Bonnie Anderson admits nerves at recording the Neighbours theme tune
She also reveals which co-star she'd most like to duet with…
Neighbours recently unveiled a brand new recording of its iconic theme song, performed for the first time by a cast member. Bonnie Anderson, who plays Bea Nilsson, can be heard belting out the famous intro every time we visit Ramsay Street, and admits to having an emotional reaction when she was asked to do it.
"Jason Herbison our big boss sounded me out about a year ago if I would be interested," says the musician and actress, speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com. "I was a bit emotional to be honest, it's one of the most famous theme tunes in the world! Everyone knows the song and I was aware no other cast member had done it before.
"I was really nervous. Usually I don't care what people think, but something like this is so iconic I didn't want to let the fans down. I had a teary moment but said yes straight away. It was a real honour and I wanted to do them proud."
The new version was released with updated opening credits just after the soap celebrated its 35th anniversary in March.
"The song tells a story in itself and I didn't want to over-sing," continues Anderson. "Usually I'm quite a big singer but with this I kept it quite still, to retain the pureness of the lyric and the song itself. When I first heard it on TV it was so weird! I'm excited and grateful to have the opportunity."
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Anderson has sung on screen many times as Bea, taking full advantage of the performer's musical background - she won Australia's Got Talent in 2007 with her vocal prowess at the tender age of 12, which led to a successful recording and musical theatre career in her home country before joining Neighbours in 2018.
With many ex-Erinsborough residents having gone on to global pop stardom, including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, Anderson told us which of her musical co-stars she'd choose to duet with if she could have another crack at the classic theme…
"Ben Hall, who plays Ned Willis, is a great singer. We've put heaps of songs up together on my Instagram. He's very humble though and likes to keep his singing talents quiet!"
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