Neighbours star Chris Milligan has revealed that he was thrilled when he found out he had landed a full-time contract deal with the soap.
Earlier this year, it was confirmed that Milligan had been promoted to a regular cast member on the programme after playing Kyle Canning on and off since 2008.
Speaking to TV Week about his Ramsay Street success, the actor commented: "It's great to finally get a full-time job. It was originally a six-week guest role and then every couple of months they'd ask me back for another few weeks."
Milligan added that forthcoming storylines are likely to see Kyle looking for a new love interest.
He said: "Any action for Kyle is good action. But deep down he wants a girlfriend - even though he still likes to put on a bit of a show."
Defending his character's edgier side, he continued: "Kyle has a good heart. It's just that growing up, he never had the right people around him to show him the way, so he had to learn for himself."
Milligan's recent promotion comes as the soap loses other male cast members, including Scott McGregor (Mark Brennan) and Erin Mullally (Declan Napier).