Advertisement

Exclusive: Neighbours star Olivia Junkeer praises Scarlett return storyline

Photo credit: Fremantle - Channel 5
Photo credit: Fremantle - Channel 5

From Digital Spy

Neighbours spoilers follow for UK viewers.

Neighbours star Olivia Junkeer has praised the decision to bring back scheming Scarlett Brady.

Next week's episodes on Channel 5 see Ned Willis (Ben Hall) left horrified when he realises that Scarlett has been making contact with him on the online Fandangle service.

As Ned has been sharing nude videos and photos with his online followers in exchange for cash payments, Scarlett threatens to send the evidence to everyone he knows unless he follows her instructions.

In a new chat with Digital Spy, Olivia – who plays Ned's girlfriend Yashvi Rebecchi – explained how the ongoing story is about to take a much more serious turn.

Photo credit: Fremantle - Channel 5
Photo credit: Fremantle - Channel 5

Related: Neighbours star Sharon Johal defends Dipi's reaction to Shane's drug addiction

Olivia explained: "The Fandangle scenes were a lot of fun at the time and a bit silly! It was fun for Ben and I to play the ridiculousness of that whole thing, but it does go down a sinister path pretty fast as Scarlett comes back into the picture because of it.

"Scarlett uses Fandangle to manipulate and blackmail Ned, which triggers his post-traumatic stress disorder from the stabbing and everything else that happened a year ago.

"The timing works out really well, because the stabbing episode happened around Halloween last year and you see Scarlett now return to Erinsborough around that time. It brings Yashvi and Ned down memory lane."

Photo credit: Channel 5
Photo credit: Channel 5

Related: Neighbours lines up new setback for Levi Canning as his medical results are tampered with

She continued: "We had so much fun the first time with the storyline and I love working with Christie Whelan Browne, who plays Scarlett. She's so great.

"It's really fun to see Christie play crazy and how Yashvi deals with that. It always leads to action scenes, as something big will happen out of the blue.

"I never would be able to do what I do on this show on any other show! I think it's really fun that way and the outcome of the storylines is never what I expected."

Olivia also pointed out the serious message behind Ned's Fandangle antics, as his seemingly-anonymous online activities come back to haunt him.

Photo credit: Channel 5
Photo credit: Channel 5

Related: 11 huge Neighbours spoilers for next week

She said: "I think it definitely shows that once something is up, it's up forever. You see Ned really understand that as time goes on. It does seem like a really innocent storyline at first, but it definitely shows that you're never as anonymous as you think you are.

"That's really important for young people to know, as social media is so prominent in our lives – especially during isolation. Sometimes you do things that you regret and this story shows that you can't necessarily always delete it."

Asked whether Yashvi and Ned have a strong future, Olivia replied: "That's a hard one but I think they do. Yashvi is so young and still trying to find her feet. Yashvi has just got a new job, while Ned is trying to figure out who he wants to be.

"But I think they grow together and they do have a strong future."

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 5.30pm on Channel 5 (UK) and 6.30pm on 10 Peach (Australia).


Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.

Read more Neighbours spoilers on our dedicated homepage

Want up-to-the-minute soaps news, spoilers and gossip on your social feeds? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Soaps Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @soapscoop Twitter account.

You Might Also Like