Neighbours removes Nicolette from titles, adds Leo
Neighbours has made a surprise change to its opening titles in the latest Australian episodes, removing Nicolette Stone and adding in Leo Tanaka. Could Nicolette be gone for good?
Australian viewers have recently seen Nicolette (Charlotte Chimes) propose to Chloe (April Rose Pengilly), causing her to freak out and seek solace in recent returnee and past love interest Leo (Tim Kano).
In episodes which aired in Australia this week, and which are set to air in the UK in four weeks time, Chloe and Leo spent an evening together at the winery. There, she opened up to him about her concerns that her and Nicolette’s relationship is moving too fast, and that she isn’t ready to get married again.
Leo, whose feelings for Chloe have recently returned, was more than willing to listen, and kept the wine flowing throughout the evening.
After their drunken night, Chloe awoke with no recollection of the night before. Dressed in nothing but Leo’s jacket, she feared that she’d slept with him, and eventually confessed all to Nicolette.
Nic was left heartbroken that her fiancée of a matter of hours not only went running to her ex, but potentially slept with him.
Things became worse when she realised her baby’s co-parents, David (Takaya Honda) and Aaron (Matt Wilson), knew of Chloe’s plans to spend the evening with Leo, but kept her in the dark.
She was devastated that the people she saw as her family had betrayed her.
However, “family” is something Paul (Stefan Dennis) will never consider her. He made this perfectly clear when he told her that she was going to have the baby, hand it over to David and Aaron, and that was going to be the end of things.
“When the baby’s born, you’re gonna hand her over then you’re going to get the hell out of our lives, you understand?”
Feeling like her life was falling apart around her, Nicolette decided to skip town. In Wednesday’s episode, the residents of Ramsay Street realised that Nicolette was gone when Jane (Annie Jones) checked her room to find her stuff, and her hospital bag, gone.
While we may have suspected that Nicolette’s disappearance would be short lived, the show’s producers have made a shock move which seems to imply she could be off screens for quite a while.
Thursday’s episode started slightly differently, with Chloe and Leo together in the titles
Eagle-eyed fans noticed a huge change to the opening titles in Thursday’s episode, which implies that Nicolette is gone for good.
The show’s producers have decided to remove Nicolette from the iconic titles, replacing the shot of her and Chloe with a similar one of Chloe and Leo!
The titles, as of Wednesday, showing Chloe and Nicolette
Characters are usually only added or removed from the titles when they leave the show for good, or become permanent members to the cast. Are the powers that be hinting that Nicolette is gone forever?
Plus, by putting Leo and Chloe in the same shot, are they leading us to believe that the old flames do eventually get together?
What about the baby plans?
Aaron mentioned in this week’s episodes that Nicolette is due to give birth in just two weeks, meaning it’ll be a race against time if any of the characters are to be there for the birth of her, David and Aaron’s baby!
Whether the birth will happen on or off screen, and when (if ever!) we’ll next see Nicolette, remains to be seen.
As of next week, Neighbours will only air 4 episodes per week in Australia on 10 Peach, from Monday to Thursday.
Here’s the full Neighbours spoilers for the next week in Australia:
Friday 23rd July (8671)
After a confrontation with David, a wounded Leo packs his bag and moves into No. 22.
When Harlow learns that the Quills bought the dodgy land, she tracks down Jesse who admits he wanted to find a way to apologise for what he did, setting his family up for the fall.
Aaron unleashes his rage and disappointment on a vulnerable Chloe, who leans on Leo for support, resulting in him making a big move.
Monday 26th July (8672)
David is increasingly overwhelmed by the stress of it all as the search for Nicolette continues.
Seeing Jesse still stirs up too much pain about Josh for Terese, so Harlow accepts she can’t pursue the friendship.
Tuesday 27th July (8673)
Following David’s outburst at Nicolette’s obstetrician, Karl suggests he take a leave of absence.
Mackenzie discovers that Melanie didn’t include some of the big, fancy law firms she worked for in her CV, leaving her and Toadie to wonder what she’s is hiding.
Wednesday 28th July (8674)
Karl reveals to Susan that Melanie once had a very messy affair with her boss, and the news quickly travels to Hendrix and Sheila.
Ned plans his own adventurous day out with Amy, but it quickly falls apart when he’s forced to deal with a work issue.
Thursday 29th July (8675)
Susan digs further into Melanie’s past by meeting up with Dr. Anna Buke, and things aren’t looking great.
Ned calls for a catch-up between himself, Levi and Amy and proposes an option no one saw coming.