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This page was last updated on 22nd October 2006. Page launched on 22nd October 2006. Site launched on 24th January 2004.
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INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES
Neighbours: A Day on the Set with Pippa Black & Dan O’Connor by Clare Rigden TV Week, Australia, 14th October 2006
“We made a funny collage from all the articles in the mags. Someone made Dan into a monster,” Pippa says, pointing to a particularly unflattering photo of her co-star that’s posted on the wall in the green room. “That would be Sianoa (Smit-McPhee, who plays Bree),” Dan laughs. “She went a bit crazy with the paint.”
Pippa (Elle) and Dan (Ned) muck around with a prop – in this case, a judge’s wig – inside the make-up room. “Oh my gosh, I love it,” Pippa laughs. “You come in here, especially if it’s really early, then you walk out and you’re like, ‘My God, I’m fabulous!’”
The Neighbours wardrobe department is a huge room with literally thousands of clothes packed into it. No wonder it’s one of Pippa’s favourite places to come during breaks in filming. “I like these shoes,” Dan says, showing us some particularly groovy-looking snakeskin loafers. “I got them the other day and I’m very excited about them. They’re from Jag… Ooh, and look, there’s my parking officer shirt! I loved that. The only thing is they put the writing on the wrong way on the badge.” Pippa chimes in: “Are you shooting boys’ shoes? What about chicks’ shoes! There’s some really old stuff in here, like stuff that dates right back to the Kylie and Jason era!”
Pippa and Dan show us how it’s done in their “quiet green room”. Look closely and you’ll see Ben Nicholas (Stingray) napping in the background. “I’m feeling a bit crook, so I came in here for a snooze,” he says. This second area is a place the cast can escape to if they want some time away.
Between scenes, the cast likes to take time out for some bonding. On the TV in the background, Ready Steady Cook keeps them entertained. “It’s a bit of a favourite with the cast. Pippa and I were on it a few weeks ago,” Dan says. “Yeah, and I won,” Pippa boasts, adding, “It was hilarious, actually, because neither of us can really cook very well!”
Believe it or not, the post office at Erinsborough is actually the real deal! In order for the show to get permission to use the signage, they had to register the Erinsborough set. “This is a real box,” Pippa explains. But could you actually post something from it? “Well, no one collects it so I wouldn’t try it,” she laughs.
Tom Oliver (Lou) tries to pretend he’s cool with Pippa inching towards his favourite chair. “It’s Tom’s sacred chair!” Dan tells, pointing out the sign that’s permanently affixed to the wall above the seat. “That’s why I have a sign,” explains Tom, shaking his head at Pippa. The veteran actor has been plonking his bottom in the chair for more than 10 years!
TV WEEK’s Clare Rigden goes behind the scenes of the Scarlet Bar. “I spend a lot of time here. Everyone does,” Pippa says as she shows us around the popular set. One look at the bar menu explains why – the food sounds delicious! “The risotto balls are fantastic,” Dan reveals. All the food featured on the show is made by the show’s resident chef. “After the scene, we devour it,” Dan tells. “They do a lot of nachos. They’re very big in Erinsborough apparently!”
A short stroll across the car park at Neighbours’ Nunawading studios is the Lassiter’s set. Although many of the buildings are just fronts, some are also used to film in. “It’s quite realistic until you have to work behind everything!” says Pippa, from inside the “reception area” of the fictional hotel. “It’s meant to be this place that all these big-time celebrities come to stay at. But it smells a bit,” laughs Dan.
Pippa and Dan strike a pose at the gazebo, site of many a wedding, proposal and lover’s tryst. “Actually, I think you’ll find it’s a rotunda,” Dan corrects in jest. So has anyone ever fallen into the lake? “We have when we’ve had to do scenes,” Dan says. “It’s quite dirty.”
Even the small signs that dot the outside of the buildings – like “Chan’s Dry Cleaning Depot” – look authentic. “I’ve never met Chan – have you Dan?” Pippa asks. “Haven’t you met him before? We take our dry-cleaning there all the time… jokes!” Dan laughs.
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