Neighbours' executive producer Susan Bower DS Interview

It's been a year of change for Neighbours as the show has moved from its long-time home of Network Ten in Australia over to digital station Eleven, surpassing expectations by immediately becoming the channel's top-rated show and maintaining a strong fanbase. In the UK, the soap remains a reliable performer for Channel 5 and fans have praised the 2011 season, which has featured Toadie and Sonya's relationship troubles, Harold Bishop's return, Kyle and Chris becoming regular characters and Jade Mitchell settling into the street.

As Digital Spy's Producer Season 2011 continues, we recently chatted to Neighbours' executive producer Susan Bower to hear what the future holds for Australia's longest-running drama.

Neighbours has now been airing on Eleven for over six months. How do you think the show has coped with the channel change?
"We have had excellent results and we're absolutely thrilled. We see that we have loyal fans and that the digital channels have been embraced by viewers in this country. Not only are they loyal fans but they seem to be watching more of the show more often, which is what our market research is telling us."

Neighbours fans sometimes complain that the soap has to pussyfoot around certain issues due to its G rating. As the show could feasibly air as PG on its new channel, there's been some surprise among viewers that this hasn't happened - what are your thoughts?
"We remain G, however on Channel 11 and with a sensitive censor we have been able to push the boundaries. But we don't want to go outside G because we have an audience which range from quite young, so we need to stay G. And we are proud to be a programme that the entire family can sit down and enjoy, so we are definitely G."

Among the hardcore Neighbours fans, the 2011 season seems to be getting the best feedback that we've seen for the show in recent years. Do you think there's been conscious changes in the show's approach which have led to this?
"I believe this has a lot to do with the move to Eleven. I've read a lot of criticism over the last year or so which was disappointing, but the show remains constant. We've been pushing the boundaries for a very long time - Bridget's death, Steph sleeping with her best friend's husband, and Susan's surrogacy were all very big stories, and many more.

"The only thing I feel we've changed is we have put a bit more music into the episodes so there is a more contemporary feel, and a couple of characters have been more well-defined and have a real point-of-difference. I would have thought we would have more criticism as characters leave, but that hasn't been the case. And I believe viewers' likes and dislikes go in cycles - they can be in love with some characters but then their attention will be diverted to another character. "


Viewers have recently commented that the show seems to be moving away from the teenage characters dominating most of the screen time, as we've seen great stuff for many of the older characters like Toadie and Sonya. Will this balance in screen time and storylines continue?
"Again, we're in storyline cycles. I think we are pretty consistent, using all our characters and that there is a generational balance. The teens have had a lot of focus, however at the same time, as you point out, we have put a lot of emphasis on Sonya and Toadie. Coming up shortly on-air in the UK is a fantastic story with the teens about cyber-bullying and at the same time we have the beginning of the Kennedys' issues with a character called Jim Dolan which will tear them apart, so again, we try to balance the focus of our characters."

The cast seems really small at the moment, so are there any plans to remedy this in the coming months? Could a new family join the show?
"Yes, a new family will join the show but not for a while, again because of the story cycles. We need to let our stories be told in a natural way. It has been shown in the past if a moving van pulls up in Ramsay Street and a new family comes in, it is a trigger for the audience not to like them so we are introducing a family in very small doses. We will meet one, then another so the characters are accepted."

There have been quite a few new castings announced recently, but the vast majority of those have been guest roles. Are you testing the waters with some of the guests with a view to them becoming regulars, or are they all in the show for specific storylines before leaving?
"Yes and no. When we know definitely that we need a new core character - and that has to do with the demographic breakdown of our characters, how many we have in each demographic and if the balance is right - we will bring them in straight away. And there are others that we do test the waters, not only for how they work on the show but do the viewers notice them, are they good for publicity, can the character be developed further, and of course budget is a consideration."

We've recently heard that you've cast Bob Morley as Aidan, a new love interest for Chris, and this news seems to have gone down really well among the fans. However, the viewers are curious to know whether Chris and Aidan's relationship will be treated like any other when it comes to physical contact and affection, or will there will be restrictions with how much you can show?
"We will treat any romance homosexual or heterosexual in a sensitive G-rated way. It is obvious that at 6.30pm a gay romance is a sensitive issue and for some reason on television it is alright for girls to kiss and experiment with their sexuality but it's not alright for boys. That is something we are aware of, as annoying or disappointing as it is. We will treat the romance within the character. Chris is a naturally shy person - he is not a person who either flaunts his sexuality or his heart. So it will be done according to that character. And it may not be a full-on relationship. The character that Bob is playing is older and further down the track with his relationship testing, so it will be a relationship story rather than a gay male romance."

