'Neighbours' Declan Napier to be recast

[tammyy2j]

I prefer Declan and Kate than Declan and Bridget

[Dazzle]

Here's a picture of Erin Mullally, the new Declan:

[tammyy2j]

I prefer the old Declan tbh he was cutier

[*-Rooney-*]

when should we expect the new dec on the uk screens?

[Perdita]

Neighbours newcomer Erin Mullally has admitted that he was "shocked" when he learned that producers wanted to cast him as Declan Napier.

The 20-year-old was asked to take over the role at the beginning of the year after existing Declan actor James Sorensen decided to bow out for a new career in the army.

Speaking about the recast for the first time, Mullally told TV Week: "I was a little shocked, to be honest. When I went to the audition, I wasn't told anything about the role I was going for. It was all top secret.

"So when I found out, there was an initial feeling of, 'I don't know if I can pull this off'. I was completely overwhelmed. What an amazing way to start my career! I'm living the dream of thousands of actors."

Mullally confirmed that he watched "hours and hours" of episodes to research Declan's history before filming his first scenes.

On whether fans will grow to like his version of the character, he commented: "I'm sure that initially people will be quite confronted by a new face with the same character name - I'm not fooling myself about that. But hopefully people will come to accept it."

[Ruffed_lemur]

Not a good way to start a career IMO.

[Perdita]

Neighbours newcomer Erin Mullally has revealed that he received advice from predecessor James Sorensen as he prepared to take over the role of Declan Napier.

The actor was recruited by show bosses at the beginning of the year after Sorensen decided to bow out as Declan in order to join the army.

Speaking to Inside Soap about how the recast worked, Mullally explained: "We crossed over for a couple of weeks, which was fantastic. It was great to talk about Declan's values and his priorities in life.

"James told me that his daughter India comes first, followed by his mum Rebecca and girlfriend Kate, then his friends. That was helpful to know."

The star added that he also watched dozens of previous Neighbours episodes to catch up on important events in Declan's life.

He said: "When I saw how much he's been through, I realised I had pretty big shoes to fill. They eased me into it so I didn't have to do very much in my first week. In fact, it's only now - quite a way down the track - that I'm getting some big storylines."

[Dazzle]

Apparently, we'll be seeing the new Declan from next Monday (the 21st June).