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Magic Moments
> 2018
> The 8000th Episode
Episode 8000
Written
by Elizabeth Packett, Directed
by Chris Langman, Produced
by Natalie Mandel
Channel Eleven: 21/12/18, Channel 5: 21/12/18
Leo explains that the Renshaws - who went to prison for money laundering - are getting parole in a month, and he’s the one who’s responsible for
them going to prison… Piper wonders why Leo never mentioned Delaney Renshaw getting in touch with him… Toadie tells Sonya that Heather took all of Sonya’s
presents from under the tree and replaced them with ones for Andrea… Chloe kisses Elly… Chloe tells Aaron that she’s avoiding Mark and Elly because of the
wedding talk… Elly is upset as she sees Chloe kissing a guy in the Back Lane Bar…
David and Aaron are sitting outside Harold’s, discussing Chloe’s antics from the previous evening, when Valerie Grundy walks past. Aaron says good morning
to her, and she greets them both. As she walks away, David says that Val always seems to have a smile on her face.
 ..
Valerie is walking across the bridge at Lassiters Lake, when Yashvi says hi to her and apologises for kicking the football over her fence, explaining that
she was practising her banana kick. Val wishes her good luck with it, and Yashvi wishes her a merry Christmas as she goes.
On Ramsay Street, Piper sees Toadie putting his bin out and says that he’s lucky that the truck hasn’t been yet. He says that he’s forgotten to put it out
for a couple of weeks, but Piper says that he’s had more important things to worry about. He says that now that Willow’s gone, and Sonya’s due out of
hospital, he needs to get the house in order. Piper then asks if she can borrow the Ramsay Street History Book, as she wants to do a special episode of
her podcast, Pipe Up, to mark reaching 8000 subscribers - she’s going to celebrate both her online community and her real-life community. They see Val
crossing over to her house, 34 Ramsay Street, and wave to her. Piper wonders if she could interview her for the podcast as she must have lived on the
street for quite a while - Toadie says that she’s been there for longer than him, and the Kennedys.
 ..
At no. 24, Elly is texting Chloe, wanting to make sure that she’s OK. Mark says that she’s fine and well, as she’s been texting Aaron, but Elly thinks
that she’s behaving strangely and is covering something up. Mark says that he learnt a long time ago not to try and force Chloe to talk when she doesn’t
want to, and that she’s her own person, responsible for her own actions.
At no. 28, Bea is singing ‘Jingle Bells’ to herself as she makes breakfast, and Ned arrives, listening from the door before he makes her jump as he walks
in. He says that at least he got to hear her sing, and he returns her keys to her, before asking her to tell him more about her busking. She doesn’t really
want to talk about it, but Ned won’t let it go, so she explains that when she was living on the streets, making money from busking, she did fantasise about
one day making money from being a professional singer. He wonders why she didn’t want to admit that, and she says that it’s just because so many people
struggle make money in the music business. Ned then heads off to work, and they arrange to meet up for lunch.
 ..
Outside Lassiters, a woman gets out of a car, and Ned helps her with her bags. Leo and Terese are passing, and woman - Delaney Renshaw - runs up and hugs
Leo, saying that, after their chat on the phone, she decided to hop on a plane and visit him. Leo explains to Terese that he used to work for Delaney’s
father and uncle in Sydney, and she asks if he’s busy, as they could go and get a coffee. Ned and Terese look worried.
At no. 24, Chloe walks in, and Elly is relieved to see her, asking why she didn’t respond to any of her messages. Chloe says that she couldn’t be bothered,
as she was having too much fun. Elly asks why she’s being like this, and says that when Chloe kissed that guy last night, it felt like she was trying to make
a point. She says that they used to tell each other everything, until they had that ‘moment’ and she feels like they need to talk about it properly. Chloe
looks uncomfortable, then says that what she’s thinking right now is that she wants to sit on the couch, watch TV and eat the whole bag of potato gems that’s
in the freezer. Elly goes to leave, saying that, when Chloe is ready to be honest, she knows where to find her.
 ..
Toadie is walking up Ramsay Street with a bag of groceries. He picks up Val’s wheelie bin that’s lying on the ground, and then Piper appears. She says that
there was no answer at Val’s front door, so she tried the back, but still nothing. Toadie thinks that she’s probably gone out, but Piper says that the dog is
barking inside. They go to walk back round to the front of the house.
Toadie knocks on Val’s front door, which is already open. He starts calling out to her, and Piper follows him into the house. She picks up the dog, and
Toadie finds Val slumped on her chair. Piper realises that she’s not asleep, and Toadie checks and shakes his head.
