the show for a few episodes.
And Simone definitely packed a lot in during her time on the show: Phoebe went from being an outcast at school to getting caught up in a love triangle with Josh Anderson and Todd Landers; becoming pregnant with Todd's baby, and then watching him die after a road accident. She then went on to give birth to Todd's daughter Hope just before marrying Stephen Gottlieb and leaving Erinsborough to open up a record store.
As there seems to be something of a resurgence of past characters coming back to Ramsay Street, it would be awesome if we saw Phoebe return with a grown up Hope! However as Simone is now living in America, working in IT and appears to have given up acting, it's unlikely that that will ever happen. Hold on - the Blakeney Twins are also living in America, have also given up acting and have just filmed Caroline and Christina Alessis' return. So anything is possible!
Simone's younger sister, Aimee, who had starred in children's TV series, Pugwall, playing a character called Melissa, had a guest role in Neighbours after Simone had left the show. She played another Melissa, Melissa Drenth, Billy Kennedy's girlfriend (before Anne Wilkinson came along.) Billy and Melissa had an on-off relationship which ended for good once Billy started dating Anne - and Melissa was unfortunatley written out of the show. It is not known if Aimee is still acting.
Special shout out to Suzy and Sandra for their efforts in helping with research for this post.
Photos from YouTube.