Now everybody needs WOKE Neighbours… Ramsay Street’s revamp features a very diverse cast of characters

Aug 27, 2023 by Jill

by Katie Hind, Mailonline:

Prim and proper Harold Bishop will surely be beside himself with pompous indignation when he meets the new inhabitants of Ramsay Street.

Because when the Australian soap opera Neighbours returns to our screens next month, the famous cul-de-sac in fictional Erinsborough will be the wokest place in the entire southern hemisphere. As well as a biracial gay couple with two children, the soap will also feature a transgender character, a male gay couple and a lesbian singleton.

The long-running show, which was axed last year after Channel 5 decided against renewing its contract, is famous for launching the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie.

It was also regarded as one of the most wholesome shows on TV. Viewer reactions to characters Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell (played by Donovan and Minogue) moving in together in 1987 led to a hastily scripted wedding, a ratings bonanza and a pop music spin-off for the pair.

Now all that is set to change. The Mail on Sunday can reveal that when the show returns next month, new neighbours will include the very modern Varga-Murphy family, which features two mums: Cara, played by actress Sara West, and Remi, portrayed by Naomi Rukavina. Cara is white, Remi is multi-racial and they have two sons, JJ and Dex.

Ramsay Street will also feature female transgender character Mackenzie Hargreaves, played by Georgie Stone. When she heard Neighbours was being revived, Georgie – who is transgender in real life – wrote to the show’s producers to pitch the character. The show’s devoted fans might point out that Neighbours has always kept up with the times. Lesbian character Chloe Brennan, played by actress April Rose Pengilly, 35, is set to return in the reboot, alongside her screen brother Aaron Brennan and his partner David Tanaka, who have a daughter named Isla.

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