Neighbours star April Rose Pengilly on show axe, Elly return and Chloe memories

 "Why has it been cancelled when so many people love it?"

With Neighbours coming to an end this week,  will be publishing exclusive interviews with several of the current cast to help celebrate their work on the show.

First up, it's April Rose Pengilly, who chatted to us just a few weeks before filming ended on the iconic Aussie soap.

Here, April chats about Neighbours' sad demise, memories of playing her character Chloe Brennan, and her hopes for 'Chelly' to have a happy ending.

What has the atmosphere been like on set as you've been filming these celebratory final episodes?

"It's really strange. I don't think it's properly hit everyone yet. There was one day that I pointed out to everyone that there were only 27 days of filming left and nobody could believe it.

"Our schedule is quite crazy and we're always really busy, so we haven't stopped to process it properly. It's still a bit funny, as we've just been working hard and getting on with it."

Can you tease what the fans can expect from the finale?

"A lot of the announcements of returning cast members were surprises to us. They were keeping it all really quiet, which was frustrating as we wanted to know what was going on! (Laughs.)

"The ending will be quite satisfying. I think everyone will be left feeling happy and it'll be heartwarming."

There had been uncertainty surrounding the show's future for a while, but was it still a surprise when the axing was announced in February?

Yeah, it was. We knew our ratings were good and we were winning awards. We'd changed the show up a bit and had started shooting in more off-site locations. We really tried extra hard to put everything into it.

"Then when we'd switched things up, the changes had only been on air for something like two weeks and then it was cancelled. We were all like: 'Hey, we didn't even get a chance to show everyone!'

"It was really shocking, but not entirely unexpected. It's really sad. We're proud that the show is going out on a high, but at the same time, we're there with all the fans going: 'Why has it been cancelled when so many people love it?'"

You only found out through the media, didn't you?

"Yeah, all these articles started coming out on a Sunday morning. We all just thought: 'Same old misinformation'. But then we got called by producers and were told that it was true.

"We had meetings the following Monday. We thought it could potentially happen, but the news was still a little bit of a surprise to all of us."

How long were you planning on staying for?

"I really wasn't sure, to be honest. Our schedule is really, really gruelling. I think we're the second-fastest show in the world, only after one of the American soaps – and they're only faster than us because they don't have outdoor sets and shoot everything inside, which is quicker.

"We shoot a lot and it's really exhausting. I just wasn't sure how long I could do it for, because it's really difficult to have any kind of life, plus all of my friends and family are in Sydney.

"Through COVID, it was really difficult, but obviously I love everyone on the show so much and we really are a family. I think that would have kept me there a little bit longer, but I really wasn't sure."

Did any plans for Chloe have to change when the show was cancelled?

"I'm not sure, as they haven't really told us. I believe they'd plotted stories beyond July, because there were waiting to hear from the UK network whether we were going to be picked up again. They would do that intermittently and sign the show up again every couple of years.

"They weren't sure so they were plotting beyond that point, but then the show was cancelled. I think they had to just wrap up a bunch of stuff and speed up some stories that had already been written, so they could conclude them properly."

Were you told that Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan were coming back?

"It was kept absolutely top-secret, but then on the day they were there, we all found out. It was like: 'Why does no-one tell us? We're not idiots, we won't spoil it!' And then it all came out in the media the next day anyway! (Laughs.) I wish someone had told us and we could have all taken a nice photo together.

"Kylie actually dated Michael Hutchence, who was in my father's band [INXS] back in the day, so I knew her when I was little and used to hang out on tour. I last saw her a couple of years ago.

"It would have been nice to say hi and send a photo to dad, but it was all very under wraps."

What are your fondest memories of playing Chloe?

"I do always go back to Chelly – Chloe and Elly's relationship. Going into it, we didn't really think much of it. We shoot so much, so we've always got a new storyline or a new love interest. Jodi [Gordon, who plays Elly] and I just thought: 'This is the next one, yep'.

"Obviously we put a lot of work and love into it, but we just didn't realise that it would take off the way it did. It created so many passionate fans and meant so much to the LGBTQI+ community.

"I still have young women and members of the queer community tell me that the storyline helped them to come out to their family.

"I'm just so grateful to the fans and so humbled and honoured that I helped anybody, even in some small way. I'd have to say that storyline, because it meant so much outside of the show as well.

"Beyond that, I just have such good memories of working with Matt Wilson and Scott McGregor, my on-screen brothers. That was always so much fun and I'd always get a sore face from laughing when I shot with them!"

Is there any hope for a Chelly reunion now Jodi is back?

"I would absolutely love that. I knew Jodi was coming back for a little while before it was announced. I've been crossing my fingers like everyone else."

Do you have a least favourite storyline?

"I wasn't a huge fan of the 'cash for company' storyline, which saw Chloe going on dates and being painted as a sex worker. It was just a lot – and it was all very rushed. But a lot of people say it was their favourite and they thought it was funny and interesting, so I don't really want to take that away from anyone!

"The other one I thought was funny was when Chloe had the casino. There was a gambling ring in one of the rooms at Lassiters. That was one huge day, when I had to shoot all of those scenes back to back and I had so many lines to learn.

"I heard someone say that one of the writers had apparently just saw that movie Molly's Game and so they'd just written that I was doing the same thing. I was like: 'Oh thanks a lot, now I've got this huge day with loads of lines to learn because someone's watched Molly's Game!'"

Do you hold out any hope that Neighbours could return after being rested?

"I don't know. First I heard that the sets are going to be destroyed, then I heard that things are being kept just in case. I'm really not sure what the case is. If someone hasn't picked it up when it's all there and ready to go, I'm not sure how likely it is.

"But I'm not an expert or a TV executive, so I don't really know how it all works. Fingers crossed that there might still be hope for it."

You interact with fans much more than the other cast. Has that connection been important to you over the years?

"Really important. I love the fans so much and I'm so in awe of how passionate they are. They always have so many questions and I just want to answer them and help them.

"I can see how much they love the show and how much these things mean to them. So if I can just give them a little bit of joy, or an answer to something that's always bugged them, I'm happy to try and be there."

What are your future plans?

"Everyone keeps asking me and I just say sleep! I am so tired. This year in particular, because things were ramping up again post-COVID and all of our lockdowns.

"I've had so many other little work things I've been trying to do on the side, then all of the Instagram stuff and trying to talk to all the fans. It's more than a full-time job and it's really taken a toll on me this year.

"I've been looking forward to getting back home to Sydney, where my friends and family are, and having some rest time. I'm just taking it as it comes at this stage."

A lot of the fans are saying they could see you on Home and Away at some stage…

"People always ask me: 'Why don't you do Home and Away?' As if it's up to me! (Laughs.) We have no say in this stuff. But never say never.

"I'm not sure how keen I am to go back into a soap, just knowing what the schedule is like. I'm not sure I could do it again, but at the same time, I don't know if their schedule is different to ours in the way it works.

"We'll have to see. Like I said, I'm just going to take it as it comes."

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. The series finale will air in the UK on July 29 at 9pm on Channel 5.