How body doubles were used to complete Kylie Minogue’s Neighbours return
Body doubles of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were used to complete filming of the Neighbours finale, fooling fans who thought they’d captured them on film.
Fiona Byrne
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After snagging a TV miracle in bringing Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan back to Ramsay Street for the final episode of the iconic Australian drama, Neighbours, producers have been indulging in a little bit of TV magic to finish their secret storyline.
Fake Kylie and Jason – or more specifically body doubles – have been spotted recently at Pin Oak Court in Vermont, the home of the fictional Ramsay Street and the location where Minogue and Donovan shot their return to the show, as the final pieces of the soon to be aired scenes come together.
TikTok footage posted last month purporting to have been of Minogue and Donovan on set was, according to well placed sources, taken some days after the pair had done their filming and the people pictured were doubles dressed in character as Charlene Mitchell, complete with curly wig and overalls, and Scott Robinson.
Minogue and Donovan were on set with Ian Smith (Harold Bishop), Annie Jones (Jane Harris) and Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson) for half a day on Thursday, April 28.
Channel 10 confirmed the existence of the fake Scott and Charlene.
“As with most TV and films there are doubles/stand-ins used for various reasons,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile the show’s executive producer Jason Herbison has shed further light on the memorable moment when Minogue and Donovan returned to Ramsay Street.
“We kept it absolutely top secret,” he said.
“I told a couple of producers, a costume person, I did not tell any of the writers and I quietly wrote the scenes myself, gave them the scenes and on the day the crew did not know until they (Minogue and Donovan) arrived and out came Scott and Charlene.
“We swore everyone to secrecy and it was very special. I think everyone that day just felt the moment and Kylie and Jason felt the moment. It was very nostalgic for them, very emotional for them and it was just a beautiful day of filming.”
Herbison said Minogue and Donovan were open to the idea of appearing in the final episode from his first approach.
“We had been talking for a little while and they had been wonderful from the get go,” he said.
“It was always about when we could do it and when we could get them both back in Melbourne on the same day and we found a day.”
He said the final episode would leave the possibility open for the characters to live on in other stories.
“We want to leave all of the characters at a point that is satisfying and fulfilling but their lives will carry on after the show ends,” Herbison said.
“At the moment they will carry on in the imaginations of the viewers but you know, who knows? I think anything is possible.
“Neighbours is a beloved brand. It’s one of the very few shows that can say it is part of the popular culture in two countries.
“I think we have seen all over shows become rebooted, reimagined in any kind of format but now it is the end.”
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