Last night, Neighbours fans were treated to a surprise cameo from two of the soap’s alums Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia in the finale.
And, the two actor’s great chemistry extends much further than on-screen, the pair have revealed that they’re actually close friends in real life.
Valance and Imbruglia, who both live in London and hang out regularly, sat down for an interview with Studio 10 where they discussed their careers, their time on the show and the friendship they share.
In the Neighbours finale, Valance and Imbruglia are strangers who randomly strike up a conversation at a London park about Ramsay Street. The finale was highly publicised, and viewers were aware that many big names who starred in the show would be back for the last episode. However, Valance and Imburglia’s scene was an unexpected treat – and one the actors actually planned themselves.
“We wanted to sneak in there and be like, wow wasn’t expecting those two. and especially together” Valance explained. Imbruglia left Neighbours in 1994 and Valance joined the soap in 1999.
“We had a bit of a gap between each other but we came up with this idea,” Imbruglia added. “We were chatting about it and it was that thing where you ask each other questions to suss out whether the other person is doing it and we were like, ‘wouldn’t it be fun to do it together?'”.
Valance interjected, “And random! And give everyone a bit of a, ‘hang on a minute why are those two are the same screen at the same time how did that work?’ But, then in true soap opera world, it is a bit unbelievable at times.”
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She added: “We came up with the idea and we put it to the producers and said we’d love to do it together.”
Valance jokes, “We’re only going to work together from now on, we’re a duo. So, we do all interviews together.”
“Our singles out next week,” Imbruglia laughed.
Though Imbruglia and Valance only became friends after Valance left the show in 2003, the pair actually had a chance encounter when Valance was just eight years old.
“So, we were looking at old photos the other day and she [Imbuglia] was like, ‘do you think this is when we met?’ and I said, ‘no no, it goes back even further than that,'” Valance explained.
Natalie continued, “It’s actually funny because I remember when I just started on the show, I was at the carousel – we all know the carousel in Melbourne – and Holly’s dad came up to me and said, ‘will you take a picture with my girls?’ and we still have the picture. So, I actually met Holly when she was a little wee wippa snapper!”
The Neighbours alum told Studio 10 host that they were planning on watching the finale together.
“[It’ll be] a home job, which will involve some wine,” said Valance
Imbruglia added, “Some wine and some giggles.”
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Watch the full Studio 10 interview with Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia:
