'' Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1987, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the show's executive producer

Reg Watson Reginald James Watson (27 August 1926 – 8 October 2019) was an Australian television producer and screenwriter. He was executive producer on ''Crossroads'' and created Australian media exports serials such as ''Prisoner'', ''Neighbours'', ''T ...

. The third season of ''Neighbours'' began airing on 5 January 1987.

Harold Bishop Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Ian Smith (actor), Ian Smith. The actor was offered the role by the show's creator and executive producer Reg Watson. Smith made his first scr ...

arrived during the same month. February saw the introductions of

Bouncer A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...

and Henry Mitchell, son of established character

Madge Mitchell Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as th ...

. In March,

Fiona Corke Fiona Corke (born 24 September 1961) is an Australian actress best known for her role as Gail Robinson on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Career Corke began her career with a minor role in the film 'I Live with Me Dad.' Corke appear ...

began playing Gail Lewis and

Ernie Bourne Ernest Alfred Bourne
''

Rob. April saw the arrival of businessman Mr. Udagawa.

Anne Scott-Pendlebury Anne Scott-Pendlebury (also known as Anne Pendlebury) is an Australian television, film and theatre actress. She played the role of Hilary Robinson in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. Career Scott-Pendlebury is the daughter of L. Scott Pendlebu ...

began appearing as

Hilary Robinson Hilary Robinson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Anne Scott-Pendlebury. The character first appeared on-screen during the episode broadcast on 25 June 1987. Hilary departed the show on 28 February ...

in June. The following month saw the first appearances of new doctor

Beverly Marshall Beverly Marshall (also Robinson) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours''. Upon her introduction on 6 July 1987, the character was played by Lisa Armytage. Following Armytage's decision to quit the role in 1988, prod ...

, played by Lisa Armytage,

Gino Rossini ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1987, by order of first appearance. All characters were introduced by the ...

and

Melanie Pearson Melanie Pearson (also Mangel) is a fictional character from Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'' played by Lucinda Cowden. The actress was initially signed to the soap on a recurring basis for a few weeks. She made her first screen appearance d ...

. July also saw the birth of Jamie Clarke, son of Des and

Daphne Clarke Daphne Clarke (also Lawrence) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Elaine Smith. Daphne was created by Reg Watson as one of ''Neighbours twelve original characters. The producer had originally wa ...

Briony Behets Briony Behets (born 1951, London, United Kingdom) is an English-Australian actress who found fame acting in Australian soap operas of the 1970s and 1980s Early life Behets' father worked as a civil engineer, which took him around the world and ...

began playing

Amanda Harris Amanda Harris (born 1963) is an English actress. She was born in Adelaide, South Australia and spent her childhood in Papua New Guinea before moving to Britain at the age of 10. She trained at Arts Ed. A longstanding member of the Royal Shakespe ...

in August.

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Max ...

was introduced as

Kenny Larkin Kenny Larkin (who also releases as Dark Comedy) is an American techno producer from Detroit. He has been described by AllMusic as "massively influential" on American, British, and German techno. Larkin was born in 1968 and raised in Detroit, but ...

the following month. October saw the arrivals of

Sally Wells Sally Wells is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Rowena Mohr. She debuted on-screen during the episode airing on 15 October 1987. During her time in the serial her storylines were centered on her on-scr ...

and

Greg Cooper Gregory John Luke Cooper (born 10 June 1965) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. A fullback, Cooper represented Hawke's Bay, Otago and Auckland at a provincial level and the in Super Rugby. He was a member of the New Zealand national ...

. Des and Sally's father,

Malcolm Clarke Malcolm Clarke may refer to: * Malcolm Clarke (zoologist) (1930–2013), British marine biologist *Malcolm Clarke (composer) Malcolm Clarke (17 January 1943 – 11 December 2003) was a British composer and experimental electronic musician. ...

