Natalie Bassingthwaighte moves back into Neighbours: ‘I always get asked when I’m returning’

MORE than a decade after quitting Neighbours, the TV soap where she got her start, Natalie Bassingthwaighte is returning to Ramsay Street.

• Sony artists join forces for charity single
• Nat Bass is ready to stir the pot on The Wrong Girl

MORE than a decade after quitting TV soap Neighbours, Natalie Bassingthwaighte is returning to Ramsay Street to play Izzy Holland.

Bassingthwaighte, 42, started back on the Melbourne set last Monday.

“They’ve actually been asking me for quite a while to go back but it just didn’t feel like the right time in the past,” the mother of two told Confidential.

“Being on the show originally, I feel like I really learnt my craft on the job. I love the cast and the crew I worked with back then are still my friends to this day so I felt it was the right time.”

She added: “I can’t tell you how many times I get asked on the street when I am going back to Neighbours.”

Natalie Bassingthwaighte returned back to the Neighbours last Monday for a guest role. Picture: Supplied

Bassingthwaighte originally played Izzy on the show from 2003-06, returning briefly in 2007.

She focused on her music career for several years after that but has over the past couple of years had a renewed drive with acting, as well as running a successful kids clothing business.

This year Bassingthwaighte placed top three on I’m A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here! and most recently appeared alongside Jessica Marais and Rob Collins in hit TV drama, The Wrong Girl.

The Neighbours return is a guest role, although it will see her character on air for a number of months next year.

MORE: NAT REVEALS SHE ALMOST ALWAYS FEELS OVERWHELMED

MORE: NAT BASS LEAVES JUNGLE WITH CLARITY AND BALANCE

Bassingthwaighte played Izzy from 2003 to 2006.

She has done a number of show’s since leaving Neighbours including I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here and Wrong Girl. Picture: Nigel Wright

“They wanted a bit longer and I gave them what I could,” she said. “In the last few years I feel like I’ve really fallen in love with acting and playing characters so I’m dipping my toe back in as Izzy because she is a really fun character and very different to the ones I’ve played in the last couple of years.

“The Wrong girl reinforced to me that this is what I am supposed to be doing. Getting to play two roles in one year, when in this country jobs are few and far between, has made me realise how much I love it.”

Nat with Neighbours veterans Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher. Picture: Supplied

As for Izzy’s storyline, Bassingthwaighte was tight lipped.

“Izzy always likes to make an entrance and this was no exception,” she laughed. “It is full on and I think if you loved to hate Izzy before, you will love to hate her even more.”

Jackie Woodburne, who plays Susan Kennedy on the soap, said: “Having Izzy back on the scene is tremendous because she is the one person Susan can just hate and behave appallingly to, which is so not her usual persona. For me, having Nat on set is such a huge boost of energy and enormous fun. I absolutely love having her around.”