Yahoo News Exclusive: Neighbours' Olivia Junkeer hopes Mackenzie will be a regular
Neighbours star Olivia Junkeer has voiced her support for Mackenzie Hargreaves to be promoted to a show regular.
Georgie Stone joined the show recently in a guest capacity, and Mackenzie has been involved in a number of storylines including her attempts to track down her father Grant.
Speaking to Digital Spy, Olivia – who plays Yashvi Rebecchi – thinks the soap can only benefit from making Mackenzie a regular character.
"I think that would be amazing for the show and for Georgie," she said. "She's such a brilliant actress. It honestly would be so, so great for the show. It shows Australia growing with the rest of the world."
Olivia added that she has really enjoyed being part of Mackenzie's scenes, and pointed out the importance of Mackenzie's trans storyline.
"I was so happy that I got to be involved in that story," she said. "Yashvi's role in the storyline showed people that she's also new to this. She's not perfect and she makes mistakes, but she's willing to correct them, say sorry for them, and also learn.
"I think that's really important and that kind of mindset is something that society needs to start adopting. Although you can be accepting, you also need to learn and listen.
"There's a really important scene that Yashvi has with Mackenzie and Shane, where they tell her that you actually have to listen – not just hear – to understand. It's a pivotal moment for her. She wakes up and realises that she needs to be there for others."
Olivia continued: "The story was a lot of work. You want to do it right, obviously.
"Georgie and I spoke a lot and we met up a couple of months before we started working together. We wanted the story to be respectful, so everybody would be happy with it. We were reflecting on real life, and I was so ecstatic to be part of that."
Olivia and Georgie will also both feature in Channel 5's upcoming five-part spin-off centred on Erinsborough High.
Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 5.30pm on Channel 5 (UK) and 6.30pm on 10 Peach (Australia).
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