List of Neighbours characters introduced in 2016
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985 and currently airs on digital channel Eleven. The following is a list of characters that appeared in the soap in 2016, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the show's executive producer Jason Herbison. The 32nd season of Neighbours began airing from 4 January 2016. Julie Quill and [|Xanthe Canning] were introduced during the same month. March saw the first appearance of Jacka Hills. [|Jack Callahan], Ned Willis and [|Madison Robinson] arrived in April, while Angus Beaumont-Hannay, [|Walter Mitchell] and Mandy Franze made their debuts in May. August saw the arrival of James Udagawa, while brothers [|David] and [|Leo Tanaka] were introduced in September, along with Xanthe's mother [|Brooke Butler].
Julie Quill
Julie Quill, played by Gail Easdale, made her first screen appearance on 12 January 2016. The character and Easdale's casting was announced on 4 January. The actress revealed that she had previously auditioned for another role on the show in 2015, but was unsuccessful. She was then asked to play Julie and she accepted. The role marks Easdale's return to acting after a break to raise her children. She is also the wife of Stefan Dennis, who portrays Paul Robinson. Julie was introduced as the new owner of Lassiter's Hotel and Paul's enemy. Easdale described Julie as being "a hard nut, but she also has a softer side because she has worked hard and she appreciates others that put in the effort." Easdale said Julie was forced to make an impact in a male dominated environment, which she admired. She added that Paul was "a great character to play against", which made her guest stint more interesting as Dennis is different at home. The character is later exposed as the perpetrator behind the Lassiters Hotel explosion, which resulted in the deaths of Josh Willis and Doug Willis and she departs in June 2016. Easdale reprises the role on 8 September 2021, as Terese Willis visits Julie in prison in a bid to gain closure over the death of her son. Julie's return follows the introduction of her own son Jesse Porter in March 2021. Of her return and how Julie has changed, Easdale stated: "It's always great doing any role, but to be able to be Julie in the familiar surroundings of Erinsborough makes it that much more fun. Julie has reflected on her past deeds, making her a changed, remorseful character since the last time you saw her."Julie comes to Erinsborough to inspect Lassiter's hotel, the Quill Group's newest acquisition. Julie holds a grudge against the hotel's previous owner Paul Robinson, following a failed romance between them. When she learns Paul's nephew Daniel has applied for a job at the hotel, she turns him down after an interview. Julie discusses her struggles as a woman in the hotel industry with Terese Willis, and she decides to hire Daniel after realising that he and Paul have fallen out. She tells Terese that if there are problems, she will be held responsible. Julie returns a few weeks later for a meeting with Terese, and she clashes with Paul again. She later reveals to Terese her plans for a second hotel tower to be built on existing businesses within the Lassiter's complex. Julie becomes determined to ruin Paul's bid to host the Erinsborough Citizen of the Year event. She manages to persuade the council to hold the launch party at The Waterhole, but Paul arranges a job offer for the Lassiter's chef, causing him to quit before the launch. Harold's Store does the catering and leaves Julie, the guests and Mayor Sonya Rebecchi with food poisoning. Robinson's Motel is awarded the ceremony.
Julie meets with her stepson Tom Quill to discuss the progress of the second tower. Tom informs Julie that he has persuaded those opposed to the development to withdraw their objections. When Robinson's loses its liquor license, Lassiter's regains the Citizen of the Year event and Julie gloats to Paul. She also puts pressure on Tom to sort the environmental report for the tower by replacing any negative report with a more positive version. When Tom's deception is later exposed, Julie disowns him. Shortly after, the boiler room at Lassiter's explodes, destroying the hotel. Julie moves in with Terese, who is grieving for her son Josh Willis, and learns that Tom is missing and possibly buried under the hotel rubble. She hires Sarah Beaumont to take over Lassiter's while Terese takes leave. Julie attacks Paul as he is accused of causing the explosion, and when he tries to comfort her she accuses him of assault. Tom turns up alive, and Julie is angry with Aaron Brennan for lying to her as he attacked Tom just before the explosion. Julie fires Terese when it transpires that she paid someone to give a false alibi, ensuring Paul was put away. At the reopening of Lassiter's, Julie is arrested by Mark Brennan, as John Doe's memory returns, and he recalls that he saw her conspire with Jacka Hills to cause the explosion. Mark charges Julie and she attempts to apologise to Terese and her family. Terese's daughter, Piper Willis slaps her and Terese refuses to forgive Julie. Mark then takes Julie away, and she is later sentenced to ten years in prison. Five years later, Julie's son Jesse Porter starts working for Lassiters in a bid to gain information for Shay, who is trying to repair the damage to the Quill Group's reputation.
