Neighbours boss explains why the soap won't mention coronavirus
Neighbours has become the first soap to resume production after a four-week shutdown caused by the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19.
With a full week of filming scheduled for the coming week the Australian soap has made a number of changes to its production to ensure the safety of the cast and crew, who will be once again filming the goings-on in Erinsborough.
But with COVID-19 continuing to have such a huge impact on the world, will we see the Ramsay Street residents talking about it in future new episodes? The soap's executive producer Jason Herbison has told the Sydney Morning Herald that it's very unlikely we will.
"We are currently plotting episodes that won't air until much later in the year, so anything we write now might feel very outdated," he explained. "Further to this, there's a creative question: will our viewers want to switch on Neighbours and relive it again, or is our job to provide escapism? I tend to feel it's the latter."
Related: Neighbours star returning to give Elly a send-off
So we probably won't be seeing the effects of the virus on screen – and that will be helped by some clever editing, with the production team planning to use camera trickery to make actors look like they're standing closer together than they are.
"Our production facility is one of the largest in the world and that puts us in a very fortunate position," Herbison said. "We have three large interior studios and two smaller ones as well as a gigantic backlot, where we have created the world of Erinsborough. We are taking advantage of every inch of the site and spreading everyone out, creating separate areas which limit the movements of each individual."
Adding that daily temperature checks will be taking place for everyone on site, he explained that certain actions will also be absent from scenes: "We will schedule additional cast separately and edit them together, to give the illusion of a larger group... We can't have any kissing scenes or hand holding for the time being. But longing looks are fine."
Related: Neighbours sends special message to Irish fans
In the meantime there's still plenty going on in Erinsborough to keep us entertained, including the imminent return of Dee Bliss and Andrea Somers (Madeleine West) and a potential spanner in the works for Kyle Canning (Chris Milligan) and Roxy Willis (Zima Anderson)'s relationship.
Neighbours airs on Channel 5 in the UK and on 10 Peach in Australia.
Digital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Read more Neighbours spoilers on our dedicated homepage
Want up-to-the-minute soaps news, spoilers and gossip on your social feeds? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Soaps Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @soapscoop Twitter account.
You Might Also Like