, played by Noel Trevarthen, made his first appearance in November and

Nick Carrafa Nick Carrafa is an Australian actor best known for his television roles as Tony Romeo on the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'' and Alfredo on the comedy series '' Acropolis Now''. Career Carrafa began his career with a guest role in the ser ...

began playing mechanic

Tony Romeo Tony Romeo (December 25, 1938 – June 23, 1995) was an American songwriter.
(obituary), ''The New York Times'', June 26 ...

the same month.

Harold Bishop

Harold Bishop, played by

Ian Smith Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...

, made his first screen appearance as Harold during the episode broadcast on 30 January 1987. He departed in September 1991, but returned five years later in October 1996. Harold remained on screen for over twelve years, making him one of the longest-running characters in the show's history. Smith announced his departure from ''Neighbours'' in August 2008. Following a cancer storyline, Harold made his final appearance on 27 February 2009. In December 2010, Smith revealed that he would be reprising his role and Harold returned on 9 May 2011. Harold is described as being "indecisive, considerate, stuffy and reserved." Smith has earned various award nominations for his role as Harold. At the 2007 ''Inside Soap'' Awards, he was nominated for "Funniest Performance". The following year saw Smith nominated for "Funniest Performance" again and "Best Actor". In 2009, Smith was once again nominated for "Funniest Performance" and "Best Storyline" for Harold's cancer. That same year he was nominated for the " Most Popular Personality" and "Most Popular Actor"

Logie Award The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine '' TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as th ...

Bouncer

Bouncer made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years. He was trained by Luke Hura. When ''Neighbours'' needed a golden Labrador puppy, they turned to animal trainer Luke Hura and his canine actors agency, who provided them with Bouncer. Bouncer was paid more than the human actors and Hura revealed that he was worth between $100,000 and $200,000. Bouncer's fan cards became the most popular out of any cast member. One of Bouncer's most famous storylines had him dreaming that he was marrying Rosie, Clarrie McLachlan's

Sheepdog A sheep dog or sheepdog is generally a dog or breed of dogs historically used in connection with the raising of sheep. These include livestock guardian dogs used to guard sheep and other livestock and herding dogs used to move, manage and c ...

, who lived next door. During an interview,

Anne Charleston Anne Charleston (born 30 December 1942) is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small ...

(who played

Madge Bishop Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as th ...

) said "The whole cast was mortified about that! It reduced it to a three-year-old's programme. It was very strange." Thirteen weeks after finishing his final scenes on ''Neighbours'', Bouncer died of cancer aged seven. Following his death, Bouncer was sent more tributes from fans around the world than any of the human cast.

MSN TV MSN TV (formerly WebTV) was a web access product consisting of a thin client device that used a television for display (instead of using a computer monitor), and the online service that supported it. The device design and service was developed ...

editor Lorna Cooper also commented on Bouncer and his dream stating: "''Neighbours'' featured some bizarre dream sequences: there was the Christmas edition with Mike Young and Shane Ramsay as Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee and the episode in which Harold Bishop fantasised about being a Scottish laird. But nothing has topped Bouncer the Labrador's dream that he was marrying Clarrie McLachlan's dog, Rosie. What were the writers thinking?" Bouncer's dream was later named the second "weirdest" storyline in the show's history.

Henry Ramsay

Henry Ramsay (né Mitchell), played by

Craig McLachlan Craig Dougall McLachlan (born 1 September 1965) is an Australian actor, musician, singer and composer. He has been involved in film, television, the music industry and music theatre for over 30 years. He is best known for appearing in the soap ...

. He made his first on-screen appearance on 19 February 1987. Henry departed on 23 November 1989. McLachlan won three

Logie Awards The Logie Awards (officially the TV Week Logie Awards; colloquially known as The Logies) is an annual gathering to celebrate Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The first ceremony was held in 1959 as the ...

for his role as Henry during his time with ''Neighbours''. He was also nominated for 'Most Popular Personality'. The following year he won the 'Most Popular Actor' award again and 'Most Popular Personality'. Following the departure of Peter O'Brien (

Shane Ramsay Shane Ramsay is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Peter O'Brien. He made his first appearance during the show's first episode, broadcast on 18 March 1985. Shane is the son of Max Ramsay ...

