Kylie Minogue has revealed that there was “quite a bit of pressure” for her to appear in the upcoming finale episode of Neighbours.
In an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers yesterday (June 8), the singer discussed her early days on set of the Australian soap opera and how she will reprise the role of Ramsay street resident Charlene Robinson, who last appeared on the series in 1988.
“I got this role in Neighbours in 1986… There was quite a bit of pressure for me to come back, so I shot my scenes back in Australia,” Minogue revealed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Minogue credited the show with her later success as a musician, saying that its popularity “exploded” during her tenure and comprised “a large part of how [she] entered the music industry.”
“England just went crazy about [Neighbours], so it’s been with me ever since…You know, you’re in people’s households [and] the show was played twice a day,” she recalled.
Minogue also talked about how fellow Neighbours alum Guy Pearce, who landed his breakout role on the show in 1986 as troubled high-schooler Mike Young, would likewise return for the finale. The pair played friends during Pearce’s three-year run on the soap, and Minogue hinted at the emotion of their forthcoming reunion.
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“[Guy Pearce] was also on the show. He’s just filmed his little return as well. We’re all going to cry,” Minogue said.
The finale episode of Neighbours will be broadcast on August 1, after producers announced an end to the show in March, some 37 years since its premiere episode in 1985. It remains Australia’s longest-running soap opera, and helped launched the careers of actors Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe, among others.
On Monday (June 6), Minogue took to the stage at a New Jersey concert alongside Coldplay, performing a duet rendition of her 2001 song, ‘Can’t Get You Out of My Head.’ In late May, producer Peggy Gou released a Minogue-approved remix of the same track, which the former said was “a dream come true.”