EVERYBODY needs good Neighbours, but the Australian soap opera has ruffled fans’ feathers by recasting a main character and it’s far from the first time soap opera viewers have been asked to accept new actors in established roles.

So who is being recast?

If you don’t want any spoilers, don’t read on…otherwise, Australian actor Tim Robards, who plays businessman Pierce Greyson on the show, is departing. He was supposed to film scenes up until September, but has decided to leave early due to changing travel restrictions resulting from the pandemic that make it difficult for him to be at his family home in Sydney where his partner is expecting their first child.

He’s being replaced?

The character of Pierce will be played by fellow Australian actor, Don Hany, for the remainder of the storyline on the show that airs in the UK on Channel 5.

Fans are not amused?

The announcement drew ire on social media, with one viewer writing on Neighbours’ Instagram, “That’s the most stupidest thing ever” and another adding: “So…Pierce has had a head swap operation and nobody in Ramsay Street is going to notice?” Another commented: “Couldn’t you have just written him out? Hate replacements. Look at Ben Mitchell in EastEnders.”

Ben Mitchell?

The character of Albert Square stalwart Phil Mitchell’s son, Ben, has in fact been played by six different actors since being introduced in 1996, with the role currently portrayed by Max Bowden. In fact, the Mitchell family matriarch, Peggy, memorably portrayed by Barbara Windsor from 1994 on-and-off till 2016, was previously played by the late English actress, Jo Warne.

Neighbours has done it before?

One of the soap's most long-standing characters, Libby Kennedy - daughter of Karl and Susan Kennedy - was played by Kym Valentine from 1994 till 2011, with a brief return in 2016, but in 2008, she was temporarily recast when Valentine became ill with pneumonia. Fans were bemused and the actress wasn’t thrilled either. She later said of the recasting: “It was like being told your boyfriend was going to be intimate with someone else and you not only had to deal with it, but be happy about it.”

Elsewhere in Australia?

Back in the pre-internet 1980s when UK viewers were still 18 months or so behind Australian soap opera episodes, Home & Away launched on ITV and one of the key characters, Pippa Fletcher - who was in a pivotal role as a foster mother in the programme - was played by actress Vanessa Downing. In less than two years, though, she quit the role and was replaced by actress Debra Lawrance in a move that startled fans.

Dallas?

The glitzy 1980s US soap recasted at the drop of a Stetson. Of the many roles recast, the most memorable include Ewing matriarch Miss Ellie, played by Barbara Bel Geddes and Donna Reed, and the role of Jenna, which had three actresses over the years, including Morgan Fairchild and Priscilla Presley.

As for Ramsay Street?

The casting move has garnered plenty of headlines and thousands of comments online, so perhaps as PT Barnum said, “There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”