Billy Kennedy (Neighbours)
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Billy Kennedy is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''
Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...
'', played by
Jesse Spencer Jesse Gordon Spencer (born 12 February 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Kennedy on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1994–2000, 2005, 2022), for which he was nominated for two Logie Awards, Dr. Robert ...
. He made his first appearance on 27 September 1994, arriving in
Ramsay Street Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. ''Neighbours'' storylines primarily centre on the re ...
with his family. He departed on 5 April 2000, but made a small cameo for the show's 20th anniversary episode broadcast on 27 July 2005, and for the show's then final episode on 28 July 2022.


Creation and casting

In 1994, the ''Neighbours'' storyliners decided to introduce a new "solid" family called the Kennedys. Monroe 1996, p.63. The family, which consisted of five members – a mother, father, two sons and a daughter – moved into Number 28
Ramsay Street Ramsay Street is the fictional cul-de-sac in which the characters of the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' live. The street is set in the equally fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. ''Neighbours'' storylines primarily centre on the re ...
. The storyliners felt that they needed to take the show back to its roots, as it seemed that all the houses on the street were populated with misfits and distant relatives. Alan Fletcher and
Jackie Woodburne Jacqueline Anne Woodburne (born 5 February 1956) is an Australian actress, known for her numerous roles in television soap operas. After graduating from the National Theatre School, Woodburne played Maggie Gordon in ''The Young Doctors''. She ap ...
were cast in the roles of parents
Karl Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl of Austria, last Austrian Emperor * Karl (footballer) (born 1993), Karl Cac ...
and
Susan Susan is a feminine given name, the usual English version of Susanna or Susannah. All are versions of the Hebrew name Shoshana, which is derived from the Hebrew ''shoshan'', meaning ''lotus flower'' in Egyptian, original derivation, and severa ...
, while
Benjamin McNair Benjamin John McNair (born 25 August 1974, London) is an Australian actor, best known for his role as Malcolm Kennedy in the soap opera ''Neighbours''. Early life McNair moved to Australia with his family when he was 18 months old. He develope ...
and
Kym Valentine Kym Valentine (born 24 May 1977) is an Australian actress, best known for her long running intermittent portrayal of Libby Kennedy in the soap opera ''Neighbours.'' Early life Valentine was born in Blacktown, Sydney, and grew up in Granvill ...
were cast as teenagers
Malcolm Malcolm, Malcom, Máel Coluim, or Maol Choluim may refer to: People * Malcolm (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Malcom (footballer) (born 1997), Brazilian football forward * Clan Malcolm * Maol Choluim de Innerp ...
and
Libby Libby as a feminine given name is typically a diminutive form of Elizabeth, which is less commonly spelled 'Libbie' or ' Libi'. In recent years, it has been used as a shortened version of the name Liberty. The name means ''my heart'' in Hebrew. I ...
.
Jesse Spencer Jesse Gordon Spencer (born 12 February 1979) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Billy Kennedy on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' (1994–2000, 2005, 2022), for which he was nominated for two Logie Awards, Dr. Robert ...
was cast as Billy, the youngest member of the Kennedys. Spencer originally auditioned for the role of
Brett Stark Brett Stark is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Brett Blewitt. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 30 November 1993, along with his sister, Danni Stark, and remained as a regu ...
, but was told that he was too young. The following year, he successfully auditioned for the role of Billy.


Development


Relationship with Melissa Drenth

Billy's first long-term love interest was his school friend Melissa Drenth (Aimee Robertson). Their relationship got off to "a shaky start", especially when Billy's father gave him a hard time about it. Spencer was glad that his character was given a girlfriend, saying "It's about time. At last he's acting his age. Getting a girlfriend should help him become a bit more mature. He's not going to be the naive country boy any longer. There's no doubt Billy's completely smitten." When Melissa mother found a packet of condoms in Melissa's school bag, she called for an end to the relationship. However, she did not know that Billy and Melissa had not yet had sex, as they had had problems finding a suitable place. Billy's brother, Mal, offered the couple the use of his house, but Billy and Melissa were interrupted by Mal's girlfriend,
Danni Stark Danielle "Danni" Stark is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Eliza Szonert. She made her debut during the episode broadcast on 30 November 1993 and remained in the show until 13 November 1996, with a br ...
(
Eliza Szonert Eliza Szonert is an Australian actress, known for her role as Danni Stark in ''Neighbours''. Career Born in Victoria, Australia, Szonert acted in a stage production of Cinderella at the Children's Oxford Theatre and appeared in a television ...
) and Angie Rebecchi (
Lesley Baker Lesley Baker (born 20 January 1944) is an Australian actress, singer, dancer and comedian. She is best known internationally for her small screen roles in cult series ''Prisoner'' and her recurring role in ''Neighbours''. Career Early career ...
). Melissa received a "telling-off" from her mother over the condoms and the couple's plans to have sex were put on hold. When their parents began to fear that the relationship was getting "too serious", Billy and Melissa promised that they would wait to have sex. However, they later realised that they could not wait and they went to Billy's bedroom. A
Grundy Television Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...
spokesperson commented "When it comes to the crunch Billy can't go through with it. Melissa flees in tears and Billy is convinced she will want nothing to do with him after his flop in bed." The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
cut the scenes ahead of broadcast in the UK, fearing they were "too raunchy" for the early evening timeslot. Billy and Melissa eventually broke up when Billy discovered she was cheating on him. Melissa departed the show shortly after.


