NEIGHBOURS fans were left stunned as a show legend appeared on a local news bulletin – do you remember him?
Viewers tuning in to 10 News were surprised to see a familiar face on a report about a shark attack.
Andrew Bibby played Lance Wilkinson in Neighbours[/caption]
The character primarily appeared from 1995 to 2001[/caption]
Andrew has swapped acting for a whole new career[/caption]
The incident saw a woman sustain serious injuries, about which a paramedic appeared on-screen to discuss.
That paramedic was none other than former Neighbours actor Andrew Bibby.
Andrew, 44, played Lance Wilkinson across multiple stints spanning 1995 to 2023.
It includes a return – alongside other Neighbours alums – for the show’s then-finale in 2022.
A year later, Andrew again reprised the role of Lance for a flashback sequence.
Between Neighbours stints, he left the limelight in favour of another path.
Andrew previously opened up about how his acting past helps in his new career.
Joking he is known as “Ambo-Lance”, he told The Telegraph: “Being able to act like I know what is going on, like I’ve seen it all before and that everything is OK, actually comes in quite handy.
“I do know what’s going on, by the way.
“As paramedics we improvise a lot, like in acting.”
Continuing, Andrew also revealed how he is still recognised by English-speaking tourists – even while on the job.
He explained: “They will get quite excited when they realise who I am and sometimes look around for the cameras, thinking it is a hoax.
“I like to think that if a patient can recognise me and want to talk about Neighbours and my former career, then they are not on death’s door and things aren’t too bad.”
It comes as the beloved Aussie soap has once again been axed – after production company Fremantle failed to agree a new deal with Amazon.
Amazon brought the soap back to life after it was axed by Channel 5 after 37 years.
Amazon announced at the end of 2022 that it was bringing the iconic programme back in a multi-year deal.
The soap’s final episode saw the return of the likes of Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce in the emotional goodbye.
But months later, Amazon offered the show a lifeline and brought it back to life with a revamped production.
Neighbours stars who made it big
The long-running Aussie soap has launched the careers of some of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Here are some of the Neighbours alums who went on to make it big after starring on the soap…
Kylie Minogue
- Before she hit the big time with her music career, Kylie shot to fame playing Charlene Mitchell on Neighbours. Shortly after her arrival, Kylie began an on and off-screen romance with co-star Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson, which gained the couple an army of adoring fans.
Jason Donovan
- After his stint as Scott, singer and actor Jason became an international popstar and had his pick acting of roles. He moved to the U.K., married, had children and has since starred in over a dozen West End show, most notably Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Alan Dale
- New Zealand born actor Alan was one of Neighbours 12 original cast members having made his debut as Jim Robinson on the soap’s first episode on 18 March 1985. As the head of the Robinson clan, widower Jim lived at Number 26 Ramsay Street with his children Paul, Julie, Scott and Lucy, and was a real anchor in the community. He stayed with the show for eight years, before his character was killed off in dramatic scenes aired in 1993 but which still reverberate through the soap to this day.
Margot Robbie
- Way before she was Barbie or Harley Quinn, Margot was best known as Ramsay Street resident Donna Freedman. Her notable storylines included her marriage to Ringo Brown and becoming a young widow following his tragic death. After three years she bid farewell to the soap and Australia with a plan to make a name for herself in Hollywood which she did when she bagged the role of Naomi Lapaglia opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Jesse Spencer
- Jesse rocked up on Ramsay street in 1994 with the rest of the Kennedy clan. He stayed for five years, literally growing up in front of the camera, but in 2000 felt it was time to spread his wings and head for Hollywood. It was certainly a smart move as he went on to bag leading roles in popular shows like House and Chicago Fire.
Russell Crowe
- New Zealand-native Russell had a brief arc on Neighbours, appearing in four episodes of the soap 1987 as Kenny Larkin, the former cellmate of Street resident Henry Ramsay. The role obviously got him noticed though because he quickly went on to become a fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister, winning the Best Actor Oscar for his standout performance as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Amazon have told Fremantle that their venture into soaps hasn’t worked and they are pulling funding.
A source said: “Amazon gave Fremantle two years to see if it worked but sadly they just didn’t get the viewers.
“It’s a really sad day especially for the cast and crew who work on the show in Melbourne.
“This really is the end of Neighbours just as it’s celebrated its 40th birthday.”
