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Tomorrow sees yet another return to Ramsay Street, when Lori Lee (Michelle Ang) comes back to introduce Connor (Patrick Harvey) to his child. Of course, the fact that he's only just got back together with Michelle (Kate Keltie) may cause one or two problems.

Meanwhile, there'll be a couple of new faces appearing in Erinsborough over the next few months. Australian magazine TV Week reports that 22 year old Sylvie de Crespigny will be joining as Jack Scully's (Jay Bunyan) new love interest, Mac. However, Mac will not be all that she seems, as she is hiding a shocking secret. The Herald Sun newspaper reports that 33 year old Sue Roberts, a real-life police constable, will be appearing in Ramsay Street as "a no-nonsense magistrate", later this year.

British cable and satellite channel, UKTV Gold are bringing back the double showings of classic episodes of Neighbours, which were aired in a test run back in December last year. From Monday 5th July two episodes will screen from 5.30am every weekday morning.

The channel released the following statement about the latest move: "The new slot for Neighbours is a permanent schedule change and does, unfortunately, reflect the downward turn in the popularity of Neighbours on UKTV Gold. We do hope that, even though the show is on earlier in the morning, the double episodes will make it a more worthwhile watch for our viewers, especially for those who choose to record the programme to watch at a more convenient time. I'd also like to allay fears that Neighbours is to be axed from UKTV Gold. This is not the case and it will remain on the channel for at least 2 more years."

UKTV Gold are currently screening the 1998 season at 6am weekdays.

The UK's All About Soap magazine reports this week that Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Isabelle Hoyland) has been dating Neighbours' assistant director Ryan Eckersley.

The magazine, on sale until Monday May 31st, also contains an interview with Kate Keltie (Michelle Scully), as well as a feature about some of the strange secrets kept by the actors behind the Bishop family.

A poll in new fortnightly UK soap magazine IntoSoap has shown that Neighbours couples of years gone by are still highly regarded by the British public. Out of every couple in soap history, Madge (Anne Charleston) and Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) came in 9th position, while Scott (Jason Donovan) and Charlene Robinson (Kylie Minogue) came seventh.

This fortnight's issue also contains interviews with both Stephanie McIntosh (Sky Mangel) and Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Izzy Hoyland).

After several months of rumours, it has been confirmed that Aussie Gold, a new UK digital channel screening "classic and current programming from Down Under including soaps, mini-series, telemovies, films, sitcoms, children's drama's, lifestyle programming, documentaries, reality shows" will launch in December. Director of programming, Darren Gray, has also confirmed that the channel will only screen Australian commercials.

After only 5 and a half short weeks on US television, Neighbours has ended its run on the Oh! Network. Having contacted the channel about the Australian import's future, we were given the following statement:

"Neighbours was only picked up for a limited 6 week run. Although it is no longer on the schedule during the day, you can still see it at 1:30AM until the end of the month."

BBCi Neighbours reports that Delta Goodrem returned to the Neighbours set today to wrap up her final story as songwriter Nina Tucker. Her final scenes will apparently bring closure to the storyline with Jack (Jay Bunyan), while producer Peter Dodds commented that this may not be the last we see of Nina...

This week's copy of the UK's Inside Soap magazine reports that Joan Sydney (Valda Sheergold) has revealed a real-life health scare. She was diagnosed with cancer of the uterus only days before winning the role of Valda, but decided to go ahead with it anyway. Happily, the cancer was removed and Joan is now in remission.

This week's issue also contains chats with both Stephanie McIntosh (Sky Mangel) and Tom Oliver (Lou Carpenter).

As of Monday 17th May, Network Ten will recommence showing classic episodes of Neighbours in their daytime line-up. However, they will now be shown at 11.30am, rather than their previous time of 3.30pm. It is unknown whether they will pick up where they left off last year, or how long these repeats will screen for.

Following on from a fairly disastrous year which has seen her music career floundering, Holly Valance, who played Flick Scully from 1999 to 2002, has seen more disappointment.

The Sun newspaper reported this week that, having won a guest role in the US forensic science series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Valance was forced to turn it down when she was unable to get a green card.

UK digital satellite channel Living gets a new look today, and part of its revised schedule is a new series for soap fans. The Good Soap Guide will be shown on Sunday evenings at 6pm and will be presented by soap expert Richard Arnold. It is reported that the hour-long show will feature news, gossip and interviews and will cover all the major soaps shown in the UK, so we should probably expect a few Neighbours mentions.

According to this fortnight's copy of the UK's All About Soap magazine, Delta Goodrem (Nina Tucker) has been offered $200,000 for the exclusive story of her battle with cancer, by a well-known Australian woman's magazine. Although still an unconfirmed rumour, this would be the biggest pay-out of its kind in Australian history.

All About Soap's current issue also contains interviews with Stephanie McIntosh (Sky Mangel) and Blair McDonough (Stuart Parker), while this week's Inside Soap magazine chats to both Marisa Warrington (Sindi Watts) and Carla Bonner (Steph Scully).

The May Day holidays on Monday 3rd and 31st sees Neighbours take its annual breaks on both BBC One and Network 2. The 1998 repeats on UKTV Gold continue as normal in the usual 6am timeslot.

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