Relationship with Anne Wilkinson

Billy was later paired with
Anne Wilkinson Anne Wilkinson (also Hails) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Brooke Satchwell. She made her first on screen appearance on 19 November 1996. Satchwell quit the role in 1999 and the character depart ...
(
Brooke Satchwell Brooke Kerith Satchwell is an Australian actress and former model. She is known for playing Anne Wilkinson in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1995 until 2000. She won the Logie Award for Most Popular New Talent in 1998. Since leaving ''Neigh ...
), who moved into Ramsay Street with her mother and brother. Spencer thought the relationship lasted so long because the couple shared so much. Billy and Anne lived in the same street, had the same friends, went to the same school and grew up together. Spencer said "In the early days, our relationship seemed perfect, but, as we've got older and wiser, there have been more problems." Billy became the centre of a love triangle following the arrival of
Caitlin Atkins Caitlin Atkins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Emily Milburn. The actress originally auditioned for the role of Anne Wilkinson and received the part of Caitlin six months later. She made her first ...
(Emily Milburn). One of Caitlin's top priorities, upon moving to Erinsborough, was to find a boyfriend and she set her sights on Billy, her training partner at the pool. Milburn said Caitlin fell for Billy immediately and she did not care that he was dating Anne. Caitlin wanted Billy and she was prepared to "go all out" and get him. Satchwell told Steven Murphy from ''Inside Soap'' that neither Anne nor Caitlin were prepared to back down over Billy. As Caitlin and Billy began swimming together more, they grew closer and Anne could see that Billy was attracted to Caitlin. Billy later shared a kiss with Caitlin, which Anne witnessed. Billy and Anne then briefly split up. Satchwell thought that it would have made everyone's lives easier if Billy and Anne had just sat down and talked about their relationship problems in the first place.


Departure and cameo appearances

Spencer chose to depart ''Neighbours'' in November 1999. Speaking of his decision to leave, Spencer said "I'd been in ''Neighbours'' for five years and I'd had enough. The storylines were boring and I wasn't enjoying it any more. When I said I was leaving, I hoped they would make Bill's departure interesting - but he just moves away from Erinsborough, there's no drama to it. It's disappointing and typical of the last two years of storylines." Spencer revealed that the door had been left open for a possible return in the future. Spencer later said that ''Neighbours'' had been "a launchpad" for him. In 2005, Spencer reprised his role and became one of many former members who made a return to ''Neighbours'' to appear in the show's 20th anniversary episode "
Friends for Twenty Years "Friends for Twenty Years" is the 4773rd episode of the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours''. The episode was written by Ben Marshall, directed by Jovita O'Shaughnessy, and executively produced by Ric Pellizzeri. It first aired on 27 J ...
". Spencer could not return to Australia to shoot his cameo because of his filming commitments in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Instead, he got a costume and asked a friend to film him on
Malibu Beach Malibu ( ; ; ) is a beach city in the Santa Monica Mountains region of Los Angeles County, California, about west of downtown Los Angeles. It is known for its Mediterranean climate, its strip of beaches stretching along the Pacific Ocean coa ...
, where he pretended Billy was on holiday, and sent it to the producers. Four years later, Spencer revealed that he had been approached about a return to the show and said he would not rule out a one-off appearance. He later agreed to reprise the role for a cameo appearance in the show's then final episode, which was broadcast on 28 July 2022.