 ..
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In the Lassiters Office, Leo says that Delaney’s timing is weird, and Terese is not impressed, reminding Leo that it was just the other day he told them
all that their lives could be in danger when the Renshaws get out of prison. Leo thinks that Delaney seemed pretty relaxed, but Terese isn’t so sure. He
says that he’ll get to the bottom of it, kisses Terese and leaves.
At The Waterhole, Leo is asking Delaney if there’s any new information about her dad or uncle. She says that there’s nothing new, they’re still waiting on
their parole hearing, and she just came to Erinsborough to see Leo. She also admits that she wanted Leo to see that she’s not a kid anymore, and says that
the whole time she was overseas with her mum, she couldn’t stop thinking about Leo and how he’s the hottest, nicest guy she’s even known. Leo looks surprised
as Delaney then says that she loves him.
At no. 34, Aaron and David have joined Toadie and Piper - Val’s body has been taken away, with David mentioning that it was a sudden heart attack. Piper
hopes that she wasn’t in pain. Sheila then comes rushing in, saying that she saw the ambulance, and is shocked by all of the stuff piled up around Val’s
house. Toadie tells Sheila about Val’s passing, and that now they’re going to try to find an address book, to contact her relatives. There’s only one
Christmas card on the mantelpiece, and it’s from the local pet store, thanking her for her loyal custom. Toadie picks up a photo album and finds that
it’s full of invitations to parties and events held by the neighbours over the years - Aaron is impressed to see the invitation to the Ramsay Street
Olympics. Toadie spots an invitation to Helen Daniels’ surprise birthday party, and explains to Piper that she was the matriarch of the street. ‘Like
me’, says Sheila. Toadie says that Helen was different, and is about to say that she had class, but stops himself. Sheila does not look impressed. Toadie
then spots invitations to Paul’s many weddings - Piper thinks that it’s nice that they always invited Val, but Sheila suggests that it was only because
they knew that she wouldn’t turn up. Aaron then wonders why Val kept all of the invitations to things she never went to, and Piper wonders if she wanted
to, but was just too shy. Toadie and Sheila then realise that they knew nothing about Val’s life, and Piper realises how sad the whole situation is.
 ..
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At The Waterhole, Leo is trying to let Delaney down gently, explaining that he’s seeing someone. She says that she could make him happy, and remembers
how much they used to laugh together, and that sometimes she’d catch him looking at her like he loved her. Leo says that was then, and this is now, and
even if he was single, they’re still at different stages of their lives. He says that it’s never going to happen, and she accuses him of treating her
like a kid, telling Leo that he’s the one who needs to grow up, before storming out. Over at the bar, Bea and Ned watch, wondering what that was all about.
At no. 34, Yashvi has joined Toadie, and says that Val never mentioned any family, and that Reggie was all she had. She’s amazed by all of the junk in
the house, but Toadie says that it isn’t all junk, showing her Billy’s old skateboard, and a glove from Clive’s original gorilla suit. Piper comes in with
an old gnome that Sheila says used to belong to her, and Toadie shows them a bottle from Doug and Lou’s home brew, some Philippa Martinez novels, a
shrugalero, and what Toadie believes is the topper from Scott and Charlene’s wedding cake. Sheila then brings in a bag containing all of Sonya’s Christmas
presents that Heather threw away, and Toadie realises that Val has been bringing in everyone else’s rubbish for years.
 ..
At no. 24, Chloe starts to write a letter, in a Christmas card, to Elly: “Dear Elly, I’ve never been one of those pathetic people who writes letters to
explain how they feel. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever written to anyone ever. So, I guess that means you’re not just anyone. And you’re not. You’re the
closest friend I’ve had in years. I know you’re about to marry my brother, but if I don’t get this out of my system, it’s going to mess me around forever.
And, as you know, having Huntington’s means I don’t have that kind of time. So I’m just going to put it out there. I’m truly, madly and deeply in love
with you.”
At Harold’s Cafe, Leo has been telling Terese about his encounter with Delaney. Terese says that she must have been devastated when she was rejected,
and Ned - who is sitting with them - explains that he was there, and she ran out of the room. Delaney comes in and sees them, but sneaks off to one side,
so that Terese doesn’t see her as she leaves. Once they’re alone, Ned and Leo if he ever hooked up with Delaney, as it seems weird that she flew all this
way, and said all those things, for no reason. Leo says that they had a connection and he was very protective of her, but she was seventeen, and she’s still
not much older now, so he’s not going to go there. As Delaney listens from across the room, Ned says that he hopes that she got the message.
 ..
