Sheila Canning gets an unsettling blast from the past on Neighbours next week when she receives a letter from Russell Brennan.
Sheila (Colette Mann) is on a high following a successful date with Clive Gibbons when she's suddenly brought back down to earth by the reminder of her past love.
Next week, Neighbours fans see Sheila head off to an art gallery with Clive after agreeing to give him another chance despite their recent differences over Xanthe.
Both are hugely keen to impress each other, but conversation between them is pretty awkward until they finally come clean and admit they know absolutely nothing about art.
Xanthe and Gary Canning welcome Sheila back from her date in Neighbours
© CHANNEL 5
Fortunately, the pair's honesty finally gets them on the right track and Sheila is delighted that she might have finally found a good guy.
Xanthe and Gary are also happy to celebrate Sheila's romantic success when she returns home, but her good mood turns sour when she finds there's a letter from Russell waiting for her.
Later on, Sheila confides in Dipi Rebecchi that she's too scared by what the letter might say, but will she pluck up the courage to open it in the end?
Sheila Canning receives a letter from Russell Brennan in Neighbours
© CHANNEL 5
Sheila dated Russell two years ago, but their relationship ended badly after his violent history with his son Tyler was exposed.
In real life, Russell Kiefel – who played Russell Brennan – passed away late last year. Neighbours bosses had been planning to bring him back for an extended guest stint, but had to go back to the drawing board following the off-screen tragedy.
We'll now see the Brennan brothers' mum introduced to Neighbours instead, but Sheila's letter from Russell will mark the beginning of an emotional storyline.
Matt Wilson, who plays Aaron Brennan, recently told Digital Spy: "They did have to change the story. The writing team came up with an alternative, but they obviously wanted to be very sensitive towards Russell Kiefel's family while playing it out.
"It was very emotional filming everything because everyone was doing it in memory of Russell Kiefel. So this next storyline is very emotionally loaded. Also, it's not just that storyline but what happens afterwards too. We're still filming that at the moment and it goes on for quite some time."
Neighbours airs these scenes on Wednesday, July 26 at 1.45pm and 5.30pm on Channel 5.
Digital Spy
Reply With Quote