Storylines

Billy arrives in Ramsay Street with his family after his father, Karl, buys Number 28 at an auction. Billy soon makes friends with
Toadfish Rebecchi Jarrod Vincenzo Rebecchi, commonly known as "Toadfish" or "Toadie", is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Ryan Moloney. He made his first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 23 January 199 ...
(
Ryan Moloney Ryan Moloney (born 24 November 1979) is an Australian actor, known for his portrayal of the fictional character Jarrod "Toadfish" Rebecchi in the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1995 until his departure in 2025. Career Moloney's first ...
) and
Hannah Martin Hannah Martin is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Rebecca Ritters. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 July 1992. Hannah is the only child of Philip and Julie Martin and the younger sister ...
(
Rebecca Ritters Rebecca Ritters is an Australian journalist and current news anchor for Deutsche Welle. Prior to her journalism career, she was an actress. Career She is also known as an actress, mostly for her role as Hannah Martin in the soap opera ''Neig ...
) and meets his first girlfriend, Melissa Drenth. Billy breaks up with Melissa when she reveals her homophobia towards his teacher, Andrew Watson (Christopher Uhlmann) who was trying to help him after he was diagnosed with
dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...
. Billy and Toadie become best friends and create a pirate radio station together. When
Amy Greenwood Amy Greenwood is a fictional character from the Australian soap ''Neighbours'', played by Jacinta Stapleton. She made her first on-screen appearance on 10 July 1997. Amy is characterised as flirtatious and ditzy, especially interested in fashion ...
(
Jacinta Stapleton Jacinta Patrice Stapleton (born 6 June 1979) is an Australian actress. Best known for her role as Amy Greenwood in the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1997–2000, 2005 and 2020–2023). Her most notable role was playing u ...
) arrives and the Wilkinson twins,
Lance The English term lance is derived, via Middle English '' launce'' and Old French '' lance'', from the Latin '' lancea'', a generic term meaning a wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generic term meaning a spear">wikt:lancea#Noun">lancea'', a generi ...
(
Andrew Bibby Andrew Bibby may refer to: * Andrew Bibby (actor) (born 1980), Australian actor who played Lance Wilkinson on Neighbours. * Andrew Bibby (rugby union) (born 1957), Canadian international rugby union player. {{hndis, Bibby, Andrew ...
) and Anne, a new group of friends is born. Billy and Anne fall in love with some help from Lance and Toadie and they became inseparable. Billy joins the local pool as a life guard and takes Anne there one night for a romantic date. The couple also enter a Perfect Couple competition, but Billy gets cold feet when it comes to the photoshoot and Lance fills in for him. When
Caitlin Atkins Caitlin Atkins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Emily Milburn. The actress originally auditioned for the role of Anne Wilkinson and received the part of Caitlin six months later. She made her first ...
(Emily Milburn) arrives she wastes no time in admitting her feelings for Billy and they even share a kiss. Billy plans to leave school and move out of home, but Anne and his parents are not keen on the idea. Shortly after, Billy and Anne receive letters for university placements and Anne is placed in
Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...
. Billy misses Anne while she is away and enters a kissing contest with Amy to win the prize money and fund a trip to see her. Billy later realises that he has a talent for carpentry and Karl gives him a loan to start his own business. Billy and Anne drift apart and she moves into an artist's studio. When Billy's workshop is trashed, he realises that he had left the door unlocked and would not be covered by the insurance. Billy then begins work on a building site, but after a near-death accident he speaks up about the safety of the site. This makes Anne proud and they begin to repair their friendship, but when Anne tells Billy that she would go out with David "Fanto" Hodges (Daniel Dinnen) if he asked, Billy decides to get her out of his system.
Felicity Scully Felicity "Flick" Scully is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Holly Valance. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 October 1999. She departed on 28 November 2002, but m ...
(
Holly Valance Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian and British actress, singer, model, and a right-wing political activist. Valance became well known for her role as Felicity Scully on the Austra ...
) takes an interest in Billy, but realises that he is not over Anne and quickly backs off. Billy creates a new kitchen table for the Scully family and, despite
Joe Scully Joe Scully is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Shane Connor. He made his first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 October 1999, along with his family. Development In October 1999, the five ...
's (
Shane Connor Shane Connor (born 3 April 1959) also billed/credited as Shane Feeney-Connor, is an Australian actor, who has had extensive experience in stage, television and film productions, both locally and internationally in the United Kingdom and United St ...
) protests, the table stays in the Scully kitchen. Billy is then offered an apprenticeship by
Greg Mast ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera. It was created by Reg Watson and first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the soap in 2000, by order of first appearance. All characters ...
(Roy Thompson) a woodworker in Queensland. Toadie arranges a trip to Luna Park for the old gang and they all say their goodbyes. Anne is sad that Billy is leaving and they try to make a long-distance relationship work. Anne transfers to a nearby university instead and she surprises Billy at the train station. The couple vow to stay together forever. Five years later, Billy appears in
Annalise Hartman Annalise Hartman is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Kimberley Davies. She made her debut during the episode broadcast on 15 January 1993 and departed on 31 January 1996. Davies reprised the role in J ...
's (
Kimberly Davies Kimberley Davies (born 20 February 1973) is an Australian actress and model, known for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1993 until 1996. Early life Davies was born in Ballarat, Victoria, wher ...
) documentary about Ramsay Street, and says hello to his parents whilst he and Anne are on holiday. Seventeen years later, Billy sends a video congratulating Toadie on his wedding to
Melanie Pearson Melanie Pearson (also Mangel) is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Lucinda Cowden. She made her first appearance as Melanie during the episode broadcast on 30 July 1987. Cowden originally a ...
(
Lucinda Cowden Lucinda Cowden (born 24 April 1965) is an Australian actress, known for her role as Melanie Pearson in the soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1987 until 1991. She also appeared in '' The Power, The Passion'', presented children's television series ...
).