), producers began a search for a new "hunk" to keep the female viewers interested. McLachlan was 21 when he auditioned for ''Neighbours'' and despite having no prior acting experience, apart from a brief appearance in ''Sons and Daughters'', he was cast as Henry Mitchell. McLachlan initially signed on to ''Neighbours'' for six weeks. Henry was described as "living under a cloud of suspicion" from the other neighbours after they learnt about his criminal record. He was also described as being streetwise, irresistible and a ladies man. Henry counteracted his "beefy image" by being a bit mischievous and "good for a laugh". This led to him being called the "Punk who turned Hunk" by John Kercher in his 1989 ''Neighbours: facts, features, interviews with your favourite TV stars'' book. McLachlan described his character as being "fun-loving" and "wacky". In the UK, 16.6 million viewers watched Henry leave Ramsay Street in 1991.

Gail Robinson

Gail Lewis (previously Robinson), played by

. She made her first appearance on-screen on 11 March 1987. She departed on 27 June 2007. She made guest appearances in 2005, 2006 and 2007. Corke described her time on the show as "an amazing experience" and added "It was so full on and so huge you didn't know if you were an actor or in a pop group half the time." In 1988, Corke became one of ten actors from the show who were flown to London to perform in front of the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

at the

Royal Variety Performance The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal ...

. Corke departed ''Neighbours'' in 1989 after deciding she wanted to experience life outside of the show. In 2005, Corke was one of many ex-cast members who made a return to ''Neighbours'' to appear in an episode celebrating the show's 20th anniversary. In December 2009,

Stefan Dennis Stefan Dennis (born 30 October 1958) is an Australian actor and singer best known for playing the role of cold-hearted and ruthless businessman Paul Robinson in the soap opera '' Neighbours'' from its first episode on March 18, 1985. He departe ...

called for the return of Gail and Corke. The

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

said Gail's most notable moment was "Running off with the triplets." Ruth Deller of television website

Lowculture lowculture.co.uk is a UK television website founded in January 2003 by Paul Lang, who currently works as the art director of '' Doctor Who Adventures''. Purpose The website sought to celebrate popular television shows, especially 'low brow televi ...

said Gail was the "most well-remembered" of Paul's wives. Of Gail and Paul's relationship ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' said "we fretted for what seemed like days until Gail Lewis (Fiona Corke) sashayed into Mr R's love zone. We knew from the start that Paul and Gail were star crossed. But who could have predicted that one love's rose could have so many thorns."

Rob Lewis

Robert "Rob" Lewis, played by

Ernie Bourne Ernest Alfred Bourne
''

Tooheys Tooheys is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, in Sydney, Australia. It produces beers and ciders under the ''Tooheys'' and '' Hahn Brewery'' trademarks, and is part of the Lion beverages group which was acquired by the Japanese Kirin Company ...

– and betting." They also added that he was a "mechanical genius", who could rebuild any car. Wallis 1989, p.73. A writer for BBC Online said the character's most notable moment as "Arriving drunk and embarrassing Gail". Rob opens his own garage in Erinsborough and moves into Number 22 Ramsay Street with his adopted daughter,

Gail Gail may refer to: People *Gail (given name), list of notable people with the given name Surname * Jean-Baptiste Gail (1755–1829), French Hellenist scholar * Max Gail (born 1943), American actor * Sophie Gail (1775–1819), French singer and ...

