To find out what the New Year has in store for the Ramsay Street residents, we went straight to the man who would know - Executive Producer Jason Herbison. Read on as Jason gives Soap World the lowdown on all things Erinsborough, including the show's planned 30th-anniversary celebrations.
Paul Robinson
What's coming up for Paul?
Paul has a major storyline involving a guest character who happens to be a relative of another character on the show and with this guest character, Paul has really met his match in the scheming stakes.
Could another marriage be on the horizon for him in 2015? Marriage No. 6?
Is it number six [laughs]? Paul will definitely have a romantic interest in 2015. Who knows, it may lead to marriage. He doesn't have a good track record.
The Cannings
What's in store for Kyle and Georgia?
They will remain happily married. Georgia finds herself in conflict with a new staff member at the hospital and Kyle will be supporting her.
What's coming up for Sheila?
She's got a life-or-death battle ahead of her!
What about Naomi?
Naomi will start working with Paul and become an events organiser for the Erinsborough Festival, a major cultural event that forms the backbone of our 30th anniversary celebrations. She will be in close contact with Paul.
Are they any plans to continue exploring the wider Canning clan?
Yes, we will be seeing more appearances by Kyle's mother Sharon (last seen making advances towards Matt at Kyle and Georgia's wedding) who will be stirring things up.
The Kennedys
What's in store for Nate and Chris?
They will be challenged by the return of Lucy Robinson and there will be the question of whether Chris and Lucy will be successful in conceiving a child together which will be answered.
What about Susan and Karl?
Susan will continue to support Nate through his post-traumatic stress syndrome. Karl will find himself professionally smitten with a new arrival at the hospital.
Could things turn personal and lead karl into another extramarital affair?
[Laughs] I didn't say it was a woman though [laughs].
The Rebecchis
What's coming up for Toadie and Sonya?
Toadie and Sonya will be challenged by the presence of Erin Rogers (played by Adrienne Pickering) who is an old friend of Sonya's. Sonya feels a debt to Erin and feels responsible for introducing Erin to drugs. She will set out to reunite Erin with her daughter Kat as a means of a atoning for this past sin.
The Turners
What's in store for Lauren and Matt?
They will face severe financial challenge which comes as a consequence of something that one of the children (Mason, Amber, and Bailey) does and therefore puts great strain on their marriage.
What's coming up for Lou?
Tom Oliver comes and goes but [in the immediate future] he's very involved in Harold's return. Lou will be thrilled by the return of his old mate Harold aka Jelly Belly and will set about trying to help Harold find some new direction in his life.
Amber and Daniel?
Amber and Daniel will renew their love and engagement following Rain's departure and they will be steadfast heading towards the altar despite the fact that most, if not all, of their loved ones disapproves.
Could they be heading towards an anniversary wedding?
Maybe [laughs].
What about Paige and Brennan?
Paige will continue to be in love with Brennan but she will find herself distracted by the arrival of his younger brother Tyler as well as a surprising new love interest that she meets in an unconventional way.
The Willis family
What's coming up for Brad and Terese?
Their marital problems reach a crisis point and they have to make tough decisions about themselves and their future.
The Willis marriage crisis was something that had to happen. Do you agree?
Yes, it was building. With the two marriages (the Willis and Turner ones), we planned quite a long arc with the two new families and the marriages and plotted, well in advance, what their journey would be. What we're seeing now are the different ways they've both handled this difficult situation of Brad and Lauren having this long-lost daughter together.
What can we expect for Joshua and Imogen?
Joshua steps up his pursuit to win Amber back from Daniel. Imogen, meanwhile, continues to be secretly in love with Daniel and must make decisions about whether or not she acts on her feelings.
Are they any plans to introduce Ned and Piper, the remaining unseen Willis children?
We will be introducing them at some point in the future, in true soap style. We're keeping them up our sleeves for a time when we need them in the show. Piper is on the world's longest exchange program but I can say that some of her family will be going to visit her this year.
Are there any plans to continue Doug's Alzheimer's story in 2015?
Doug is a member of the extended Neighbours family and we definitely forsee him popping in and out of the show in the future as well as dealing with his Alzheimer's in a realistic way. We love Terry Donovan (who plays Doug).
It's a brave story to do but will we see it taken to it's inevitable conclusion? How do you think the audience would take seeing something like that?
It would be very challenging for some of the audience but it's one of those diseases that can take different courses with people. Some people can degenerate very quickly while others can take a long time. There are different ways we can go with it. We love the character and it's a very real disease that touches a lot of people and I think a lot of viewers can relate. Terry's performance is so moving that we definitely want to see more of him in the future.
The newcomers
Are there any new regular characters joining the cast in the New Year?
We have Brennan's younger brother Tyler (played by Travis Burns) joining the cast in the early part of the year and in the second half of the year we can also expect another new character.
Can you talk about the arrival of Terese's brother Nick?
He arrives with a very clear mission of something that he wants to achieve in Erinsborough and he'll step at nothing to make his plans come true!
Are they any big stunts planned?
There are series of major events taking place throughout the month of March. An Erinsborough festival takes place which is a cultural event and provides an umbrella to our festivities and a reason for many familiar face from yesteryear to pass through. Within that, there will be a series of dramatic highlights.
Can you talk about any past characters returning?
We're only announcing Harold and Madge at this stage but there will be several other returnees announced in the coming months and they will be a cross-section of people from throughout the 30 years of the show.
Do any of the returnees hark back to 1985?
At least one does!
What's with the situation with Kylie Minogue (ex-Charlene) and Jason Donovan (ex-Scott)?
Kylie and Jason are taking part in the 30th celebrations. They're both participating in the 30th anniversary, 90-minute special that will be going out on Channel Ten in March.
Will they feature in storylines?
We're keeping that close to our chests! [laughs]
Can you talk about the special?
It's a celebration of Neighbours, past and present with lots of current and former cast members reflecting on their time in the show and provides viewers with a real insight into Neighbours and why it's been successful and why it continues to be successful.
Any last thoughts about the show, the anniversary or the second half of the year?
Thirty years is a huge milestone and we intend to celebrate it throughtout the year. We're concentrating sopme of our big storylines around the March 18th (anniversary) date but we will be continuing to see big events throughout the year. It's also Ryan Moloney (Toadie) 20th anniversary in 2015 so in the way we celebrated Karl and Susan's anniversary this past year, we'll see some things come Toadie's way because he's important to the show.
Source: Soap World Magazine January 2015
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