Reception

Spencer earned several award nominations for his portrayal of Billy. In 1998, he received a nomination for Most Popular Actor at the
Logie Award The TV Week Logie Awards (known colloquially as The Logies) is an annual ceremony celebrating and honouring the best shows and stars in Television in Australia, Australian television, sponsored and organised by the magazine ''TV Week''. The eve ...
s. He received another nomination in the same category the following year. At the 1999 ''Inside Soap'' Awards, Spencer was nominated for Best Actor, while he and Satchwell earned a joint nomination for Best Couple. He also garnered a nomination for Favourite Teen Idol at the People's Choice Awards. A writer for the BBC's ''Neighbours'' website stated that Billy's most notable moment was "Setting up a pirate radio station." Spencer's looks made him a teen idol during his time with series. A writer for
Virgin Media Virgin Media Limited is a British telecommunications company which provides telephone, television and internet services in the United Kingdom. Its headquarters are at Green Park in Reading, England. It is owned by Virgin Media O2, a 50:50 ...
called Billy a teen heartthrob during a feature called 'Who is soapland's hottest hunk?'. During a feature called "Neighbours stars make it big", a contributor for
Holy Soap Holy Soap is a UK television and entertainment website founded in June 2009 by the British television company Channel 5. The website is the official UK home of the Australian soap operas '' Home and Away'' and '' Neighbours'', which are broadcast ...
said "Billy's gorgeous looks and sweet romance with Anne Wilkinson ensured his popularity among ''Neighbours'' fans". Paul Brooks from ''
Soaplife ''Soaplife'' was a soap opera magazine published in the United Kingdom by TI Media (formerly IPC Media and Time Inc. UK). The magazine was first published in 1999 and focused on British and Australian soap operas. It was originally published mont ...
'' included Billy and Anne in his list of "dream lovers". He assessed that "the emotional ups and downs of Bill and Anne are almost a soap on their own." In November 1999, an ''
All About Soap ''All About Soap'' was a fortnightly UK magazine founded in October 1999. It was released on Tuesdays. Storylines of the shows it covered were from soap operas shown in the United Kingdom and from Australia, including ''EastEnders'', ''Coronat ...
'' critic praised Spencer and Satchwell's performance stating that "if Jason and Kylie were the soapworld's sweethearts in the 1980s, then their crown has undoubtedly been passed onto Jesse and Brooke, alias teenage lovers Billy Kennedy and Anne Wilkinson." In 2010, to celebrate ''Neighbours 25th anniversary, a writer for ''
Sky The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the planetary surface, surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from ...
'' profiled 25 characters of which they believed were the most memorable in the series history. Billy is included in the list and describing him the writer states: "Easygoing Billy didn't take life as seriously as the rest of his family did, preferring to hang with Hannah in the club house and get into scrapes with best mate Toadie. Though troubled by dyslexia and asthma, he was a hard worker, spending lots of time swimming. This somewhat inevitably helped him to, ahem, 'fill out', and lead to lots of him, Ben's sister Caitlin and spontaneous lodger Joel wandering around the Kennedy house with very few clothes on. He eventually left the Street with boring sweetheart Anne."


References

*


External links


Billy Kennedy
at
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Billy Neighbours characters Television characters introduced in 1994 Fictional lifeguards Fictional carpenters Kennedy family (Neighbours) Australian male characters in soap operas