Jane Badler has dismissed speculation that her new Neighbours character Diana Marshall is anything like her former V alter ego.

However, the 56-year-old actress - best known for portraying Diana in the 1983 cult series - revealed that producers chose the name as a "homage" to her previous part.

Speaking about how she acquired the Ramsay Street role, she told Holy Soap: "It's kind of an odd story really. I think the writers originally wrote it for me.

"They named it Diana kind of in homage to Diana in V and it was kind of on their wish list to have someone like me and they didn't even realise I'd been in the country for 20 years, in Australia."

Badler added: "[Marshall]'s nothing like her, she has the same name Diana - she's a human! Diana Marshall's had a dysfunctional upbringing and she's always had to be strong on her own and I think she's a real fighter.

"She's someone who's had to fight for everything she's got in her life. And so she works very hard and she wants to be at the top of her field. All she's ever known is that she has to claw her way to the top in order to survive."