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> Ten Out Of Ten > Places 91-71
Between February and June 2013, we asked you to vote for your favourite Neighbours characters from the last decade, to make
Perfect Blend's tenth birthday. The votes have now been tallied, and below are the characters who came in places 91 to 71.
91-85
- Lolly Allen, Kerry Mangel, India Napier, Ned Parker, Riley Parker, Adam Rhodes and Patrick Villante (0 Points)
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Last place, bottom of the heap - no matter how you put it, it doesn't make it sound any better, but at least for this unmagnificent seven they're not alone. For the most part, the lack of points can be explained by these characters being children in the case of Kerry, India and Patrick - with their only real storylines involving medical issues or the death of a parent, then there are the likes of Lolly, Riley and Adam who only stayed for a few months - and perhaps aren't remembered as they tended to play second fiddle to a partner, sibling or friend or in Lolly's case is best remembered for her earlier tenure then her recast return. But then there is Ned, who stuck around for three years and was central to many stories and even had a family built around him and definitely hasn't been forgotten, so surely there must be a reasonable explanation for the lack of points...
84-82
- Taj Coppin, Mickey Gannon and Charlie Hoyland (1 Point)
One of the earlier departees of those in the 91 characters, Taj has probably done well to gain one point - the character was on the sidelines of the Jack/Nina romance and is probably most remembered for sleeping with Libby Kennedy, but like most one night stands, they're not very memorable.
Mickey on the other hand, started out as the Hannah Martin or Toby Mangel child of the street - he added an interesting dynamic to the Janae/Ned relationship, which isn't saying much, but after two years of repetive storylines and being upstaged by the arrival of Callum Jones, we were as glad to see Mickey go as we were his dad, Ned.
Meanwhile, poor Charlie Hoyland never stood much of a chance, his mother, Steph, risked her life to carry him to term whilst battling cancer, his dad Max had a breakdown and left, then Steph was sent to prison and he was left to be raised by his grandmother Lyn, who quite frankly had lost a sandwich or two out of the picnic basket over the years. Somehow amidst all that his family managed not to forget about him, as well as whoever gave him a point, although the bar serves as a reminder. Hopefully he's living a happier life now with Max in Fiji.
81
- Nell Rebecchi (2 Points)
Named after long-ago Ramsay Street busybody, Nell Mangel and born into long-term Ramsay Street family, the Rebecchis, baby Nell has probably been given as good a start to life as possible on Neighbours. Both parents are alive (just) and are even happily married (just) and she's even survived three visits with her Grandmother, Angie. Nell has managed to gain two more points than Patrick Villante, who was born at the same time, without doing very much - but maybe it helps that she's the (toad)spawn of someone we've watched develop as a character for 18 years and counting. Let's hope we get to see Jellyfish do the same.
80-78
- Will Griggs, Sunny Lee and Miranda Parker (4 Points)
Brought in as one of four hot new 20-somethings to live at Number 30, Will Griggs, or Sebastian Barnes as he was really called, left after just 58 episodes as actor Christian Clark left to pursue a film career. Will is probably best remembered for being the mysterious 'Mr 2%' shareholder of Lassiter's and for being replaced by his adoptive brother, Oliver, who took over his life, which is perhaps why someone thought to vote him as their 7th place, or maybe it was just down to the speedo he wore in the opening titles.
Sunny Lee is another short-term regular, lasting only a few months. Sunny replaced Rachel Kinski in the Kennedy household and her teen group, although unlike Rachel (thankfully as it would've been a completely different story!), is best remembered for her relationship with Zeke. Originally the character was to be named Maddie Pace, but when actress Hany Lee auditioned for the role of Tegan Freedman as part of Dolly magazine's Neighbours' Next Big Stars competition, she was offered another role instead which was changed to suit her casting.
As the Mum of the new family brought in as part of a major revamp who were at the centre of the show's storylines consistently for 2 years, some might find it surprising that Miranda hasn't ranked higher. Initially introduced as a former real estate agent who had set up her own event management business, Miranda seemed as if she was going to be a high powered business woman, alongside being a wife to Steve and mum to Bridget and Riley, but seemed to take a backseat to her daughter's many dramas and gave up her business to become a school cleaner. Miranda left Erinsborough a broken woman following Didge's death, a shame considering the promise she seemed to show on paper.
