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News Headlines

Fiona Byrne's column in the Sunday Herald Sun reports that Katrina Milosevic will join the Neighbours cast for an extended guest role. Milosevic, best known for her recurring role as Sophie Novak in the final two seasons of crime drama Stingers has signed a three-month contract.

UK Neighbours fans should be able to spot a familiar face in next week's episode of Casualty (Saturday 31st May), as Mark Little (Joe Mangel) will be making a guest appearance as Gary, one half of a flying superhero act.

Another former Joe, Shane Connor has landed a new role in an as-yet untitled mockumentary from Jason Gann, centering around fictitious sportsman Mark Warey. Connor will play Warey's "bad egg" dad.

Fiona Corke (Gail Robinson) has spoken out against a proposed cull of kangaroos on defence land in Australian Capital Territory. The cull is claimed to be necessary to protect native grasslands and species and avoid starvation amongst the kangaroos that remain, but Corke commented, "I don't know if I've ever really come across an animal that is so persecuted."

There will be no Neighbours showings on Five on Monday 26th May, due to the Bank Holiday.

The latest name to announce her departure from Neighbours is Pippa Black. Pippa has been playing Elle Robinson for almost three years, but told TV Week during the Logies that she planned to head off later this year. It is thought that the recent departures of Daniel O'Connor (Ned) and David Hoflin (Oliver), as well as Natalie Blair's (Carmella) announcement that she also intends to go in the second half of 2008, have played a part in Pippa's decision to move on.

Also rumoured to be considering saying goodbye to Erinsborough is Caitlin Stasey (Rachel). She was quoted as saying, "I've been there three years now. I think the fourth year is in order. It depends how long they want me and how long it suits me."

She's only been on Australian screens for a week, but Imogen Bailey's new role as Nicola West is already attracting plenty of attention, with news in today's Sunday Mail that The Australian Family Association has condemned her first storyline as "sick". The plot sees Nicola in a secret relationship with her adoptive nephew Riley Parker, and the AFA have claimed that the show is using recent news stories, such as the Josef Fritzl case in Austria, to grab ratings, despite the fact that the initial idea for the story came in a planning meeting over six months ago.

Executive producer Susan Bower has spoken out against the condemnation of the plot, saying "It is controversial, but all our stories are handled carefully." She has also answered reports that the hiring of ex-models such as Imogen and Erin McNaught (Sienna Cammeniti) is failing to have any positive effect on ratings, stating that Neighbours will "grow in leaps and bounds this year" and that the new additions to the cast are doing "extremely well".

Australian comedians and radio DJs Hamish & Andy are the latest names reported to be making a cameo appearance in Neighbours. The duo will be filming soon, and are offering a member of the public the chance to appear in the scene with them. Click here for more details.

Just a quick reminder that voting for our Neighbours Soap Awards is still open. You have until Saturday 10th to vote for your favourites from the 2007 season. Voting is open to our messageboard members - and you can either vote here or by sending an email to vote@perfectblend.net (remembering to include your username on the messageboard). The categories are:

Sexiest Male
Sexiest Female
Villain Of The Year
Best Comedy Performance
Best Newcomer
Best On-screen Partnership
Spectacular Scene Of The Year
Best Single Episode
Best Exit
Soap Bitch Of The Year
Best Dramatic Performance
Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor or Actress
Best Storyline
Best Actor
Best Actress
Lifetime Achievement Award (as previous winners, Jackie Woodburne and Ian Smith are not eligible)

There's definitely something in the air in Erinsborough these days, with news that another two cast members are involved in a relationship. It was recently reported that Natalie Blair (Carmella) and David Hoflin (Oliver) are a couple, then we found out that Kym Valentine (Libby) is dating actor Vince Colosimo, the ex-partner of Jane Hall (Rebecca).

The latest castmates to have coupled up are Brett Tucker (Daniel) and Eliza Taylor-Cotter (Janae). Eliza left the show last September, only a few months after Brett joined up as a regular. She then spent some time in the UK, appearing in panto, but the Herald Sun's Confidential column reports that the couple came clean about their relationship at a pre-Logies party last weekend, and have been together for some time.

To view our archive of past news stories click here