Neighbours actor Sharon Johal lashes show over racism before making a return to set

The production company for Neighbours has been forced to hire a law firm to deal with a rash of complaints as aggrieved actor Sharon Johal makes her return to Ramsay St.

Actor Sharon Johal. Picture: Mark Stewart

Troubled TV show Neighbours has had to engage a law firm to deal with a stream of complaints about racism, sexism and misogyny on set.

It comes after actor Sharon Johal posted on Wednesday to social media that she was “heartbroken” after actors on the program including Shareena Clanton had come forward with allegations of racism while working on the long-running soap.

But despite this, sources have told The Australian that Johal — who is of Indian origin — is due to return to the Neighbours set at Nunawading in Melbourne’s east on Monday.

Johal, who is also a defamation lawyer, will return to complete further storylines in her role as Dipi Rebecchi, which she has played since 2017.

“Like my colleagues who have spoken out over the past week, I too have experienced direct, indirect and casual racism in this workplace,” her post on Wednesday said.

The details of the law firm that is being engaged have not yet been revealed.

Investigations into racial allegations have already begun this week after Sydney-based Indigenous-led creative consultancy Campfire X was hired to conduct an independent cultural review into the program on and off set.

Sources told The Australian that allegations outlined in Johal’s post, including claims colleagues referred to her as “you people” and “the black one”, were never taken to the human resources department of production company Fremantle Media. The “you people” comment resulted in conversations with staff at the time but no complaints were made to HR, The Australian understands.

Johal also said in her post on Wednesday: “There were also instances of culturally insensitive scripts and storylines which would have been better handled had a qualified consultant be hired for this purpose instead of me having to raise the issues, which I was compelled to, often.”

Last week Clanton, 32, said she had experienced “drama” while working on the soap.

“They don’t live the trauma do they, they don’t have to remain in constant reflection and actions and implications of what happened,” Clanton said.

Other actors to claim racism on the set of Neighbours include Meyne Wyatt and Sachin Joab.

No employees have lost their jobs in relation to the allegations made. The Australian approached Johal and Clanton for comment but they did not reply.

Fremantle Media said it remained “committed to ensuring a respectful and inclusive workplace for all employees”.