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Guy Pearce, Annie Jones secretly filmed new Neighbours scenes in February

Scenes filmed in Surrey, UK, ahead of production resuming in Melbourne have been kept under wraps until now.

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EXCLUSIVE:

Filming of Neighbours scenes with Guy Pearce and Annie Jones took place in February in the UK.

Executive producer Jason Herbison told TV Tonight how scenes were shot ahead of production in Melbourne in April and kept secret from media.

“When the news of the show’s return was announced, one of the big questions was, what will happen with Mike and Jane?: he explains.

“Fortunately, Guy was very committed to seeing the storyline through and absolutely wanted to honour their relationship and their romance, and the fact that the show had ended, with Mike and Jane together buying a house. So we came up with a storyline.

“It was the very first time the cameras rolled for the new series of Neighbours and it was actually in the UK, back in February. We shot for a couple of days with with Mike and Annie at a beautiful estate in Surrey.”

Pearce was open to scenes which revisited the Mike & Jane storylines after his appearance in the 2022 finale resonated so well with viewers.

The show’s unexpected revival meant scenes would need to pick up where the two were last seen given the practicalities of Pearce’s other work commitments.

Herbison credits Pearce for being so accommodating.

“He’s incredibly generous and very invested in the characters and their story. As he himself said, it was very emotional for him to return to the show. He’s always spoken fondly of his time on Neighbours. With this unexpected situation, he definitely didn’t hesitate to come in and see the storyline through. I think the viewers understand that Guy’s on the other side of the world and he’s very busy actor. He’s probably not going to be on the ground here week in, week out in Ramsay Street in our next series.

“But I think where we do land with Mike & Jane is a very elegant way to see them again, and honour the characters and also, sort of, set up for the future.

“It was very, very special. We were shooting at this English manor house in Surrey. It was very, very cold but it was just magical. I wrote a storyline which will play out over a number of episodes. It was just very, very special to be there with the two of them and our British crew.”

Mike Young’s screen daughter Sam (Henrietta Graham), also returns to the revived series.

According to Herbison, the secret filming across two days managed to stay under wraps from media for 7 months.

“We’ve shown we can keep some things under wraps. Other things not!” he laughs.

“We were very discreet about it. Guy even had a suggestion of shooting outside of London. I think he very quite rightly thought that we should get away from the crowds. We stayed at a quintessential British hotel out in the countryside and then shot at this amazing old house and property. We were there on our own. It was us and the birds with the odd overhead plane flying by. We kept it very quiet!”

What does it mean for Mike’s character moving forward? Does Herbison rule Pearce in or out in for future episodes?

“We definitely don’t rule out. It may not be the last you see of him, but we’ll have to let that unfold.”

Neighbours returns 4:30pm Monday September 18 on 10 (Sept 25 on Prime Video).

Jason Herbison, Guy Pearce, Annie Jones

8 Responses

  2. What a man Guy Pearce is. I really doubt anyone would have thought any worse of him if he’d chosen to leave his return at the last few finale episodes last year and not come back for the revival. But, it’s a credit to his character that he’s returned to wrap things up.

  3. Oh good one David Knox!….I have not watched Neighbours since the early years…..but really enjoy Guy’s body of work….and the new time suits me….I might start watching again.

  4. Tonnes of respect for the amazing Guy Pearce for doing this (and for returning for the last week or so of episodes last year). Jane and Mike’s ending was a fairy tale one, so it will be interesting to see how Jason has dealt with the situation. It would seem that Mike and Jane are still together, with Sam possibly living with Jane (and Byron) while Mike works in the UK (?). As perfect as the “ending” was, I’m 100% behind the continuation of the series, for a variety of reasons. Fingers crossed for everyone involved that it endures.

  5. If they’re fans, most likely they would have gone onto 10Play and watched the episodes already, or the fast-tracked ones which are ahead of the daily broadcast.

    2. I know Bold has been on at 4.30 since the 90s, but traditionally the US daytime soaps were on during the hours when kids were at school. It’ll be interesting to see their reaction to neighbours. A soap where they don’t talk about the same thing for episodes on end like Bold does and have more than one story line going.

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