(

). He moves out when Gail marries Paul Robinson (

) but remains local. He goes into partnership with

(

) but problems crop up due to the two men being polar opposites and constant arguing. Matters are made worse when Rob tries to woo Madge Ramsay (

) and the final straw comes when Harold accuses Rob of stealing money from the garage which Rob confesses to. Rob reveals he took the money to pay off debts incurred by betting on racehorses. Harold is annoyed and sells his half of the business to Jim Robinson (

Alan Dale Alan Hugh Dale (born 6 May 1947) is a New Zealand actor. As a child, Dale enjoyed theatre and rugby. After retiring from the sport, he took on a number of occupations, before deciding to become a professional actor at age 27. Dale subsequent ...

). Rob causes embarrassment at a dinner party on the eve of Scott Robinson (

Jason Donovan Jason Sean Donovan (born 1 June 1968) is an Australian actor and singer. He initially achieved fame in the Australian soap '' Neighbours'', playing Scott Robinson, before beginning a career in music in 1988. In the UK he has sold over 3 ...

) and

Charlene Mitchell Charlene Alexander Mitchell (June 8, 1930 – December 14, 2022) was an American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. In 1968, she became the first Black woman candidate for President of the United States. In the ...

's (

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

) wedding by showing up late and drunk. He flirts with

(

) much to her annoyance. Rob misses the wedding due to a hangover, but redeems himself by giving Charlene indenture papers for a four-year apprenticeship at the garage as a wedding present. When Gail decides to look for her biological parents, Rob is upset at the idea. Gail is distraught to discover her biological mother, Louise is dead but finds her father,

Ian Chadwick Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John (given name), John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a ...

(Robin Bowering). Rob, out of jealousy, confronts Ian and warns him away. His plan backfires and Gail is disgusted and refuses to speak to Rob until he apologises to Ian. Rob grows more and more stubborn and competes for Gail's affections with Ian by buying gifts for Gail and Paul's wedding anniversary. Gail tells Rob, no matter what, he will always be her real father and he apologises and gives Ian his blessing to remain in contact with Gail. Rob meets Gloria Gardner (Beverly Phillips) and falls in love with her. Gail is unimpressed due to Gloria's dress sense and loud personality. Their engagement is met with hostility from Gail and Gloria's son Dean (Andrew Larkins), but they realise their respective single parents love each other and are meant to be together. Paul soon discovers Rob is receiving stolen parts in order to save money and an argument ensues resulting in Rob driving off in a rainstorm and crashing his car. He is hospitalized with serious injuries and comatose for several days. Rob regains consciousness and tells Gloria and Gail to look after each other before going into cardiac arrest and dying.

Mr Udagawa

Toshiro Udagawa (commonly known as Mr. Udagawa), played by Lawrence Mah, made his first appearance on 23 April 1987 and made intermittent appearances over the next five years. In 2017, Mah returned to the serial. In 2005, Mr. Udagawa topped a BBC website poll of "Top 20 Most Obscure Neighbours characters". Readers described him as "a legendary Japanese businessman who seemed to spend his entire career visiting Paul Robinson at Lassiter's. The part of Mr Udagawa did not call for huge dialogue, but it was nonetheless played with a kind of brooding yet dignified menace. It's a great pity that Mr Udagawa was not asked back for the 20th anniversary celebrations, as it would have been nice to see how his career has progressed since those Erinsborough-obsessed days of the late 1980s." Mr. Udagawa is a client of the Daniels Corporation. He deals with

Rosemary Daniels Rosemary Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Joy Chambers. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 February 1986 and appeared intermittently. Rosemary is the adoptive daughter ...

' (

Joy Chambers Joy Chambers (born 1947) is an Australian actress, author, and businesswoman. Career Chambers is known for such television soap opera roles as Rita Merrick in ''The Restless Years'', Dr Robyn Porter in ''The Young Doctors'', and Rosemary Daniel ...

) nephew Paul Robinson (

) and is impressed to learn Rosemary's mother

Helen Daniels Helen Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', portrayed by Anne Haddy. Following the death of Jim Robinson (Alan Dale) in 1993, she remained the only original character played continuously by the same acto ...