At no. 30, Toadie ends a phone call with Harold, as Piper comes in, explaining that Shane and Dipi are going to look after Reggie the dog. Toadie confirms
that Harold didn’t know anything about Val or her family, and Piper wonders what could have happened if they hadn’t found her when they did - she could
have been there for weeks. Piper says that Val always seemed so happy, she never would have guessed how lonely she was. Toadie thinks that some people are
too proud to ask for help, and Piper suggests that they go back and finish looking through Val’s stuff. Toadie explains that it’ll have to wait, as Sonya
is coming home. He explains that he needs to tidy up, and he feels like the house needs to be thoroughly scrubbed after what happened with Heather, but he’s
so tired with everything going on and he doesn’t know where to start. He then goes to see to a crying Hugo.
Out on Ramsay Street, Chloe puts the card for Elly in no. 28’s letterbox. Mark then spots her, glad to see that she’s OK, and says that Elly has been
really worried. He asks what she was putting in the letterbox, and she quickly says that it’s just a Christmas card, trying to spread some festive cheer.
Mark reminds her that she thinks Christmas cards are stupid, and she tells him that she’s just inconsistent. Mark agrees with that, then goes to take a
call from Piper.
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At no. 30, Toadie is surprised when Aaron, Mark, David, Piper and Sheila turn up with cleaning supplies, to help him get everything ready for Sonya’s
return. He tells them that they really don’t have to, but Sheila says that he’d do the same for any of them, and Mark admits that he’ll actually quite
enjoy it. Toadie is overcome by the whole thing.
At the sauna at Lassiters, Leo is just getting out, wearing only a towel, when Delaney comes in. She apologises for running out on him earlier, saying
that it wasn’t the most mature thing to do. Leo tries to leave, but she says that she meant what she said about how she feels for him. She then says that
she’s going to prove how grown up she is, and she drops her towel in front of him.
 ..
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At no. 30, Toadie is handing out drinks to the workers, and says that he loves that people on Ramsay Street always help each other - but he’s realised
that sometimes people don’t ask for help. He wants to do something to make sure that, especially at Christmas, people don’t fall through the cracks. He
suggests that they throw a Christmas Concert for the whole neighbourhood, but Sheila and Mark point out that there isn’t much time left until Christmas
Day. Toadie thinks that, if everyone works hard, and they give the right jobs to the right people, then they can do it - for Miss Grundy and all the other
people like her.
Back at the sauna, Leo is telling Delaney - who is tearful and now wearing a dressing gown - that she can’t pull stunts like this. She asks if he
doesn’t think she’s pretty, but he says that it’s got nothing to do with that, he’s already got a girlfriend. Delaney says that she saw her kissing him
earlier, and she’s more of an ‘old lady friend’. Leo tells her that Terese means the world to him, and Delaney needs to respect that. She apologises,
saying that she’s been all over the place lately, and that she was always scared of her father - but she felt safe with Leo. Leo sits down with her and
says that he’s sure she’ll be OK. She agrees that she will, but wonders what will happen to Leo, as he was the one who reported her dad and uncle to the
police. She says that, if she and Leo were a couple, then nobody would need to know what he did, and Leo realises that she’s blackmailing him…
Featured Regular Characters: Aaron Brennan, David Tanaka, Yashvi Rebecchi, Toadie Rebecchi, Terese Willis, Piper Willis, Ned Willis, Chloe Brennan, Mark Brennan,
Elly Conway, Bea Nilsson, Leo Tanaka, Sheila Canning
Guest Cast: Patti Newton as Valerie Grundy,
Ella Newton as Delaney Renshaw,
Timba as Regina Grundy,
Trivia Notes
• Patti Newton, who plays Valerie Grundy in this episode, is a well-known Australian television personality and was married to the late Bert Newton,
who himself made a Neighbours cameo in 1995
• This episode is the first time that the interior of 34 Ramsay Street is shown on screen
• Valerie’s dog, Regina Grundy, is named after Reg Grundy, whose Grundy Organisation
produced Neighbours between 1985 and 2006, and who passed away in May 2016
• Timba, the dog who appeared as Regina, was owned by Matt Wilson (Aaron Brennan)
• Past characters Helen Daniels, Terry Robinson, Gail Lewis, Christina Alessi, Lyn Scully, Rebecca Napier, Billy Kennedy, Doug Willis, Lou Carpenter,
Philip Martin, Donna Freedman, Scott Robinson, Charlene Robinson, Harold Bishop and Sky Mangel are mentioned
• Reference is made to
The Ramsay Street Olympics and
Scott & Charlene’s Wedding
Summary
by Steve
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