Neighbours star Lucinda Cowden confirms Mel's future

Daniel Kilkelly

3 May 2023 at 6:04 am·2-min read

toadie rebecchi and melanie pearson in neighbours — Neighbours star confirms Mel's future in showChannel 5

Neighbours star Lucinda Cowden has shared more details about her return to the show.

The actress has confirmed that she's back as a full-time cast member, after the recent announcement of her Ramsay Street comeback sparked speculation among viewers.

Last month, Lucinda officially announced that she'll be reprising her role as Melanie Pearson in the Australian soap's upcoming revival.

Melanie had played a key role in the Neighbours finale last year as she tied the knot with Toadie Rebecchi – a happy occasion which brought several familiar faces back to the Street. Despite her ongoing relationship with Toadie, Mel was only a recurring guest after her return in 2021.

Speaking to the fan-run NeighBens YouTube channel, Lucinda has now revealed: "It's great for me, because I never had a full-time contract previously. I was just coming in [as a] guestie.

"At the end, I did – but only right until the end, otherwise I still never really knew how long I was going to be there. So I still kept my drama teaching job on Saturdays, because I was never sure whether I was staying there for any length of time.

"I am back now and I can say that I'm back full-time and I'm main cast. I will be in the opening titles – I will be in all of those sorts of things. I've got a nice big contract."

Teasing future storylines, Lucinda added: "There's so much drama. So much drama for Mel."

toadie rebecchi and melanie pearson try to keep their romance secret in neighbours — Fremantle - Channel 5

Neighbours resumed filming last month and is expected to launch its new season in September.

Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson), Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy), Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy) and Ryan Moloney (Toadie Rebecchi) will all be reprising their roles, as will Annie Jones (Jane Harris), Rebekah Elmaloglou (Terese Willis), Tim Kano (Leo Tanaka) and Georgie Stone (Mackenzie Hargreaves).

Most recently, Lloyd Will, Candice Leask and Emerald Chan have all been confirmed for comebacks as the Rodwells – Andrew, Wendy and Sadie.

Meanwhile, Ian Smith (Harold Bishop), Melissa Bell (Lucy Robinson) and April Rose Pengilly (Chloe Brennan) have all signed up for guest stints.

Neighbours returns in the second half of 2023 with new episodes streaming free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the new series.

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