Neighbours spoilers follow.
Neighbours legend Jackie Woodburne has revealed that she once threatened to quit the show early in her run for an important reason. Since the mid-1990s the star has been a staple of the Australian soap, which has just come to an end.
Airing today, the finale saw the residents of Ramsay Street face having to move away amid a potential demolition, though things were left unresolved, with Jackie’s character Susan Kennedy among those willing to fight for the street’s future.
Looking back on her time on the show, the actor revealed that three years into her tenure she almost walked away after realising she was being paid less than co-star Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy).
“I asked for parity with contract negotiation,” Jackie recalled to TV Tonight. “For obvious reasons, I felt my input was equal. I felt my body of previous work was equal. I felt my value to the show was equal, and so I asked for parity. That just pushed every feminist button in my body.
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“I said to my agent, ‘Look, I don’t think I can go to work with a happy heart and do good work feeling resentful. So it’s either parity or I will leave,’” the star further shared, revealing that she thankfully got parity “from that day forward”.
She also called her on-screen partnership with Alan “the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow”, admitting “that was why we could do it for so long”.
“Because we just got it,” she said. “We got what was expected of us, what the job entailed, what was required, what we could do. We both have a very strong work ethic. We both like to have fun on set. And we just kind of fitted.”
Related: Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher reveals he changed a huge story in the Amazon revival
Meanwhile, speaking to Digital Spy following the finale, executive producer Jason Herbison has addressed the possibility of another Neighbours comeback in the future.
“I think there is a chance for the show to return in a different form, such as a short run series,” he said. “Robinson Towers and Ramsay Hills are examples of how that could happen. Or it could be something else entirely.”
Neighbours releases new episodes from Mondays to Thursdays for free on Prime Video in the UK and US. In Australia, the show airs from Mondays to Thursdays at 4pm on Channel 10, with a 6.30pm repeat screening on 10 Peach Comedy.
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