Jodi Anasta’s Christmas Day baby drama on Neighbours
Neighbours star Jodi Anasta reveals her latest on-air crisis is her biggest acting test to date when her character, Elly Conway, is abducted and goes into early labour at knifepoint.
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To be fair, there’s not a lot Jodi Anasta could have done to prepare for the biggest scene of her career.
The 34-year-old spent several months getting progressively more pregnant on Neighbours thanks to a series of fake tummies, velcro straps and body contouring shapewear.
But it all comes to a dramatic end on Christmas Day when her character, Elly Conway, is abducted by the fiendish Robert Robinson and goes into early labour literally at knifepoint.
“I did worry about getting it right in terms of giving birth because it was not at all like when I gave birth in real life,” she says.
“It’s important, as a woman, to do it right, to honour and respect the process.
“But it was really intense, my voice was so sore afterwards from all the screaming. And I was given a lot of freedom with how the scene went. First they said ‘Jodi, just go for it’ and I did, then I tried it a few different ways and we found something that works somewhere in between.”
The on-air pregnancy, which she says felt like it lasted two years, and the subsequent time she has spent on set with her character’s baby has allowed her to reflect on her own pregnancy, labour and early days as a new mum.
“Little baby Isla is just beautiful,” she says of the baby who plays her on-air daughter.
“She’s such a good little baby, when we filmed the scene where she was born, she came out with jam and yoghurt all over her face and she took one look at the camera and gave a big smile.
“No baby comes out smiling! But it reminds me a lot of when Aleeia was a baby, she was so beautiful and always smiling too.”
You would think Anasta could have prepared for the birth scene by drawing on her own experience, but the two situations couldn’t have been more different.
“I didn’t have a knife pointed at me for starters,” she laughs.
“I went into labour two weeks early and thought I would be able to do it naturally. I felt I had a little taste of labour for four hours, but then I had to have a C-section.
“Still, I felt like my experience was really beautiful, it was the middle of the night, it was really peaceful. It wasn’t ideal having a C-section, but you just have to go with what is best for the baby.”
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These dramatic scenes will air on Christmas Day. It’s the second year that Neighbours has made the unorthodox decision to ditch the traditional summer hiatus and air right throughout the Christmas and New Year period.
“We’re proud to be the only Australian drama screening all year round and with our 35th anniversary year around the corner, life in Ramsay Street is more exciting than ever,” executive producer Jason Herbison says.
Former media executive and host of the TV Blackbox podcast, Rob McKnight, says the move by Neighbours to air throughout the summer is a smart grab for viewers in an environment that has never been more competitive.
“Network TV are still the biggest players around but their audience is diminishing and getting older,” McKnight says.
“Streaming services are taking their audiences, there are around 10 big players now competing for our eyeballs. The game has changed forever.”
He says the competitive new playground is forcing big shows to return earlier in the year: the new look Today will return on January 6, several weeks ahead of regular programming, Hughesy We Have A Problem will air Christmas episodes and I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here! returns on January 5.
Anasta, who has been on Neighbours for four years and was a dedicated fan when she was younger, says she has no plans to move on from the show that has made her a household name.
While on the one hand working on a soap gives her somewhat of a predictable routine as she co-parents Aleeia with her ex-husband, former NRL player Braith Anasta, on the other hand it keeps her away from her daughter for half the week as she films in Melbourne.
“It’s always very difficult being away from Aleeia, but the way I see it is that I get a lot more holidays that most parents.
“There are lots of production breaks which is a luxury I know a lot of parents don’t have. My hours aren’t your normal nine-to-five and I miss some bedtimes, but when we are together it’s quality time.
“I have a whole month off over Christmas and New Year so I’ll be able to relax, spend time with Aleeia, family and friends and feel like a normal person.”
Neighbours screens throughout the holiday period, Monday to Friday, 6.30pm, 10 Peach