Alan Fletcher remembers the man who helped save Neighbours

L to R: Peter O’Brien, Brian Walsh, Rick Maier (10 drama boss), Guy Pearce.

Neighbours patriarch Alan Fletcher has paid tribute to the late Brian Walsh who died suddenly this past week in Sydney.

Walsh was an early young publicist for the soap when 10 network found it was not performing well in Sydney.

Walsh cleverly arranged for cast members to begin making shopping centre appearances to spike the show’s audience numbers -effectively avoiding it from the axe at 10.

“What an incredible shock. He was the sum of television in a way. What he achieved at Foxtel, in particular, and for Australian drama will live in our memories forever,” Fletcher tells TV Tonight.

“For a lot of people Brian occupied a similar position to Hector Crawford and Reg Grundy. He was a pillar of the Australian film & TV community.

“It’s such a shock. Life can be so tenuous.”

Walsh even ran an inspired “Nominate Your Neighbour” competition in which prize winners saw stars such as Guy Pearce, Stefan Dennis, Peter O’Brien & Elaine Smith land on their doorstep to hand over TV sets!

The marketing worked. Neighbours became a hit going to to attract a 37 year legacy.