77
- Chloe Cammeniti (5 Points)
The daughter of Carmella Cammeniti and Oliver Barnes, and thanks to her recast guest return in 2011 - also the daughter of then Neighbours writer, Rene Zandveld, Chloe has done well to reach 77th place. Most of her tenure was as a baby and as a result she did very little other than to create a permanent bond between her parents which thankfully led to their reunion as Carmella and Chloe departed in 2008 and again to their joint return, to give Rebecca a rare departure surrounded by her entire family, even if two of them had new heads.
76-74
- Oscar Scully, Marco Silvani and Nicola West (7 Points)
The first character to be born since the launch of the Perfect Blend, Oscar Scully, although only young, actually became quite popular in his three years on the show, whether scripted or not, Oscar (or at least Ingo Dammer-Smith who played him) managed to steal scene after scene. From birth, Oscar had to cope with Lyn's rejection of him as she suffered post-natal depression, then his parent's divorce, although amicable and also losing his ball in Lassiter's Lake. Last we heard, Oscar was living on the Scully farm with Joe in Bendigo, with Lyn living nearby - hard to believe that, assuming he hasn't suffered from a case of SORAS, he's 10 years old this year.
Marco Silvani arrived in 2007 following the revamp of the show as a love interest for Carmella Cammeniti. Unfortunately, as with most characters who are introduced solely to fill one purpose, unless the character is particularly quirky or a larrikin, they tend not to have much to do or be particularly interesting. Still, at least he got an interesting exit - meeting his demise as a result of burns sustained in a bush fire, shortly after a death bed wedding to Carmella.
Finally, Nicola West, the younger sister of Miranda Parker, who although only around for a few months managed to spice up the Parker family with an affair with her (adopted) nephew, Riley and her eventual obsession with brother-in-law Steve, also developing a close friendship with Toadie Rebecchi and Callum Jones. Nicola sadly began to suffer from extreme paranoia, exacerbated by a her being run over by Donna Freedman, even beginning to think that she was her sister, Miranda and so was send to a secure facility where she could get the treatment she needed. Not sure about you, but all that has left me feeling hungry. Anyone for leftover lasagne?
73
- Ben Fitzgerald (8 Points)
As the son of Libby Kennedy and grandson of Karl and Susan, Ben had a lot to live up to and has had to deal with a lot in his young life. As well as being played by three actors, Ben has had three fathers - his dad Drew who died, Darren Stark who cheated and Dan Fitzgerald who left. He is also one of three children along with Grace and Sean, who sadly died as babies - all a lot for anyone to deal with, but especially before you reach puberty. Luckily for Ben, as with many Ramsay Street children who have gone before him, he was discovered to be a genius and so was packed off to a specialist Arts school in the country where he could develop his writing skills. Of course, as with any child sent off to boarding school, it's almost inevitable that he will return having been expelled at some point in the not too distant future.
72-71
- Harry Ramsay and Michael Williams (14 Points)
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The middle sibling of the new Ramsays, Harry departed after only a year but judging from the votes was a favourite amongst at least one of the Neighbours' writers as well as some of the PB team. Resembling his grandfather Max, Harry was the glue of the family, the go-between for Kate and Sophie - it was following his departure that their relationship began to decline and sadly we also missed out on a possible reignition of the Ramsay/Robinson feud - as surely a love triangle was on the cards with Andrew, Summer and Harry. Sadly we'll never know, which summarises Harry perfectly - we'll never know what we missed.
Unlike Harry, sadly we didn't get to miss out on Michael Williams, possibly the worst Principal and father in Neighbours history. Maybe it was that he spent two years covering what really happened to his late wife, arguing with his staff and generally thinking that he knew best for his daughter, staff and students, before moving onto Rebecca, but despite that four people voted for him. Why? Answers on a postcard please...
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