Neighbours stars: 'Past comes back to haunt characters in flashback week'

Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) had now divorced Melanie, going on to marry long-time pal Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou).

All we knew was that Mel had suddenly abandoned Toadie, and his children Nell (Ayisha Salem-Towner) and Hugo (Tanner Ellis-Anderson), a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Karl Kennedy’s (Alan Fletcher) daughter Holly moved in with him and wife Susan (Jackie Woodburne) after splitting with her dodgy ex-boyfriend.

Next week, a series of flashbacks will finally explain everything, as Melanie is forced to face up to exactly why she walked away from Erinsborough.

In an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com, Cowden tells us how her alter ego is feeling ahead of her big confession.

"She's pretty low, she's lower than I've ever known her before. I think she's so exhausted, and so sick of running and sick of people getting hurt, and I think she just wants it to stop," she explained.

"I think telling the story of her past coming back to haunt her when it does, and the repercussions of that, I think they've exhausted her. And I think the only other option for her now is to own up to it all.

"So, I think she's kind of tried to run for as long as she could, and she can't do it any more. She's run out of money, she's run out of everything."

You’ll just have to wait and see what Mel has been hiding, but Cowden promises that Neighbours fans won’t see what’s coming.

"They'll also be shocked to their socks, I think! I think it's such a shocking revelation."

Joining her co-star to chat all things Neighbours, Armstrong Hall revealed that Holly is also struggling in a big way. "Holly's... I think she's just feeling a lot of guilt," she teased.

"She sort of feels responsible for everything, in a sense, for bringing a certain person to Erinsborough in the first place."

Of course, the aforementioned ex, Eden Shaw (Costa D'Angelo), is the root cause of Holly’s torment.

"He's the one she brought to the Street!" confirmed Armstrong Hall. "I think there's a sense of, 'If I never brought him here in the first place, he could've never started to hurt anyone.'

"There's a lot of blaming of herself. But that being said, we get to see in the flashback a bit of a contrast of what she was like two years ago versus a bit messy now, and then it sort of unravels as to why. That was really fun to delve into."

Just how this fits into next week remains to be seen, but Cowden teases that we’re about to see an entirely different side to the usually bubbly Mel.

"It was really good, as an actor, to have the option to flesh her out more, really, because she's always just been a fun, comedy kind of character," she said.

Cowden also hinted that Mel’s vibrant persona has actually been her way of coping.

"It was great to have a look at her dark side, and to realise what she was hiding all of that time, and how she was living on this really high energy level to sort of quell the fear of life catching up with her - which, of course, it eventually does.

"So, it was really interesting. I thought it was a total gift for me as an actor, to be able to give her a whole other side that we didn't know was there."

Neighbours kicks off its Tell-All: Flashback Week from Monday 13th November.

Read more:

• Neighbours reboot review: A soap twist with meaningful purpose
• Neighbours' Alan Fletcher says Holly is a chip off Izzy's block
• Neighbours' stars reveal multiple weddings are coming
• Neighbours cast 2023: Full list of returning and new characters in soap

Neighbours continues on Amazon Freevee every Monday to Thursday from 7am. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.

Try Radio Times magazine today and get 10 issues for only £10 – subscribe now and celebrate the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who with a special issue of Radio Times. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.