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Reference > Erinsborough News > It’s Mark’s Hippy Sister!

Mark’s little sister has returned to the family fold but will she convert him to her hippy ways?

When the smell of incense starts wafting around Ramsay Street it can only mean one thing – Mark’s hippy sister Serendipity has arrived, joss sticks and all!

Ren (as she’s known to her friends) has been travelling the world and working as a nanny in Amsterdam but now she’s back and she wants to move in with her big brother. The trouble is, while Mark has turned his back on life in the lentil lane, Serendipity has followed her parents’ example and embraced the hippy lifestyle which could cause problems, as Raelee Hill, 23, who plays Ramsay Street’s hippy chick explains.

“All three Gottlieb kids had a fantastic upbringing but Mark is desperate for security whereas Ren is a real bohemian and has a really great collection of crushed velvet smocks!” she laughs. Raelee admits that playing Serendipity is like taking a trip down memory lane.

“When I was 13 or 14 I used to be really into the hippy scene,” says Raelee. “I sang in a medieval chanting a group and shopped at markets for all my clothes but unlike Serendipity, I grew out of it!”

Despite leaving bric-a-brac behind, Raelee is happy to don a tie-dye shirt and ankle bells for her new role in Neighbours. And the producers obviously spotted Raelee’s unconventional aura and deemed her perfect to play Serendipity.

“I was working on Blue Heelers and always took my breaks in a café next to the Channel Ten building where Neighbours is filmed,” she explains. “The producer Jan Russ walked in and recognised me from my Paradise Beach days. Apparently, I looked exactly how they imagined Serendipity to look so she suggested that I audition for the part and I got the job!”

Once Serendipity gets settled into Ramsay Street she puts her skills as a nanny into practice by looking after Cheryl’s baby daughter. And while Serendipity likes nothing better than being knee deep in baby’s nappies, Raelee reckons working with babies on set has made up her mind against motherhood – at least for the time being.

“Whoever said never act with babies or animals was right! The baby who plays Louise is gorgeous but I’m happy to hand her back once filming stops!” she grins. “Eliza and Peta (who play Danni and Cody) get all broody and gooey around the baby but to be honest I’d only be interested in having a child which arrived aged seven, so I could miss out that nappy stage!”

This article originally appeared in Inside Soap magazine and was written by Victoria Ross

Article submitted by Steve