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Neighbours is a long-running Australian soap opera, which began airing in March 1985. It was created by Reg Watson and is produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation. more...

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Through its entire run in Australia it has screened as five 22-minute episodes a week, shown each weeknight in an early-evening slot. The 1985 season aired on the Seven Network, at 5.30 pm in Sydney and at 6.30 pm in Melbourne and other regions. From its second year the series switched to Network Ten. Between 1986 and 1991 the series was screened by Network Ten at 7.00 pm, and from 1992 they have aired the show at 6:30pm. Neighbours has a G classification, signifying that its content is suitable for viewers of any age.

The series follows the daily lives of several families who live in the six houses at the end of Ramsay Street, a quiet cul-de-sac in the fictional, middle class suburb of Erinsborough. Storylines explore the romances, family problems, domestic squabbles, and other key life events affecting the various residents. More than most serials, Neighbours features a large proportion of children and teenagers amongst its ever-rotating cast of characters.

Neighbours celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 2005 with some special episodes which featured appearances from several former members of the cast.

Network history and popularity

The series originally aired on the Seven Network in Australia in 1985, but - unusually for an Australian-produced series - switched networks, moving to Network Ten in 1986.

In 1985, the Melbourne-produced programme had underperformed in the crucial Sydney market leading to Seven cancelling the series at the end of that year. Neighbours was immediately picked up by the rival Network Ten . They began screening the series on that channel in early 1986. On Ten, it initially attracted low ratings . The Network worked hard to publicise the series ; they revamped the show, adding several new, younger cast members including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, while a concerted publicity drive largely focused on these new actors . This paid off for the series and by the end of 1987 it was attracting high ratings .

Australian audiences waned considerably by the early 1990s , although it recovered slightly by the end of the decade . The serial continues in Australia with adequate rating figures, frequently attracting almost a million viewers per episode .

The series is more popular in the UK where it screens on BBC One usually attracting between five and six million viewers.

Read more at Wikipedia.org