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Spoiler: ‘Libby’s’ return to Neighbours

As most Neighbours devotees will know, Kym Valentine is returning to the soap.

After leaving the show in 2004, Valentine’s return follows a revamp of the long-running series by TEN mid-year.

“Libby” returns to screens in Australia on Monday November 12.

And TV Tonight is first to tell you what you can expect to see.

The following contains Major Plot Spoilers. Don’t go, if you don’t wanna know.

SPOILER ALERT!

When Libby returns to Erinsborough it’s at the conclusion of a courtcase involving her mother, Susan (played may I add by the highly under-rated Jackie Woodburne). Libby returns to the street with her son, Ben, presumably now played by an older actor than the baby we last saw.

The first scene for Libby depicts her driving down Ramsay Street as Karl and Susan stand in front of their house, chatting with another neighbour. Her arrival is a surprise to them. I was hoping for symbolic entrance of Libby walking down the middle of the street suitcase in tow, swirling music, but no such luck!

The embrace between Libby and Susan is heartwarming stuff (and you can sense a little sentiment as one of the show’s orphans returns to the fold from a maternal, guiding light). Karl distracts himself with Ben.

The bulk of Libby’s arrival story over two episodes is a cheerful demeanour disguising an obvious falling-out with husband Darren, still based in regional Shepparton. There are lots of questions about “when’s Darren coming?” that Libby dismisses. This is soap, after all. The fact that Shepparton is only a two hour drive from Melbourne and we’ve never seen Libby since her exit (anniversary DVDs excluded) is of course, overlooked. This is television, after all.

In her first two eps Libby also has a reunion with Toadie, and particularly with Steph, her bosom buddy. These two gals get along like a house on fire and the show will benefit from an obvious on-screen rapport -as with her mother, Susan.

Kym Valentine slips back into Libby with ease. Ten minutes in and it’s like she never left. Maybe she shouldn’t have. This is regular work, after all.

Neighbours episode 5341 airs 6:30pm Monday November 12

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10 Responses

  1. So happy Kym is back on the show – lets hope they get some more favourites on the show over the coming months. Ratings are still down, maybe the new year things will turn around.
    I was watching The Iconic Episodes Vol 2 the other day & so many wonderful characters can easily come back (some of the actors must need the work haha).
    What about Scott & Charlene’s son Daniel, Lucy Robinson, Jane Harris, Des & his son Jamie LOL – maybe Im dreaming haha!!

  2. Ha Nathan, I don’t know about famous, but I’ve been getting previews for quite some time due to my reviewing on some other platforms.

    tvtonight.com.au is actually a late addition, but it does bring in a new audience.

    Look forward to more of your comments.

  3. I heard a while ago that the “new” Ben will be played by Mickey’s real-life younger brother.

    Are Mickey’s parents having trouble paying the bills? Or are they planning on living off their kids? 😐 It’s still a stupid casting change as I still somewhat remember what the old Ben looked like.

  4. Will Libby’s return be the start of better storylines? I find Neighbours extremely boring at the moment, and I don’t care for the Parkers one bit. It’s such a pity, because I’ve been a huge fan of Neighbours for years

  5. “Ben, presumably now played by an older actor than the baby we last saw” Errr, won’t the actor who played Ben when she left the series be two years older now as well? Or are we being treated to another soapie time warp – character leaves for two years and comes back five years older?!

  6. Nice to see Libby and Valda back on the show. New additions to the cast have been absolutely appalling lately, and the inclusion of Idol drop-out Geyer into the mix isn’t going to enhance Neighbours’ quality for a while to come.

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