Andrew Bibby: From Lance in Neighbours to ambo-Lance

FORMER Neighbours star Andrew Bibby had only been a paramedic for less than 12 months before the worlds of soap opera and real-life drama finally collided.

Andrew Bibby at Paddington Ambulance Station today. Andrew used to be an actor in Neighbours (as Lance) and Undebelly: The Golden Mile, playing a policeman. Pictures: Justin Lloyd

FORMER Neighbours star Andrew Bibby had only been a paramedic for less than 12 months before the worlds of soap opera and real-life drama finally collided.

Bibby, who played Lance in the show, tells the story of how he arrived at a woman’s home to find her on the floor facing away from then on all fours, screaming “It’s coming! It’s coming!”

“We delivered the baby, it had been about 20 minutes later, and she still had her back to us,” he said.

“We handed her the baby and she looked at him and said ‘wow’.

“Then looked up at us, and it was the first time that she had seen our faces. She looked at me and said ‘oh my god it’s you, Lance!’ It was quite a shock for her.”

The father-of-three won over audiences playing nerdy character Lance on the long-running soap from 1995 to 2000.

Andrew used to be in Neighbours as Lance. Pictures: Justin Lloyd

His last starring role was in 2010 as Detective Senior Constable Greg Locke in Underbelly: The Golden Mile.

But now the 34-year-old is based at Paddington Ambulance Station covering some of Sydney’s busiest areas including Kings Cross and the CBD.

In his first interview since joining the service, Bibby said his acting skills have prepared him well to move from “Lance to ambo Lance”.

“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,” he said.

Flashback: Libby gives Lance a massage in Neighbours.

“I do know what’s going on, by the way. As paramedics we improvise a lot, like in acting.”

And Bibby said often when he attends to an English tourists they are often shocked to discover who is tending to their wounds.

“They will get quite excited when they realise who I am and sometimes look around for the cameras, thinking it is a hoax,” he said. “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.”

While acting has its attractions, for Bibby becoming an ambo has more “social worth” than making television shows.