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Reference > Erinsborough News > Shy Tim's The New Neighbours Nasty

Although his face might not be familiar, he’s one of Australia’s hardest working actors…

He’s already been seen on TV this year in Rafferty’s Rules, Willing And Abel and the blockbuster mini-series Vietnam. Now Tim Elston, who admits he’s publicity shy, is set to join the Neighbours cast.

His role as Jeremy Lord, Ramsay Street’s newest nasty, is likely to capture the public’s eye… and that’s made Tim a little uneasy.

“I’m not one for having a big profile,” he says. “I must admit I’ve never hunted for personal publicity. People have come up to me and said: ‘Oh, you’re my lawyer, aren’t you?’ and things like that. It is quite weird. They seem to know my face but they don’t know who I am. And that’s fine with me,” he is quick to add.

“I consider that to be an actor is like running a marathon. If you blow all your puff in the first half mile then you won’t make the full distance.”

This attitude seems to have worked well for Tim. He’s almost constantly in work. Apart from television, he regularly appears on film, stage and radio. “I try to work across as many areas as possible, purely for the experience,” he says.

And that’s the reason he wants to play Jeremy Lord in Neighbours. Jeremy arrives in Ramsay Street with a racing car called Number 13. His father was killed driving the speed machine and Jeremy intends to prove himself in the car. The former airline pilot, who was sacked for drinking before flying, also just happens to be the ex-husband of Gail Lewis (Fiona Corke) and intends using both Gail and her mechanic father Rob (Ernie Bourne) for his own ends.

“Although he seems to be pretty reliable on the surface, he’s not,” Tim says. “He’s one of those people who just trade off other people, pretty much like a vampire, really. He also can’t help himself with women, although at first, he appears to have returned to woo Gail back. He’s an out and out cad.”

Tim says he has been coming to grips with feeling “old” since joining Neighbours. “The cast is pretty young and I suddenly feel the older actor for the first time in my career,” he says with a laugh.

Tim is married, and, rather than leave his wife and children, Andrew, 2, and Elizabeth, six months, at their Sydney home, he has brought his family to Melbourne during his Neighbours stint.

Before joining the popular soapie, Tim had just completed the film Spook, co-starring opposite Sons And Daughters star Tom Richards and Joanne Samuel. The story is about a young couple and their two children who stay, against warnings, in a caravan in the bush. Their holiday lodging is attacked by a mysterious beast.

“But it’s a little more complex because it’s about the two people (played by Tim and Joanne) and their family and the problems they are having with everyday things. My character, Simon, is a very high-profile architect who is coming to grips with whether he should continue to design multi-million-dollar office blocks or fabulous houses for people. He has a lot of things expected of him in life and comes to grips with them in the film.”

This article originally appeared in TV Week magazine dated 25th April 1987 and was written by Stephen Cook

Article submitted by Steve