Neighbours

A new family is set to make their home in Erinsborough on TV’s Neighbours — meet the Kapoors! Regular viewers of the show will already know council member Ajay Kapoor (Sachin Joab), as well as his wife Priya (Menik Gooneratne), who is now principal of Erinsborough High. Completing the family for now is teenage daughter Rani (newcomer Coco-Jacinta Cherin), who will make her Neighbours debut in February.

The Kapoors’ arrival marks the show’s first family with an Indian and Sri Lankan background. Executive producer Susan Bowery says it’s about the characters and their relationships with the rest of the cast, as opposed to bringing them in just for their cultural background. She added, “We have had many individual characters who have been representative of Australia’s diverse cultural landscape, however to have a family of Indian and Sri Lankan heritage join the neighbourhood, is very exciting.”

Photo courtesy of Network Ten

We love it when our favourite, long-running TV soapies surprise us with something new and a little different. Next week Home and Away is heading to Hawaii for the nuptials of Romeo and Indigo; tonight on Neighbours they’re going all 24 on us with a real-time episode. So what kind of storyline deserves to be played out minute-by-minute? It all revolves around an important decision that needs to be made by Kate (Ashleigh Brewer): she discovers that Brennan (Scott McGregor) is about to go into witness protection after his involvement in a police corruption case, and she only has 30 minutes to decide whether she’s going to go with him or not. A clock on the screen will remind viewers of the time that’s ticking away. Will you tune in for tonight’s real-time episode? Do you think it will work well for the show?

Neighbours airs on Eleven at 6:30 p.m.

Liam Hemsworth first hit our radar a few years ago when he appeared as Josh Taylor in Neighbours. Then we saw him shirtless in The Last Song and our real crush began. Miley Cyrus also spotted his hotness potential and the two fell in love during filming. After a year of public displays of affection, the on-off couple seem to have gone their separate ways. Liam was single and mingling at Derby Day in Melbourne recently, while Miley also appears to have moved on. Liam is currently shooting the blockbuster Arabian Nights so we’re hoping the shirtless action on screen continues.

Photos courtesy of Disney

The 2010 Inside Film Awards were given out last night in Sydney and Tomorrow When the War Began led the pack in the favourite Aussie film stakes. In the biggest upset of the night, former Neighbours star Caitlin Stasey won the best actress award over screen veteran Jacki Weaver. Weaver had been receiving Oscar buzz for her performance in Animal Kingdom and was a favourite with film critics. Tomorrow When the War Began also won best film, best screenplay and best music. Animal Kingdom’s Ben Mendelsohn was named best actor and David Michod was named best director. Mao’s Last Dancer took home the award for box office achievement and Jack Thompson presented Bryan Brown with the Living Legend Award. Other celebs attending the ceremony included True Blood's Ryan Kwanten, Lincoln Lewis, Jodi Gordon, Sophie Lowe, Jessica Marais, James Stewart, Firass Dirani, Gracie Otto and Asher Keddie. Meanwhile, Animal Kingdom star Sullivan Stapleton sent the rumour mill into over-drive by making a public appearance with his new girlfriend, TV veteran Jo Beth Taylor. The IF Awards are the only film awards voted on by the general public. Do you agree with the winners? Sound off below!

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OK, this might just be wishful thinking on our part, but British style star Louise Roe is in Australia to judge the fashion at Melbourne Cup and she got the chance to hang out with Daniel Macpherson. Louise has said she grew up with Neighbours and who didn’t have a crush on him when he was on the show? Louise definitely seems to be his type. Daniel has a thing for British babes—he dated his co-star Beth Cordingly when he was on The Bill, and he’s recently been romantically linked to Natalie Garonzi, a brunette TV presenter who happens to look a lot like Louise. Inneresting. We’re just looking for any excuse to get her to spend more time Down Under. While we let this potential new romance blossom, check out Fab’s interview with Louise!

What exactly is going on in Erinsborough these days? Jane Hall, who has played Rebecca Napier for almost four years on Neighbours, is calling it quits, as well as two other actors on the show. Matt Werkmeister, who has played teen Zeke Kinski for five and a half years is also leaving, along with Erin Mullally, who plays single dad Declan Napier. Erin was only on the show for six months after replacing actor James Sorenson after he quit the series. Margot Robbie (Donna) and Carla Bonner (Steph) have also previously announced their departure. Jane and Erin will leave Ramsay Street as Carmella (Natalie Blair) and Oliver (David Hoflin) briefly return in a dramatic storyline that will air next year. Network Ten recently announced the iconic Aussie soap would be moving to its new digital channel in 2011. What do you think about all the changes to the show? Sound off below!

Kylie may have gotten her big break on Neighbours, but it’s not something she’s proud of and wants to see over and over again. In fact it’s been revealed that she even tried to block repeats of her episodes from being aired again. She was popular as mechanic Charlene Mitchell, and the episode where she married Jason Donovan’s Scott Robinson “probably got the highest ratings of any marriage in Australia,” according to Neighbours creator Reg Grundy. The show has also launched the careers of peeps like Natalie Imbruglia, Delta Goodrem and Guy Pearce. See, being a soap star is nothing to be ashamed of!