List of Neighbours characters introduced in 1994


Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1994, by order of first appearance. Until 9 May, characters were introduced by the soap's executive producer, Alan Coleman. Thereafter, they were introduced by his successor, Stanley Walsh. The 10th season of Neighbours began airing from 24 January 1994. Frank Bren began appearing as [|Colin Taylor] in same month. Bren also played Colin's twin brother [|Alf]. March saw the arrivals of Len Mangel, Sally Pritchard and [|Stonefish Rebecchi]. Katerina Torelli made her first appearance in April, followed by [|Andrew MacKenzie] in May. Elliot Patterson and [|Sam Kratz] were introduced in June and Sam's grandmother [|Marlene Kratz] began appearing in July. That month also saw the births of [|Louise Carpenter] and Zac Willis. [|Serendipity Gottlieb] made her debut in August. Stonefish's brother [|Shane Rebecchi] arrived in September. He was followed by the first two members of the Kennedy family: doctor [|Karl Kennedy] and his youngest son [|Billy]. Karl's wife [|Susan] and their elder children [|Malcolm] and [|Libby] followed in October. November saw Bianca Zanotti and Ling Mai Chan make their debut appearances.

Colin Taylor

Colin Taylor, played by Frank Bren, made his first appearance on 27 January 1994. The character was described as an "incurable chatterbox" and "irritating as hell" by a writer for Inside Soap. Writers later paired Colin with established character Marlene Kratz. O'Sullivan said the pair "seem to hit it off in a big way" and that it was "definitely love". Marlene and Colin share similar interests and O'Sullivan thought it was nice that Marlene had someone of her own that cared for her.
Colin introduces himself to Philip and Julie Martin when they arrive at their holiday bungalow in Queensland. The Martins find Colin friendly, but his tendency to ramble irritates them. Colin reappears several months later as Doug Willis's roommate at the hospital. Colin takes a job at Philip's newsagency and competes against Karl Kennedy at the auction for Number 28 Ramsay Street but ultimately loses out. Colin makes several changes to the newsagency, and he forms a Barbershop Trio with Philip and Vikram Chatterji. Colin moves into Number 30 with Mark Gottlieb and Cody Willis. Colin's twin brother Alf comes to visit him. When Colin pursues a relationship with Marlene Kratz, he believes Alf is also trying to making advances towards her and they fight. Alf then admits that he is not interested in Marlene, as he is gay. Colin proposes to Marlene. They argue about what type of ceremony to have, as Marlene is Catholic and Colin wants a civil ceremony. Shortly after, Colin is offered a job as a translator by the curator of the Modern Ceramics exhibition, which is going on a world tour. Marlene ends their relationship, as she does not want to leave her family. Colin then leaves for Argentina, after his friends throw him a leaving party.
Colin received a nomination for Most Annoying Character at the 1996 Inside Soap Awards. Dave Lanning of The People was not a fan of the Colin/Marlene pairing, commenting that the writers must have been on magic mushrooms when they came up with the storyline. He stated, "Moonie Marlene, who had an invisible cat and disappearing garden gnomes, is being wooed by the terminally boring Colin Taylor, who always appeared in a straw boater originally; pioneered barber shop quartets, and is back from China – banging a gong and muttering in Mandarin. You honestly wouldn't script it." Matthew Clifton, writing for HecklerSpray, included the character in his feature on the "Best Ever Mid-90s Neighbours Characters". Clifton said, "Colin was pompous and irritating, a pastiche of a middle class bore who looked a lot like a paedophile. Colin actor Frank Bren also played his identical twin Alf, the more go-getting, handsome one, who turned out to be gay."

Len Mangel

Leonard G. "Len" Mangel, played by John Lee, made his first appearance on 16 March 1994. Len is Nell Mangel's former husband, who was often mentioned during the early years of the programme, but never seen. He returns to Erinsborough "out of the blue" and romances Helen Daniels, as he wants to steal her widow's pension. An Inside Soap columnist branded Len an "evil conman", and commented, "Poor old Helen – it looks as if she's headed for a fall – again!"
Len is the former husband of Nell Mangel and father of Amanda Harris and Joe Mangel. After Len's granddaughter Jane suspects Nell has killed him, it is eventually revealed that Len has left Nell for another woman. Len files for divorce and wants to sell Number 32 Ramsay Street and split the proceeds between them. Nell refuses and blackmails Len by threatening to follow him wherever he goes if she should lose the house.
Seven years later, Len returns to Erinsborough after Michael Martin and Doug Willis find some old war medals and a trombone case with the initials L.G.M inscribed on it, while renovating an old house. Len reveals he used to live in the house and the case and medals belong to him. He lets Michael keep all the medals except for the Flying Cross. Len then meets up with his former neighbour Helen Daniels, who he has not seen in many years and they reminisce about old times. Len mentions he had left Nell because of her incessant nagging and moved in with Mary Pengelly who turned out to be just as bad and faked his death to get away from her and planned to reappear to scare her, but Mary had died before Len had the chance. He also mentions he has since reconciled with Joe but Amanda will not forgive him for leaving Nell. Helen is initially appalled at Len's justification for his actions but continues to see him, much to the chagrin of Julie, Helen's granddaughter.
Len attempts to con some money out of Helen by suggesting she invest in Outback Tours. Despite warnings from her family, Helen is undeterred. When Michael returns Len's jacket to an address on his driving license he meets [|Gwen Childs], who warns him that Len is not to be trusted, as he conned her into putting her money into a joint account and emptied it. Gwen thinks Len may do the same to Helen. Michael warns Helen, who continues not to listen, so he and his sister, Debbie, set a trap for Len. When Len is caught, he tries to explain himself to Helen, and she sends him packing.
A writer for BBC Online, which hosted an official Neighbours website, said Len's most notable moment was "Trying to scam money out of Helen by trying to get her to invest in a dodgy business called Outback Tours." Len was also included in the BBC's list of twenty favourite obscure Neighbours characters to help celebrate the show's 20th anniversary. Len's off-screen presence and the reason why viewers did not get to see him were noted. In her book The Neighbours Programme Guide, Josephine Monroe commented "Poor old Len Mangel was so henpecked by his witch of a wife Nell that he never dared show his face in Ramsay Street!"

