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Reference > Erinsborough News > Now Vivean's Moving Out!

Another resident of Neighbours’ Ramsay Street has decided to pack her bags and leave. Popular Vivean Gray, who plays the lovable local busybody Mrs Mangel, will call it a day after two years with the top-rating soap.

According to TV Week sources, Vivean will finish up by August at the latest. It is believed she recently signed again with Neighbours but only agreed to stay until the end of August.

Network Ten refused to confirm or deny the imminent departure from the series. But TV Week has learnt that Vivean is already on the shortlist for the cast of the ambitious new Seven daytime soap The Power And The Passion. Vivean’s agent confirmed to Seven that she would be available for a role in the series towards the end of the year, but stressed her departure from Neighbours was strictly hush-hush.

The pilot for the new soap is set to be filmed in September. Vivean is the second major cast member to announce she is leaving Network Ten’s show. TV Week Gold Logie winner Kylie Minogue will film her last episode next month.

Vivean joined Neighbours in June 1986. She was thrilled to be offered the role of Ramsay Street’s resident bitch Nell Mangel. “I thought ‘Ooh, it’s a very good character’,” Vivean told TV Week at the time. “I really like getting my teeth stuck into these bitchy-lady roles rather than playing goody-goody, middle-of-the-road types. Someone has got to play them and I do enjoy them.”

Before Neighbours, Vivean’s most celebrated role was as Mrs Jessup in The Sullivans. She played lovable but interfering Ida Jessup for six years in the TV Week Logie Award-winning series.

This article originally appeared in TV Week magazine dated May 1988 and was written by David Brown

Article submitted by Steve