Xanthe Canning
Xanthe Canning, played by Lilly Van der Meer, made her first screen appearance on 22 January 2016. The character and casting was announced on 30 November 2015. Colette Mann, who plays Sheila Canning, teased Xanthe's introduction during an October 2015 interview. She commented that the new arrival would start "a big new storyline" for the family. Of Van der Meer's casting, Mann said "Lilly's world has certainly been opened up since joining the show and we're loving having her here. She was already a Canning after just a couple of weeks, we had converted her." Xanthe is Sheila's granddaughter, the half-sister of Kyle Canning, and daughter of Gary Canning. Van der Meer said Xanthe would make "a good friend" on Ramsay Street, and that she would get into "trouble, excitement, and mischief."Jacka Hills
Jackson Derek "Jacka" Hills, played by Brad McMurray, made his first screen appearance on 7 March 2016. Jacka is an old friend of Stephanie Scully. He was billed as the show's "newest villain" and a writer for the official website said with "trouble brewing", Jacka would be in the middle of it. McMurray enjoyed playing the role, saying "It's a great show to be a part of and I'm quite adept at playing the bad guy so this is really a lot of fun. I love causing trouble and there are definitely a few surprises in store where Jacka is concerned." Following his original guest stint, the character returned in September. Jacka asks Steph to visit him in prison, after learning that his wife Regan Davis might be having an affair. Steph agrees to speak to Regan to find out the truth. In 2022, script producer Shane Isheev confirmed a planned return for Jacka, however the storyline was unable to be pursued due to the cancellation of Neighbours. The storyline would have seen Jacka meeting with David Tanaka in prison and an earthquake causing a "mass prison breakout", leaving villains to "wreak havoc on the show." Isheev also called Jacka one of the serial's "iconic villains".Steph Scully recognises her old friend Jacka, after he pulls his bike up alongside her and Mark Brennan. Steph suggests they round up their old friends for a beer and a talk. When Jacka mentions that they have been kicked out of their usual place, Steph invites them to Robinsons Motel. Paul Robinson voices his displeasure at having a gang of bikers at the motel and asks them to leave. Unhappy at the way Paul spoke to Steph, Jacka and the group return to trash the room and steal Paul's prosthetic leg. A few weeks later, Jacka leaves some boxes of alcohol at Robinsons for Steph. Mark Brennan recognises that they are stolen. Steph confronts Jacka and he warns her not to tell the police about his connection to the alcohol. However, Mark has already called it in. In retaliation, Jacka sprays graffiti over the motel's entrance. He is later seen leaving the scene of the explosion at Lassiter's Hotel with a cash box. Steph approaches Jacka to do some investigating into the explosion for her and Paul. Jacka refuses, as he is convinced Steph is trying to set him up. Jacka calls someone to let them know that no one knows he placed the hotel's blue prints in Paul's briefcase. Due to their gang connections, Jacka is revealed to be old friends with Ned Willis. Jacka goes to Robinson's Motel where he wipes Paul's list of suspects from the whiteboard. Paul later contacts him about buying a fake passport to escape the country, in exchange for money. Jacks tells someone the phone that he will make sure the passport does not get Paul past immigration. Later, he is seen talking to the same person on the phone and laughing at Paul's prison sentence. It soon emerges that hotel owner Julie Quill planned to pay him $10,000 to blow up the Lassiter's boiler to claim the insurance payout. Jacka did so, but Julie refused to pay him afterwards, once they found out that there were fatalities. Jacka is arrested and taken into police custody.
Months later, Jacka asks Steph to visit him. He believes his wife, Regan Davis, is having an affair and he wants Steph to find out who it was with. After speaking with Regan, Steph returns to the prison and tells Jacka that Regan thought they were having an affair before he was jailed, which is why she stopped visiting him. Steph explains that she set Regan straight and Regan will visit him soon. Jacka then reveals that he had someone else check up on Regan and he thinks Steph is lying. He tells her to get him a name. Regan later tells him that she was having an affair with Ned. Jacka is released early to care for his dying mother and he returns to Erinsborough to get revenge on Ned. He watches Ned with Elly Conway and later finds her at The Waterhole. He introduces himself to her as JD and buys her several drinks. Ned sees them together and pulls Elly away, telling her who Jacka really is. Terese Willis then asks for him to be removed. Steph confronts Jacka and urges him to give up his revenge plan. Jacka breaks into Number 32 and poisons Ned's tattoo ink. He breaks in again, and is almost caught by Brad Willis and Toadfish Rebecchi. After learning that some of Ned's family and Elly are going up in a hot-air balloon, Jacka tampers with the gas cylinders, causing it to crash. At the hospital, Jacka learns that Regan died as a result of the balloon crash and he accuses Karl Kennedy of killing her. Jacka is then arrested, and he is later sentenced to eighteen years in prison.