Neighbours boss was unable to secure legendary character for affair story
Holly's storyline could've been very different.
Neighbours boss Jason Herbison has revealed the legendary character he'd hoped to bring back for Holly Hoyland's (Lucinda Armstrong-Hall) affair with Andrew Rodwell (Lloyd Will) – but was ultimately unable to secure her.
For months, fans of the Aussie soap have watched in horror as hapless Holly hooked up with her best pal and next door neighbour Sadie's (Emerald Chan) dad.
The pair were even considering leaving Erinsborough and starting a new life on the Mornington Peninsula, close to his birth family, though the guilt Andrew felt towards his wife Wendy (Candice Leask) ended his infidelity.
Slowly but surely, more residents were becoming privy to what was going on. There was a threat from criminal Greg Murphy (Gary Sweet), and then Taye Obasi (Lakota Johnson) found Holly's missing earring at a city centre bar – where she'd been meeting Andrew.
On the day of his vow renewal with Wendy, he decided to come clean and tell her everything. But the drama didn't stop there, as Holly was pregnant with his baby.
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In today's episode, after chasing an ambulance that contained kidnapped JJ Varga-Murphy (Riley Bryant), Holly collapsed to the floor and was found by Wendy.
Unfortunately, at the hospital, it was confirmed that she had miscarried.
Wendy and Sadie were able to put aside their grievances to offer her support, while Andrew and Holly's dad Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) waited by her bedside. But there was one notable absence – her mum, Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte).
"I do regret that we were unable to secure Natalie to reprise her role of Izzy," Herbison told RadioTimes.com.
"There was a great Izzy return planned but the story arc still played without it."
He continued: "Lucinda did an incredible job bringing Holly back to life in the reboot, complete with Holly’s glorious imperfections. I loved that she was a chip off the Izzy block and trying to better herself, yet her worst instincts kept getting the better of her.
"We had the Andrew affair storyline planned quite a while ago and started to chip away at Holly’s self-esteem to get her in the right emotional place.
"The story was meant to launch during the 40th anniversary week but we had to delay it, but we got there in the end. Holly’s a great soap character. Trouble finds her and Lucinda played the role in a very real, multi-dimensional way."
Bassingthwaighte originally played Izzy for four years between 2003 and 2007, giving birth to Holly on Karl's wedding day to Susan (Jackie Woodburne) in London.
She had been conceived during a one-night stand, when Izzy drugged Karl and he believed he was sleeping with Susan. Talk about messy!
Izzy returned for brief stints in 2018 and 2022.
Discussing whether he had any reservations about Holly's affair, Herbison added: "I was no more worried than I would be for any controversial story. Soaps aren’t meant to please audiences all the time – you have to take risks.
"Characters need to be flawed. There has to be conflict, drama and shocks along the way. If there’s not, you are rightly criticised for being boring and predictable.
"There are times when you want viewers to scream at the TV but of course keep watching."
The final episode of Neighbours will stream on Amazon Prime Video this Thursday after 40 years on air.
Read more:
- Neighbours producer teases "optimistic" finale and reflects on soap's legacy after 40 years
- Neighbours finale week: Tragedy strikes as a further 9 old faces return to say goodbye to Ramsay Street
- Neighbours spoilers reveal finale story as 9 old characters return to Ramsay Street
- Neighbours wraps after 40 years - as boss drops hint of "hopeful" future
- Neighbours star teases Terese and Paul's future and 40th anniversary cast comebacks
- Neighbours star reveals whether they think axed soap can be saved again
Neighbours is available to stream on Prime Video.
Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guideto find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Authors
Michael Adams is the Soaps Editor at Radio Times, covering all of the hot gossip and spoilers from Weatherfield to Walford, Emmerdale to Hollyoaks and everywhere in-between. He joined the team from Metro, where he spent two years as a Soaps Reporter and previously worked on the sets of both Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
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