Neighbours Fans Can’t Get Over These Two Things As Soap Revival Gets Underway

Warning! This article contains major spoilers for the new series of Neighbours.

A year on from Neighbours’ star-studded, nostalgia-filled finale, the Australian soap is back from the dead, bringing with it plenty of surprises. 

Fans of the show have been left stunned after the first episode of the revived series dropped on its new home – streaming service Amazon Freevee – on Monday morning.

With the action on Ramsay Street having jumped forward two years from the last time we saw the residents, it seems life in Erinsborough had moved on significantly. 

One of the most significant developments was the arrival of mysterious newcomer Reece Sinclair, played by former The O.C. star Mischa Barton. 

While Mischa’s casting in the show had been previously announced, her role still proved to be a talking point for viewers, who couldn’t quite get over the former Newport Beach resident rocking up in Ramsay Street…

Little is currently known about Mischa’s character or what has brought her to the suburbs of Melbourne, but the actor’s casting came after it was announced Neighbours is also now airing in the US.

In an interview to promote the show, Mischa revealed that she’d actually had a previous offer to appear. 

She told the Daily Express: “I had been asked to be on Neighbours years and years ago, but it had never been the right time. Probably not even the right role.

“But this time it was obviously it’s a reboot so restarting and Reece I think she’s a character I actually really liked and kind of relate to and I thought she’d be a good role for me actually.”

However, Mischa’s appearance was far from the biggest shocker in the first episode. 

That came courtesy of long-standing characters Terese Willis and Toadie Rebecchi, who tied the knot in a shock wedding.

Their nuptials came as a surprise, as Toadie married Melanie Pearson in last year’s finale, which also saw Terese reuniting with ex-husband Paul Robinson. However,  it seems a lot has changed thanks to the two-year time-jump, and for many, it’s going to take some getting used to…

Speaking about the shock union between the two characters, Rebekah Elmaloglou, who plays Terese, told Radio Times:  “I don’t think it will go down too well at first. I had a dream last night that I was confronted with a whole load of fans of the show who were really upset…

“I think they’re gonna be really shocked at first, but we’ve worked quite hard at making it real and authentic. These two people are intrinsically in love with each other. We’ve worked really hard at it.

“The feedback we’ve got from the cast and crew so far is that it’s actually cool. To be quite honest – we have no idea what’s ahead – but I feel like that it’s going to be longer than expected because we’re doing such a good job!”

Neighbours is streaming now on Amazon Freevee, with episodes dropping at 7am from Monday to Thursday.