Neighbours' Brad Willis will discover that his daughter Imogen is suffering in silence with a terrible eating disorder this week.

Brad and Terese will be forced to recognise that they are partly to blame for Imogen's illness after she collapses as the strain of her personal issues become too much to handle.

Digital Spy recently chatted to Kip Gamblin, who plays Brad, to hear about his character's reaction to Imogen's problems, life at Neighbours, and Brad's unresolved issues with Lauren Turner.

How are you enjoying your role on Neighbours?
"I am loving it - it has been great. They are a very warm and friendly bunch. It is a very established show and I feel privileged to be a part of it. It has been a really great seven months so far."

How did the role come about? Is a part on Neighbours something you've always thought about?
"Well, I actually auditioned for an earlier role – one of the Turners. The casting agent for Neighbours said to me that there was another role coming up that I might be suited for. I had a couple of call backs for that one and they decided they wanted to bring me in."

Is it more daunting when you're playing a character who the viewers already knew beforehand?
"It can and it can't be. You can get too involved in trying to impersonate or trying to do justice to another person's work, so you kind of have to run with your own idea of what the character is. I try not to think too much about living up to expectations. As an actor, you have to believe in what you do and I think if I make him as real and as natural as possible, then that is the main thing."

What sort of reaction have you had from viewers?
"Well, everyone is excited! I've been in TV now for a long time. I've been working on a pretty broad range of TV shows and generally everyone is very positive about seeing me on TV again."

Has your time at Home and Away helped you to be well-equipped for Neighbours, or are the two shows quite different?
"Well, it is a genre that actually not a lot of people can handle. Working in a series where we are filming five or six episodes a week, I guess that having already been a show with that many episodes and that type of pace has sort of prepared me in a way where I know what is expected of me."

Imogen has an eating disorder and UK viewers will see Brad and Terese finally discover the truth about it this week. How will this impact on Brad and the family?
"I think as a father finding out that one of your children is suffering from a disease like that is a very extreme scenario but also quite prevalent in this day and age. A lot of girls have a lot of pressure on them with body image and those sorts of things, and it is not uncommon for them to be exposed to these issues. I played it in the sense that any father would. He loves his daughter very much and it is a serious disease and problem. Imogen is such a high achiever and it is confronting. It shows the complexity of the family and the relationships.

"Ariel (Imogen) did lots of research. She's a very amazing young woman for an 18-year-old. I have worked with a lot of actors now over the years and Ariel comes up with some crackers. She is a very wise young lady."

Brad realises Imogen is very sick.
© Channel 5
Brad realises Imogen is very sick.


Does Brad blame himself at all for Imogen's problems?
"I think any parent would ask questions why. It is hard not to think, 'Is it my fault?' 'Is it an attention-seeking thing?' 'Am I not showing her enough attention?' Brad is quite swept up with Josh's swimming training but by no means does that mean he is not interested with his daughter's life. Imogen has just always been the easier one. She's an A-grade student, she's intelligent, she's smart, but sometimes these things can spring out under the least expected circumstances."

Imogen often feels neglected in the family in comparison to her twin brother Josh. Could we see this start to change?
"Yeah, I have actually been feeling that from different people and it seems to be the viewers' perspective that they don't pay her much attention. I think the writers, when they created these characters, certainly thought that it could come across that they are not concerned with her, or that they ignore her."

Will this rock his relationship with Terese, or, will they unite in their efforts to get her the help she needs?
"I think they love each other enough to sit down and sort it out for the sake of their daughter and her health and success in life. I think Brad and Therese have a very good relationship in the sense that they can talk to each other and discuss things from an equal standing and then make the right choices like most parents try to do."

Over here in the UK, we have just seen Robbo die as a result of the hit and run incident. Imogen and Josh are both suspects - does Brad believe one of his children could be capable of this?
"I don't think so. Not really. Not his own children."

Brad and Lauren's paths cross again.
© Channel 5
Brad and Lauren's paths cross again.


Lauren clearly has unresolved feelings for Brad. Is he aware of this?
"She has, yes. But no, he is completely unaware! He obviously has a connection with her in the sense that they were good friends and she is the girl next door that he has a history with. At the moment, he is very swept up in his own family life but I definitely think there is a flame there because they were such good friends. There are a lot of unresolved feelings."

Does he feel the same way?
"Well, let's just wait and see…"

Brad and Terese have another daughter called Piper who is at boarding school - would you like to see her brought in at some point?
"Yes, I would love to! I think some of the viewers will be surprised to see some of the storylines, which I can't actually reveal to you. Let's just say that there are some complexities to the scenario!"

We know that there was a big Neighbours party recently where you were all told about future storylines. Are you excited about what's coming up for the Willis family in the longer-term?
"I am! I am very, very excited. I think for the first six months when you have brought a family in like that, it is quite intense and like you said, the scrutiny of the characters and what is going on there. But now I feel like because we have got that six month period over with, we can start getting into some really meaty storylines and I am really looking forward to the next twelve months there. It is going to be great. Especially in regards to children and past scenarios, and families and how people deal with unexpected issues that arise in family situations. I think that is where the crux of the great drama on the show is - those family interactions."