A man who lives on the famous Neighbours cul-de-sac in real life has spilled filming secrets about the popular Aussie soap.
As the beloved show resumes filming next month, Miles Shackley reveals what it’s really like to live among the cameras at 5 Pin Oak Court, Vermont South, Melbourne – aka Dr Karl and Susan Kennedy’s house on fictional Ramsay Street.
Speaking on news.com.au’s podcast I’ve Got News For You, Mr Shackley, who is originally from the UK, said he bought the house in 2020, just before the pandemic, with his partner Hayley Jones, who is a massive Neighbours fan. And although they knew the fictional street would be a tourist attraction, they were in awe of how many fans actually make the trek to stop by for a snap.
Neighbours homeowner spills TV show secrets
“We still do get a fairly steady stream of people who just come along,” he told podcast host Andrew Bucklow. “I mean, there were official tours, but during the week, you get the occasional people who come and pose with the Ramsay Street signs and stuff.
“But in general, it’s a public road, so people can just come along anyway. And that’s typically what we see happening, really, is just people coming along and take a few photos and that kind of thing. So it’s nice. It’s good that it still maintains that level of interest.”
Mr Shackley said he had heard of previous residents who had fans knock on their door, but it was typically harder for that to happen in the show’s later years as a security company patrolled and closed off the street during filming.
“People would do that kind of thing and come in and stuff sort of like thinking that it was actually you know, where things really happen,” he said. “But now, I think in general, most people are fairly respectful. There’s also a security company to keep tabs on things, and they’ll remind them that people do live here in real life, and they don’t necessarily appreciate people barging up on to the door.”
Besides, Mr Shackley explained that only exterior scenes were shot on his street, with the interior scenes filmed at a nearby studio. When filming is under way – which can go anywhere from two to six hours, once or twice a week – he said he and his partner are asked to remain indoors while the crew film at the front of the house, on the porch, lawn or driveway.
While Mr Shackley would not comment on reports that residents were paid somewhere between $33,000 to $50,000 a year by the production company to film on their property, he did say it wasn’t an inconvenience at all to have a film crew take up his driveway.
“You could be at home, that was no problem at all. But they typically ask us to remove our cars,” he said. “I just often park it around the corner for them the previous night. But there’s no real impact, really – they just sort of let us know when they are filming and basically asked us not to come out the front door in the middle of a shot.”
So has Shackley ever found himself in the background of some scenes? Well, not willingly. His partner, Ms Jones, thought it would be funny to volunteer him as an extra during contract renegotiations with Fremantle.
“You’re speaking to sort the rules and regulations and what we’re meant to do and what we’re not. And [Fremantle] said, ‘Any questions?’ and my partner said, ‘Yes, commodity and extra fees.’ So she volunteered me,” he said. The result? Mr Shackley’s hands appearing on two of the show’s episodes.
Living smack bang in the middle of the action has been a novelty that never tires for Mr Shackley and Ms Jones. But it almost came to an end last year when UK broadcaster Channel 5 did not renew the show’s contract. So in July 2022, after 37 years and 8903 episodes, Neighbours drew to a close.
“We were disappointed. Not for the show, but it was more just for the crew and the cast,” Mr Shackley said. “Obviously it was sad that the show was coming to an end. We were just kind of sad for them – and we knew we’d miss the sort of activity outside.”
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But three months after the tear-jerking finale, the soap was thrown a lifeline when Fremantle signed a deal with streaming giant Amazon Freevee to revive the beloved soap.
“It was really good to me how it was coming back. We were just really pleased that it was going to be getting people back in and doing all the old stuff again,” Mr Shackley said.
“They put a lot of thought into how they’re going to wrap it off [so it will] be interesting to see how they’re going to kickstart it again in the coming weeks. We’re really looking forward to it.”
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