When Home and Away screened a lesbian relationship between Charlie and Joey a couple of years ago, there was a surprising amount of debate and criticism from conservative and family groups. Have you prepared yourselves for that kind of response and will Neighbours stand its ground if there's a similar reaction?
"We are batting down the hatches because already we have seen in the media letters from viewers and even non-viewers who are less than thrilled. It was incredible that one of the letters said that Bob's character was a nurse and how cliché was that, however it is counterbalanced that the Chris character is a mechanic so some of them are knee-jerk. We're not going to please everyone, that is impossible."


Lyn's departure came as a surprise to fans. Did you feel that she'd come to the end of her story or was Janet ready to leave?
"Both. With Steph gone, it did leave us light on stories, and also Janet originally joined this time around for three months and ended up staying for two years, so she was keen to return to the theatre and other projects."

The Robinsons are an iconic family but we currently only have two left - Paul and Andrew. Would you ever consider bringing back characters like Lucy or Rosemary again, or perhaps a long-lost relative?!
"We regularly have Rosemary on the show and she is very happy to return to do very small appearances. A long-lost relative is always on the cards. It's not for a want of trying. A lot of past characters don't want to come back, they have moved onto other projects, left the industry and many live overseas and it's just not practical to bring them back."

Are any future returns on the cards after Harold's stint and the news of Malcolm's comeback?
"We will always try to get Harold back and we have Mal, but he doesn't stay in the show. As I said previously, if it is relevant to the story, we will always try to bring people back and of course, it also depends if the actors want to return. What we will continue to do is refresh our characters and while some fans may not like this, particularly in England, this is something we have to do because the days when actors stayed in roles forever, in any show, are over. Actors want to pursue opportunities overseas, there are more opportunities now than there were 10, 15 or 20 years ago. And we never stop people furthering their careers, however we know which ones the fans love and we try to keep them as long as we can."


The character of Jade has received a really positive response. Can you tease any future developments for her?
"She is going to continue to be a naughty girl and the audience will see she has very strong feelings for one of the characters and she fights them. She has a very dark secret from her past and she has put up a brick wall to protect herself. She loves and adores her sister and nephew, and from that we see she is not a cold fish - she isn't a tomboy, she just isn't going to go there, she wants to protect herself."

The character of Kyle Canning has also proved popular. Now that he's a regular, can you let us know anything about what's in store for him?
"Yes, Kyle is an example of a character we started as a guest and we developed, and could see how much the audience liked him. Plus we had time to really define the character. We have lots in store for Kyle. We see him as our resident bogan. He is a bloke with double standards - he goes out and shags indiscriminately, but the girl he wants to marry has to be an angel and therefore we are going to challenge that.

"He is going to have stories about his trade, the share house with Jade and various others, and we are going to introduce members of his family. He is also involved with a huge story about a property development in Erinsborough that challenges the community as a whole and will pit neighbour against neighbour, and it is going to have neighbours band together."


The upcoming problems for Susan and Karl sound like a really big storyline. As we've seen them run into problems quite a few times now, is it important to set this storyline apart from previous marital strife for the pair of them?
"This is what I see as normal married life. People have their ups and downs. We have started a story here in Australia where Susan befriends a dying man, Jim Dolan, which really goes to her urges to look after people. Her children have grown up and gone away, but she still needs to be needed and to look after people. They both realise at this stage of their lives they are moving in different directions and have different needs. They are in for a very rough ride and hopefully we will handle it very maturely. I can assure fans they will not leave the show and we hope and pray they will come back together."

Things have seemed a bit quiet for Lucas recently. Is there any good stuff on the horizon for him?
"Just wait, we have a rollercoaster for him. You're going to see in England soon some deeply moving stories which cause life changes for Lucas but he remains our gorgeous, blue-collar larrikin."


Would you ever explore Michael and Natasha's pasts? We've heard very little about Michael's wife, who's supposed to be dead. Could she make a shock arrival?
"Hold on, we have just begun filming a fantastic story. It is the beginning of Tash wanting to find out more about her dead mother, and we will find out the secret in three parts which will change their lives forever."

Will Kate be at a loose end without Mark or do you still have some big plans for her?
"Yes, hold on again - are you sure you don't have a spy in the writing department? Kate is going through some very interesting changes in her life and she has three stories coming up and they are small, medium and hold on to your hats!"

Would you ever bring in a new character over the age of 60 - perhaps a new patriarch or matriarch for the show to really balance out the age groups?
"You do have a spy! Yes, we definitely would. We are there for you and know where you're coming from. We have a lot of things we need to move through and we can't make sudden changes. And we know after 25 years and all the research we've done that fans don't like sudden changes."

Finally, are there any other teasers you can give us?
"Our Christmas cliffy which is in the middle of your winter has got a lot of things happening. We don't have car crashes, earthquakes or other disasters, but a lot of lives are changed in that particular block of episodes which will have major ramifications which will play out in our new year.

"And can I just finish by saying, the loyalty and respect the UK fans continue to have toward Neighbours is really humbling not only to me but also the entire cast. They are all aware how much the show is revered in England and never lose sight of it. Keep watching, I can promise some wonderful stories are coming up."