Photo courtesy of Channel 5.
Last week on Neighbours (23/7 – 27/7), the ladies were really bringing it on Ramsay Street.
Xanthe is having a tough time – in hospital but trying to power through her exams in order to fulfil her dream of becoming a doctor. I’m a big fan of Lilly Van der Meer anyway, she’s insanely likeable, but she’s been really outstanding in portraying her recovery, her fear of failure and the residual trauma still left behind after her ordeal at the hands of Finn. Lilly Van der Meer reminds me a bit of Margot Robbie when she was in Neighbours, and we all know how well she did for herself after she left Ramsay Street. Xanthe even managed to deal with Piper’s bizarre attempt to cheer her up with dignity, when Piper inexplicably put some glasses on and pretended to be a nurse for a reason which was never explained to any real degree of satisfaction. Why would your best friend pretending (badly) to do a job you don’t want to do, cheer you up? For future reference, if I need cheering up, I want a giant tub of ice cream and a Marvel movie marathon.
Lilly Van der Meer as Xanthe. Photo: Channel 5/Digital Spy
Madeleine West is doing a good job as Andrea, and I bet she’s having a great time with this role. She’s been very convincing as a psychiatric patient possibly experiencing some kind of post-natal psychosis, and I’m enjoying this stint on the show more than I enjoyed her last one. Inextricably linked to Andrea is Sonya, and actress Eve Morey always does well when she’s given a nice meaty storyline. The look of sheer despondence on her face when she was looking through Toadie and Dee’s wedding album was heartbreaking. The ladies in Toadie’s life are both knocking it out of the park at the moment.
Eve Morey and Madeleine West. Photo: Channel 5/Digital Spy
I’m thoroughly enjoying guest star Debra Lawrence as Elly and Bea’s melodramatic, spoiled mother, Liz, perhaps because it’s so far removed from how I’m used to seeing her – as World Champion mum, Pippa, on Home and Away. Her drunken argument with Susan, and Suze’s disapproving looks, gave me life. Mark found Liz unconscious in the park, and she revealed that Finn had knocked her out. Is he really back, or is she attention-seeking? Whichever it is, I hope Liz sticks around for a little while because she’s quite entertaining.
Terese’s reaction to Clancy the dog’s vandalism of the Christmas in July celebration was slightly less than convincing, but her reaction to Paul/Leo’s video of Josh was pretty beautiful. While I’m mentioning the Christmas in July debacle, I feel I need to state how much I enjoyed Toadie barrelling into that Christmas tree. He needs to be careful, a bouncy castle broke his spine, so imagine the damage a Christmas tree could do. But, getting back to Terese, I like it when Rebekah Elmaloglou gets to stretch her legs a bit, instead of just being a little bit angry from behind a desk, which is Terese’s standard operating procedure.
And that brings me to the Leo/Terese/Paul love triangle, which seems to be taking shape currently. Is it me, or is this a little bit close to the Ned/Brad/Lauren love triangle? Son has a thing for dad’s partner/love interest? Don’t get me wrong, Terese is a confident, smart and attractive woman – I can see why Leo would be interested, but really, are we doing this again? Ned needs to have a quiet word with his new best friend, Leo…