Sally Pritchard

Sally Pritchard, played by singer Brenda Webb, made her first appearance on 23 March 1994. Pritchard's casting was announced in January 1994. Brett Thomas of The Sun-Herald reported that she was initially contracted for six weeks. Webb liked the short duration, as she wanted to concentrate on her music career. She stated, "I don't think I'd like to work any longer than six months on a soapie because I feel I'd get stale doing the one character; plus I want to move on to bigger and better things." Sally was introduced as Erinsborough High's new Japanese language teacher, and a friend of Gaby Willis. Sally's student Rick Alessi develops a crush on her, and they soon begin a romantic relationship.
Sally's friend Gaby Willis helps her get a job teaching Japanese at Erinsborough High. Gaby also introduces Sally to Rick Alessi, a student at the school. He develops a crush on Sally and decides to take Japanese as an extra subject. Sally develops feelings for Rick, but assures him that nothing can happen as she is his teacher. Rick makes the decision to leave school and becomes a bar man at The Waterhole. He uses his salary to buy an engagement ring and proposes to Sally. She tells him it is too soon, but agrees to think about it. Sally talks to Gaby and her flatmate [|John Muir] about Rick's proposal, and John advises her to break up with Rick. Sally later tells Gaby that she is scared at what Rick might do next, as he is not behaving very rationally. Sally asks Gaby to let Rick down gently on her behalf. John suggests that they pretend to be a couple to put Rick off. Sally accepts a job in Japan and before she leaves, she tells Rick that she cannot marry him, as she does not feel the same way as he does.

Stonefish Rebecchi

Kevin "Stonefish" Rebecchi, played by Anthony Engelman, made his first appearance on 31 March 1994. The character was introduced after a TV Week reporter revealed the show would be getting "a younger, livelier look" with some new characters under the age of eighteen. Engelman told an Inside Soap columnist that his first script said his character got his nickname because he looked like a stonefish. Another writer for the publication observed that Stonefish was happy when he was causing a stir in the classroom, and that he was likely to be involved wherever there was trouble. Stonefish arrives on Ramsay Street after hearing that Brett Stark is dating his girlfriend Sassy Patterson-Smythe. Engelman said he had a lot in common with his character, as he had a tough time at school too and did not have much luck with girls.

Katerina Torelli

Katerina "Katy" Torelli, played by Josephine Mitchell, made her first appearance on 18 April 1994. Mitchell was initially contracted for an eight-week guest stint. Mitchell was pleased to join another soap opera, having previously made appearances in A Country Practice and E Street. She also liked that Katerina was "such a positive character". Katerina has been disabled since birth and uses a wheelchair. Mitchell admitted that she found it hard acting in a wheelchair, and had to make it look as if she really was paralysed. During her research for the role, Mitchell turned to the Australian Paraquad Society for help. The actress thought the introduction of a disabled character was "just what the soap needs" and hoped it would get people talking about the issues raised. Katerina was introduced as a potential love interest for Mark Gottlieb and rival for Annalise Hartman. Mitchell said Katerina thinks Mark is "very cute" and goes out of her way to make Annalise jealous. Kevin Sadlier of The Sydney Morning Herald reviewed Mitchell's first episode as Katerina as part of the paper's "Television This Week" feature. Sadlier wrote "Katerina first appears as a mystery woman waving to Mark Gottlieb from a passing car as if they are old friends, causing pangs of jealousy in Annalise. Actually they really are old friends – from E Street!"
When Katerina sees Mark Gottlieb out driving with Annalise Hartman, she immediately develops a crush on him. She starts phoning him using the alias "KT", causing Annalise to become jealous. Mark learns KT is actually Katerina, who explains that she is impressed with his fundraising for the Paralympics and wants to work with him. Katerina develops a crush on Mark, and starts dedicating songs to him on the radio. Mark warns her that he will not cheat on Annalise. After a night out with Mark's friends, Katerina makes a suggestive comment to Mark, who tells her again that he loves Annalise. But when Annalise goes away, Mark kisses Katerina. She tells Annalise that she and Mark are in love. Mark confronts Katerina, who insists that she is destined to be with him. Annalise and Mark realise they need to get away from Katerina's obsessive behaviour, so they leave for his parents' farm.