Neighbours 40TH REUNION! SECRETS, STALKERS & CRAZY STORYLINES!

The show's iconic cast reunite to celebrate four decades of Ramsay Street

- Craig Bennett

Amid rafter-rattling laughs and outrageous Ramsay Street stories being swapped, the function room brimming with hundreds of Neighbours fans fell silent when Anne Charleston was asked how her close friend and legendary costar Ian Smith was faring with his cancer fight.

"Smithy and I were talking on the phone days ago, and his voice was full of joy. He's now, miraculously, in remission from what was deemed terminal lung cancer diagnosed in 2024," smiled Anne, 82, to thunderous Anne, bona fide Ramsay Street royalty as Madge opposite Ian's Harold, was among eight Neighbours favourites enthralling fans at a recent Partners In Crime event celebrating the 40th anniversary of the iconic TV series in Melbourne.

"I loved my time on Neighbours. I joined the cast in 1986 and left in 1992, relocating to Ireland and living in a 200-year-old stone cottage. I returned to Australia and Madge was resurrected in 1996 until her demise from cancer in 2001.

"I knew filming that death scene would be harrowing, so I lightened the mood by asking the props department to hang some whips and chains behind our bedroom door," she laughed.

"When Ian, emoting as heartbroken Harold, caught sight of the S&M paraphernalia, he burst out laughing. We both did!

"Coming back as Madge Bishop's ghost in 2015 was a surprise, returning in 2025, after the show had been revived a third time, to play Madge's long lost cousin, Agnes... it's been a wild ride."

INITIAL NERVES

As one of the 12 original Neighbours stars, David Clencie, who played Danny Ramsay, was the first person seen and heard when the show debuted in 1985. "That first scene was nerve wracking. I was having a nightmare. My first word was Shane... referencing my brother, played by Peter O'Brien," says David, 61.

"The reaction from fans at the