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Blair McDonough reveals the true reason he decided to leave Neighbours

For Blair McDonough, the decision to leave Neighbours was an easy one. “I was a bit burnt out and a bit jaded and tired,” he tells TV Week, in a surprisingly frank interview.

“Ever since Big Brother happened (Blair was runner-up in the very first season), I haven’t stopped, and I’ve worked all bar two Christmases since then. I mean, it’s been four and a half years on air, which is a great thing, but I just felt it was time to go. From the point of view of hanging around Neighbours too long, it could really just get too comfortable, and I don’t like being too comfortable. I like having a bit of a challenge.”

It was with this in mind that Blair packed his bags earlier this year and said goodbye to Ramsay Street for the very last time. After travelling to England to take part in “panto season”, he then headed to LA to try his luck, but found he’d arrived at a bad time of the year.

“Because I finished a bit late in January, pilot season was already halfway over,” he explains. “To go to LA, you’ve got to set up a better plan that I did, but I just wanted to see what the place was about.”

So could he see himself relocating? “We had a couple of meetings with agents, but it’s not as easy as everyone makes it out to be,” Blair says candidly. “At the moment, I’m not ready for it. Like I said, I’ve been working for so long that I don’t want to have to go over there and have to start selling myself straight away. I’m a bit over that, so I just want to have a bit of a break right now.”

And no – before you ask, he’s not planning on heading back to Ramsay Street any time soon. “Not in the immediate future,” Blair says. “But the character doesn’t die, so the door’s always left open. You never know – I could do a Stefan Dennis 12 years down the track!”

This article originally appeared in TV Week magazine

Article submitted by Steve