David and Lil’s marriage seemed to be heading back on track, now living back under the same roof. However, a blast from the very recent past rocked the boat a little, as Lil interrupted a conversation between David and an attractive woman at Lassiter’s. It transpired that David had met the woman, Jackie, a few weeks previously for dinner in Geelong, assuming his marriage at the time was over. Liljana was a little taken aback, but realised she was in no position to pass judgement. Serena, meanwhile, was having emotional tribulations of her own as she struggled to cope with the recent goings on at home. Although she and Connor fought like cat and dog at the bikini shop, they found some common ground and she came to respect him a lot more when he comforted her. It wasn’t just Serena that Connor was having difficulty with during the week, though! Lance’s brief return to Erinsborough at the beginning of the week made Toadie realised just how similar his two best friends really were. However, both Connor and Lance felt the other was a poor imitation and vowed to fight for Toadie’s affection!

Boyd and Kayla continued to make out that they were in love, however Stephanie spoke her mind and declared that they couldn’t possibly be truly in love after such a short time and through a relationship based on a feeling of obligation. However, things were about to get a lot worse as an unexpected visit from the Adoption Services Department exposed the truth regarding Boyd posing as Anthony, the baby’s father. Despite Max and Steph’s explanations, their hopes were dashed forever as they were removed from the adoption register for having broken the terms. Confused and upset, Kayla fled the Hoylands leaving nothing more than a note asking Steph to take care of Ashley. The family were confused and worried by her sudden disappearance, until Boyd suggested that since Kayla still had unresolved feelings for Anthony, his place would be worth a shot to try and locate her. As it happened, Kayla was there and was indeed hiding from the Hoylands. She admitted that Anthony hadn’t abandoned her as she’d stated, but that he never knew she was pregnant, and she intended for him to remain in the dark about it. The Hoylands couldn’t believe Kayla had lied to them and was willing to let Ashley go for good. Whether she can break all ties with her newborn remains to be seen however…

Joe Mangel made a surprise return to town this week too, primarily he claimed to see Sky, however, she later extracted the truth, that he was running away from his failed relationship with fiancée Celia. Harold was reluctant to have Joe and his country ways causing havoc in the Bishop house, but his Christian nature shone through and he agreed Joe could stay on indefinitely. Sky, however, was worried as to the real reasons behind his visit. She did appreciate his words of wisdom to and about Dylan though. Joe’s knack of winding up Harold and going against his jurisdiction worked in Sky’s favour when her father suggested she and Dylan should ignore the one-month ban imposed upon their relationship. Dylan seemed initially thrilled until Sky told him she loved him, when he got cold feet and decided they had better follow Harold’s wishes after all. It wasn’t just Sky’s love life being active this week, as Joe himself took no time in making an impression on a vulnerable Lyn, and vice-versa, and he helped her with odd jobs around the house.

Elsewhere in Ramsay Street, Stingray took Toadie’s advice and threatened GoGo with legal action unless she gave him the shifts he deserved at work, but she merely laughed in his face and warned him not to try anything. His workmates weren’t much help to him either, too scared they’d lose their jobs if they stood up for their rights. And Paul decided not to accept Rosemary’s offer to buy back Lassiter’s, but he did take Lucy’s advice of staying put in Erinsborough in order to try and build a stable life for him and his estranged family. Indeed, he couldn’t have tried to integrate himself more into the community as he decided to move out of his suite at the hotel and lodge with Lou at No.22. Lou was far from happy to have his landlord and local enemy living with him!

By far the biggest event in Erinsborough this week was the screening of Annalise’s much-hyped documentary on small communities, and Ramsay Street in particular. A massive street party was held to coincide with the viewing, however, strong sun meant the party had to be moved up the road to Lassiter’s where the residents gathered in the bar ready to see this masterpiece from the BBC. The list of people appearing to contribute their memories of Ramsay Street was literally a who’s who of all the families to have lived in the close. From a fan’s point of view, interesting snippets learnt from the documentary included knowing that Mrs Mangel was alive and well and living with Jane, that Marlene was still with us following her eight year long cruise, Beverly was still a doctor, Sarah still had unresolved feelings for Karl and that Gail believed Paul may have been the love of her life. The screening ended with a toast to neighbours by the neighbours, a fitting way to celebrate the twentieth birthday of Australia’s longest running television show. Happy Birthday Neighbours!

Notes: Wednesday’s special anniversary episode ended with a special closing credits sequence featuring video greetings from past characters who appeared in the documentary, accompanied by an instrumental version of the current theme song. For the first time since Helen’s death episode in 1998, the BBC screened a pretty much unedited version of the full closing credits.