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“I have had so many massive storylines over the years,” says Carla Bonner.
Indeed. Having just notched up ten years as Steph on Neighbours, there are just too many storylines to recall. Working on such a high-output soap, she says the only way to function is to put each story behind her.
“But because you’ve gone through it all you play it, in whatever you’re doing because you’ve got had that history. Hopefully it comes out in whatever scenario you’re in.”
As Bonner tells TV Tonight, her character has seen plenty of plots built around angst, while much of the show’s lighter fare is dished out to other characters.
“Steph went through a really hard time with breast cancer, went into remission, fell pregnant and then had the cancer return, dying while she was giving birth! It was all very dramatic!
“I must do the angst really well because ‘Steph’s’ always going through crap!” she laughs.
As such a beloved character, Steph is the sole original member of her TV family still living on Ramsay Street. Sisters Michelle (Kate Kelty), ‘Flick’ (Holly Valance), brother Jack (Jay Ryan) and dad Joe (Shane Connor) have all moved on, while mum Lynne (Janet Andrewartha) will shortly return for a few months.
Bonner is very happy, thankyou, to remain such a long-term character. Despite the hours she is is grateful it has allowed her to accommodate family and work life. And she is defiantly proud of the show despite it frequently being dismissed as lightweight soap. Such lighter stories are inhibited by its G classification issues, she says, somewhat enviously of Home and Away’s PG classification.
“It’s largely due to the timeslot that we’re in and the content that we can deal with, and the way in which we have to deal with it. It’s very sugar-coated. It’s not gritty and real because we’re not allowed to be, so that takes a lot of credibility away from us. Which is unfortunate because there’s some fantastic people on the show.”
More recently, Neighbours moved from the BBC to Five in the UK. Bonner is enormously grateful for the support.
“UK fans are gorgeous. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t be on air. I’m so grateful to them. They write lots of letters and really appreciate the show,” she says.
“Apparently we’re on in 56 countries around the world but we only get fanmail from the UK, really. When we went to (US) cable many, many, years ago, I actually got some fanmail from a Rockefeller in Texas. That was pretty mind-blowing! But there’s probably lots of Rockefellers, I was thinking ‘is this ‘the’ Rockefeller family?’
“I’d really like to see the Kenyan version and things like that. I’d love to see us dubbed. That would be really cool.”
In Australia however, love for Neighbours is less forthcoming, with a characteristic ‘tall poppy’ reaction to the show.
“Aussies are more reluctant to admit that they watch… like it’s ‘uncool.’” she says. “The thing that really gets up my goat is when somebody will recognise me and say ‘you’re from Neighbours aren’t you?’ And then they say, ‘I don’t watch the show’ and proceed to ask questions about your character. It annoys me.
“It’s either they’re not interested so don’t ask or you really do watch and you don’t want to admit it. Get off your high horse. You should be supportive.”
Pragmatically, she adds: “We’ve been going for so long, and we should be more supported by the Aussies but we’re just not.”
Despite her long-service to Neighbours, Bonner concedes a film role still eludes her. Winning a role often comes after hard yakka.
“I’m not really one to go out and do the networking, kissy-kissy-bullshit thing. Not that I turn my nose up to those things, but I have priorities.”
Those priorities have included raising two kids. As her children get older, Bonner hopes to explore film opportunities. As with most of the show’s principal actors, she has a contract clause that allows her time out.
“They’ve agreed to 8 weeks out to do something. You’ve got to have the right people supporting you I think. I love my job here don’t get me wrong, but I would love to be able to sink my teeth into something else as well.”
Neighbours airs 6:30pm weeknights on TEN.
Indeed. Having just notched up ten years as Steph on Neighbours, there are just too many storylines to recall. Working on such a high-output soap, she says the only way to function is to put each story behind her.
“But because you’ve gone through it all you play it, in whatever you’re doing because you’ve got had that history. Hopefully it comes out in whatever scenario you’re in.”
As Bonner tells TV Tonight, her character has seen plenty of plots built around angst, while much of the show’s lighter fare is dished out to other characters.
“Steph went through a really hard time with breast cancer, went into remission, fell pregnant and then had the cancer return, dying while she was giving birth! It was all very dramatic!
“I must do the angst really well because ‘Steph’s’ always going through crap!” she laughs.
As such a beloved character, Steph is the sole original member of her TV family still living on Ramsay Street. Sisters Michelle (Kate Kelty), ‘Flick’ (Holly Valance), brother Jack (Jay Ryan) and dad Joe (Shane Connor) have all moved on, while mum Lynne (Janet Andrewartha) will shortly return for a few months.
Bonner is very happy, thankyou, to remain such a long-term character. Despite the hours she is is grateful it has allowed her to accommodate family and work life. And she is defiantly proud of the show despite it frequently being dismissed as lightweight soap. Such lighter stories are inhibited by its G classification issues, she says, somewhat enviously of Home and Away’s PG classification.
“It’s largely due to the timeslot that we’re in and the content that we can deal with, and the way in which we have to deal with it. It’s very sugar-coated. It’s not gritty and real because we’re not allowed to be, so that takes a lot of credibility away from us. Which is unfortunate because there’s some fantastic people on the show.”
More recently, Neighbours moved from the BBC to Five in the UK. Bonner is enormously grateful for the support.
“UK fans are gorgeous. If it weren’t for them we wouldn’t be on air. I’m so grateful to them. They write lots of letters and really appreciate the show,” she says.
“Apparently we’re on in 56 countries around the world but we only get fanmail from the UK, really. When we went to (US) cable many, many, years ago, I actually got some fanmail from a Rockefeller in Texas. That was pretty mind-blowing! But there’s probably lots of Rockefellers, I was thinking ‘is this ‘the’ Rockefeller family?’
“I’d really like to see the Kenyan version and things like that. I’d love to see us dubbed. That would be really cool.”
In Australia however, love for Neighbours is less forthcoming, with a characteristic ‘tall poppy’ reaction to the show.
“Aussies are more reluctant to admit that they watch… like it’s ‘uncool.’” she says. “The thing that really gets up my goat is when somebody will recognise me and say ‘you’re from Neighbours aren’t you?’ And then they say, ‘I don’t watch the show’ and proceed to ask questions about your character. It annoys me.
“It’s either they’re not interested so don’t ask or you really do watch and you don’t want to admit it. Get off your high horse. You should be supportive.”
Pragmatically, she adds: “We’ve been going for so long, and we should be more supported by the Aussies but we’re just not.”
Despite her long-service to Neighbours, Bonner concedes a film role still eludes her. Winning a role often comes after hard yakka.
“I’m not really one to go out and do the networking, kissy-kissy-bullshit thing. Not that I turn my nose up to those things, but I have priorities.”
Those priorities have included raising two kids. As her children get older, Bonner hopes to explore film opportunities. As with most of the show’s principal actors, she has a contract clause that allows her time out.
“They’ve agreed to 8 weeks out to do something. You’ve got to have the right people supporting you I think. I love my job here don’t get me wrong, but I would love to be able to sink my teeth into something else as well.”
Neighbours airs 6:30pm weeknights on TEN.
TV Tonight