(

Anne Haddy Anne Haddy (5 October 1930 – 6 June 1999), credited also as Anne Hardy, was an Australian actress, television presenter and voice artist, who worked in various facets of the industry including radio, stage and television. She was married ...

) also runs her own chauffeur business "Home James". Paul invites Mr. Udagawa to dinner and is successful and steps up his quest to secure a business deal by announcing that he and Gail Lewis (

) are engaged to be married. Mr. Udagawa then presents them with a Bonsai tree and later gives them a Japanese scroll when he returns. After witnessing some domestics and the truth about Paul and Gail's engagement, Mr Udagawa decides against making any further deals with Paul. However, Gail is able to talk him into signing with the corporation. He returns in 1989 and begins doing business with the pacific bank. Des Clarke (

Paul Keane Paul Keane (born 16 September 1957) is an Australian actor well known for playing original character Des Clarke (Neighbours), Des Clarke in the soap opera ''Neighbours'', opposite Elaine Smith (actress), Elaine Smith who played his wife Daphne Cl ...

), learns Japanese in order to impress Mr. Udagawa but he mixes up the phrases and accidentally refers to all Japanese women as "dirty" instead of beautiful. Des is briefly fired but Paul is able to explain matters. While attending dinner at Number 28 with his wife Mrs Udagawa (Joyce Uwen), Mr. Udagawa assumes that Des is engaged to

Kerry Bishop Kerry Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Linda Hartley-Clark. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 1 February 1989. Kerry is Mavis and Harold Bishop's (Ian Smi ...

( Linda Hartley-Clark), prompting jealousy from Joe Mangel ( Mark Little) who barges in, attempting to attack Des but in the process knocking himself out. Mr. Udagawa reappears in 1992 and meets Paul's father, Jim (

) for a drink, but the meeting is cut short when Jim's daughter

Lucy Lucy is an English feminine given name derived from the Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning ''as of light'' (''born at dawn or daylight'', maybe also ''shiny'', or ''of light complexion''). Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, ...

( Melissa Bell) goes for a late-night swim in Lassiter's pond. He later asks Paul to take over the running of some hotels in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only ...

and Paul accepts. 25 years later, Mr. Udagawa returns to Erinsborough and meets with Paul at his motel complex, Robinsons, which he previously owned under the name the Erins Burrow Motel.

Leo Tanaka Leo Tanaka is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Tim Kano. He made his first appearance in the main show during the episode broadcast on 22 September 2016. The character was introduced alongside his ...

(

Tim Kano Tim Kano is a New Zealand actor, known for playing Leo Tanaka in the Australian television soap opera '' Neighbours'' from 2016 until 2022. He also stars in the 2021 horror film ''Great White''. Early life Kano's mother Sue is from New Zeala ...

) is convinced that Mr Udagawa's son, Hiro, is his biological father as his mother Kim Tanaka (Jenny Young) had previously had a relationship with him but Mr. Udagawa confirms Hiro was overseas when Leo and his brother

David Tanaka David Tanaka is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Takaya Honda. He made his first appearance in the main show during the episode broadcast on 21 September 2016. The character was introduced alongside ...

(

Takaya Honda Takaya Honda (born 6 September 1987) is an actor and television presenter. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Josh in the children's television series ''A gURLs wURLd'', Klaus Thomson in the comedy series ''The Family Law'' and David Tanak ...

) were conceived. When Mr Udagawa is prepared to withdraw his investment from the hotel after manager

Terese Willis Terese Willis is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Rebekah Elmaloglou. The actress was cast in the role after attending an audition in late 2012. Before she began filming her first scenes in early ...

(

Rebekah Elmaloglou Rebekah Sophie Elmaloglou (born 23 January 1974) is an Australian actress, known for her roles as teenage tearaway Sophie Simpson on ''Home and Away'' and Terese Willis on