Neighbours cast 'curse of Ramsay Street' from amphetamines to stripper glass attack

Talk about nightmare Neighbours…. the Aussie soap is facing the axe after being dropped by Channel 5.

It means the Australian company which makes it must try to find a new UK home or it could be curtains for the teatime favourite.

Neighbours launched the careers of stars including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan who played squeaky-clean and wholesome characters.

But behind the scenes, some of its actors battled addiction, tragedy and lawsuits. Here we looks at the dark side of Ramsay Street.

From Shane Connor to Holly Valance, many of the stars faced hardship.

Shane Connor

The popular Scully family arrived in Erinsborough in 1999 headed up by dad Joe, aka actor Shane Connor.

But he would go on to get hooked on amphetamines, sparked by the death of his older brother.

Cast and crew complained about his alleged aggressive behaviour and lateness and met with them in May 2003 to apologise.

But after receiving written warning, he was sacked in September that year.

He took the show’s producer Grundy Television to court for wrongful termination of his contract. Connor, now 62, won his claim for unfair dismissal and was awarded £120,000 in compensation.

Actor Jay Bunyan – who played his on-screen son Jack – was called as a witness. Bunyan told the court it was not uncommon for fellow cast members to turn up with hangovers after drug or alcohol use.

Kym Valentine

In 2013, Kym Valentine, who played Karl and Susan Kennedy’s daughter Libby, sued the show’s producers for “sex and disability discrimination”.

It came after she was replaced by another actress when she fell ill with pneumonia in 2008. The case was settled out of court.

Despite the “pain and humiliation” Kym, now 44, said the ordeal caused her, she was able to put it all behind her when she returned to the show in 2014.

Paul Keane

Meanwhile original star Paul Keane, now 64, struggled to cope with the fame he found as Des Clarke.

Suffering from anxiety and depression, he developed a 10-year addiction to booze, painkillers and amphetamines. After leaving Neighbours in 1990, he became a virtual recluse.

But he has since reprised Des – whose wife Daphne famously died in his arms – for various anniversaries.

Alan Dale

Alan Dale played patriarch Jim Robinson from the very start in 1985. His character was killed off via a heart attack in 1993 and Dale later revealed he got the boot after falling out with producers over his £364-a-week salary.

He said: “They practically forced us to be miserable. It paid me enough to get my boys through their teenage years, but I wasn’t happy and we parted on bad terms.”

Dale, 74, has since gone on to find success Stateside, starring in shows including The O.C, Ugly Betty and 24. He also buried the hatchet with Neighbours bosses and came back for a dream sequence with son Paul (Stefan Dennis) in 2019.

Holly Valance

Holly Valance joined as Flick Scully in 1999. Her manager at the time was Scott Michaelson, the original actor to play surfer Brad Willis.

In 2003 Valance sacked Michaelson before his contract was up as she released her debut single Kiss Kiss, claiming he was “not capable” of doing his job.

In court, Scott, now 53, said how he helped Valance, now 38, win the role of Flick and paid for acting and singing lessons. He won his case for breach of contract.

Scott McGregor

Actor Scott McGregor, who played cop Mark Brennan on and off between 2010 and 2020, was on a night out at a strip club in 2019 when he met exotic dancer Danielle Lee.

But it ended up in court, where she was found guilty of smashing a glass into his face.

She claimed he called her a “dirty slut” while he insisted he said “thanks, but no thanks” when Lee asked him if he wanted a private dance before she hurled the glass, leaving him with a cut face.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk