Who are Neighbours’ seven new arrivals and returns in 2025?

Neighbours has revealed that two characters from the early 2000s are set to return later this year, alongside three brand new faces, a more recent returnee, and one very familiar new character.

Darcy Tyler and Tess Bell

Early 2000s favourites Darcy Tyler (Mark Rafferty) and Tess Bell (Krista Vendy) are set to return to Erinsborough at some point in 2025, as part of the show’s 40th anniversary.

English teacher Teresa ‘Tess’ Bell was a regular character on the show from September 1999 until September 2001. On 2nd January, a post on Neighbours‘ social media channels confirmed that Tess would be making a comeback later this year.

“Another blast from the past!” they posted. “Krista Vendy is soon set to reprise her role as Tess Bell… but what’s brought her back to Erinsborough this time?”

Tess made a brief return to Neighbours in 2023, as part of the campaign to save Erinsborough High, where she reconnected with former colleague Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne).

The storyline also saw brief returns for Summer Hoyland (Jordy Lucas), Brett Stark (Brett Blewitt), Melissa Jarrett (Jade Amenta) and Michelle Scully (Kate Keltie), as well as teacher Marty Muggleton (Nikolai Egel) and student Richie Amblin (Lachlan Miller).

Now, Tess is set for another return, this time in a more substantial role, though producers haven’t yet revealed what will bring her back.

Then, on 3rd January, Neighbours confirmed that Tess’s former partner Darcy Tyler would also be making a return to Ramsay Street.

“Dr Darcy Tyler returns!” the show teased. “Susan’s nephew will make a shock return to Erinsborough as part of the show’s 40th anniversary celebrations. But has dastardly Darcy changed his ways? Or is he set to cause more misery for his old neighbours? We cannot wait to find out…”

Dr Darcy is Susan Kennedy’s nephew, and he moved to Erinsborough in late 2000 after taking on a job at Erinsborough Hospital. The dastardly doc was a Ramsay Street regular from November 2000 until June 2003, but returned in both 2004 and 2005.

He initially moved into No. 28 with the Kennedys, and his storylines saw him try to steal Karl’s GP surgery, forge a relationship with Dee Bliss (Madeleine West) before embarking on an affair with Tess, and struggle with spiralling gambling debt which resulted in him stealing from the Kennedys.

After being sent to prison for the robbery, Darcy returned in 2004 as the cellmate of Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver).

Shortly after being released, Darcy returned to Erinsborough Hospital as an orderly, and later discovered that Karl wasn’t actually the father of Izzy’s (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) baby, as she was claiming.

Producers haven’t yet confirmed what brings Darcy or Tess back to Erinsborough, and whether or not they will be returning together, but the return of the often evil doctor is sure to send shockwaves through the Kennedy family.

Fallon Morell, Krista’s half-sister 

Another character set to arrive in the coming weeks is Fallon Morell, played by Kate Connick.

In a post on the show’s Instagram channel in late October, Neighbours announced: “Another new arrival on Ramsay Street! U.S star, Kate Connick will soon join the cast in the guest role of Fallon Morell. Fallon’s time in Erinsborough spells trouble for many an Erinsborough resident… particularly her sister 🤔”

Fallon is Krista’s (Majella Davis) half-sister on her mum’s side, meaning she doesn’t share the riches that Krista and Reece (Mischa Barton) were blessed with thanks to their dad Conrad’s successful business, Sincast Corp. The Herald Sun revealed that “Fallon was raised by her father in America, but she’s also jealous of Krista’s privileged life.”

A recent promo for Neighbours‘ upcoming storylines gives us our first glimpse of Fallon, who is set to “spell trouble for many an Erinsborough resident”.

“What are you doing here?” Krista ask in the new promo, clearly shocked as Fallon turns up at her Lassiters apartment.

“Surprise!” Fallon replies.

Fallon is played by US actress Kate Connick, the daughter of singer Harry Connick Jr, and actress and former model Jill Goodacre Connick. Kate is best known as a model, but recently kick-started her acting career playing Daphney in Australian comedy series Shambleton.

The Herald Sun reports that Kate filmed a two-month stint for the show. Her first episode is just around the corner, and the exact date will be revealed in the coming days.

“The storyline is crazy, with lots of plot twists,” Kate revealed to The Herald Sun.

On the Instagram post announcing the new character, Majella Davis, who plays Krista, commented: “Truly blessed to have you with us @skateconnick Get ready world 💘💘🌟”

Taye

Also arriving in the coming weeks is Remi’s younger half-brother Taye, played by Lakota Johnson.

“Taye is coming to town! We’re excited to announce that Lakota Johnson will soon join the full-time cast,” the show announced back in October. “Connected to the Varga-Murphy family, Taye is sure to break some rules (and some hearts) on Ramsay Street.”

The recent promo for Neighbours‘ 2025 storylines gave us our first glimpse of Taye, who appears to be laying low at No. 30 while the Varga-Murphys are in New York. The promo sees Andrew Rodwell (Lloyd Will) looking around No. 30, having heard a noise from inside.

“Did you just hear that?” he asks an off-screen character. “It sounded like it came from the sunroom.”

As Andrew investigates the noise, Taye hides in the sunroom, looking nervous as he realises he’s about to be discovered.

Thankfully, it soon becomes clear that Taye isn’t an intruder as his identity as Remi’s half-brother and the boys’ uncle is revealed. Photos for later in January show him at The Waterhole playing pool with JJ (Riley Bryant) and Dex (Marley Williams) after their return from New York.

The promo has already revealed that Taye is in Erinsborough to seek help, as he explains to JJ, “I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t in serious trouble.”

It seems Taye will ask JJ and Dex to keep the details of his trouble to themselves, with teaser spoilers revealing that “Dex and JJ hide a troublesome secret” on Tuesday 28th January.

What has brought Taye to Erinsborough, and just how much trouble is he in?

A familiar-looking new arrival

In early December, Neighbours made the sad announcement that Harold Bishop would be waving goodbye to Ramsay Street in 2025, after Ian Smith stepped away from the role due to ill health.

As part of Harold’s exit, a very familiar face will be returning to Erinsborough, but in a very unexpected way.

Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ Executive Producer, said: “Despite the challenges he was facing with his health, he wanted to give Harold a proper send-off.”

As part of Harold’s exit, Anne Charleston will be returning to the show for some of his final scenes. Anne played Harold’s beloved wife Madge Bishop between 1986 and 2001, until her character was killed off in heartbreaking scenes.

Anne returned as the ghost of Madge in 2015, and made a second brief return in 2022’s final episode.

While Anne may be returning once again, it’s been revealed that she won’t be playing Madge this time – instead, she’s believed to be playing an entirely new character who befriends Harold.

“In what context Anne will appear is yet to be revealed, but to have the iconic couple reunited will be one final treat for fans,” the show teased.

Jane’s new man

The Neighbours 2025 promo recently revealed that Jane (Annie Jones) is set to find romance in the new year, as she signs up to a dating app.

This week’s episodes see Aaron (Matt Wilson) help Jane take some new photos for her profile, after he claimed that her boring selection of photos made it seem that she was looking to attract an accountant.

Aaron’s photo skills prove just the ticket, as on Tuesday 21st January, “Jane hits it off with a mystery man.”

She soon begins talking to a younger suitor, and it’s not long before the pair meet up for their first date, with Jane making a “bold move” on Wednesday 22nd January. The recent 2025 promo also showed the pair in bed together, suggesting that their date will be a huge success.

Photos from Tuesday 28th January’s episode show Byron meeting his mum’s new love interest, as Jane and her new man enjoy a relaxed date in Harold’s Cafe.

However, time will tell whether it’s true love for the pair, as “Jane comes face to face with a shocking discovery” on the same day, and she’s forced to make “a difficult decision” in the following episode.

Does her discovery have anything to do with her charismatic younger man?

G-Flip

On 4th January, the show made another post on their social media channels, announcing that Aussie musician G-Flip would be making a cameo appearance.

“Exciting news… Aussie musician (and Chrishell’s partner), G Flip is heading to Ramsay Street for a cameo! Keep your eyes peeled over the coming weeks…” Neighbours wrote on Facebook.

For those not in the know, G Flip is an Australian singer and songwriter, who in real life is married to Yasmine actress Chriselle Stause.

G Flip’s cameo appearance will come as part of the Erinsborough Lights Up festival, which Holly (Lucinda Cowden) and Aaron (Matt Wilson) are currently organising alongside businesswoman Yasmine Sields (Chrisell Stause).

Their cameo been expected for a while, after it was inadvertently revealed on Instagram. A script was briefly seen in a behind-the-scenes video posted on Neighbours‘ Instagram last year, which revealed that the musician was set to share a scene with Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) and Paul at The Waterhole.

Chelsea Murphy

The show’s 2024 Season Finale on 19th December saw a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it return for Chelsea Murphy (Viva Bianca), and Neighbours has now confirmed that she’ll soon be back in Erinsborough for an extended stay.

On 30th December, Neighbours posted: “Viva Bianca reprises her role as Chelsea! We’ve already seen a glimpse of her at the airport, but we’re excited to reveal that Chelsea is heading back to town for an extended stay! What possible trouble could she cause this time around?”

In the 2024 Season Finale, as Cara (Sara West) and the rest of the Varga-Murphy family headed to the airport ready for their flight to New York, Cara spotted her sister out of the corner of her eye, having seemingly just arrived on a flight to Melbourne.

The last time we saw Chelsea, she was ostracised from Erinsborough after the truth came out about her affair with IT expert Jeffrey Swan (Tim Potter), just as she and Paul (Stefan Dennis) were celebrating their engagement.

From the moment she arrived in Erinsborough, Chelsea began to seduce rich hotel owner/manager Paul. We soon saw her evaluating the Robinson family tree on her laptop, as it became clear she was looking to marry her way into the Robinson dynasty. It wasn’t long before her plan bore fruit, as she and Paul began dating.

Following David’s (Takaya Honda) death, Chelsea found herself leaning into Paul’s grief, offering up her services as acting general manager at Lassiters, despite having little to no experience in hotels, and her only business knowledge coming from her failed perfume venture.

However, Chelsea found herself with a professional enemy: Krista, whose father had purchased Terese’s (Rebekah Elmaloglou) portion of the hotel following her split from Paul.

With Krista slowly getting more involved in the running of the hotel, Chelsea began to plot against her.

When Krista was given the opportunity to address Lassiters Worldwide after the success of her Lassiters Lie In event, Chelsea stopped at nothing to ensure that she could take the credit instead. She locked Krista in the Lassiters sauna during the presentation, but tragedy ensued when her actions caused Krista to lose her unborn baby.

With Paul commissioning an investigation to uncover exactly what happened, Chelsea scrambled to cover her tracks. Doing what she does best, she turned her sights to the investigator, Jeremy Swan (Tim Potter), and seduced him.

Chelsea was knocked back when she first proposed to Paul, but when Paul realised that a reunion with ex-wife Terese wasn’t looking likely, he asked Chelsea to propose again, and his new fiancée immediately started planning a lavish party to announce their news.

Yet as the festivities got underway, Krista and Jeffrey arrived, and the truth about Chelsea’s affair, and the real reason for Krista’s tragic loss, came out in front of the whole of Ramsay Street.

Chelsea managed to flee before she could face the consequences of her actions, and December’s finale was the first time she’s been seen since.

Now back in Melbourne, and clearly heavily pregnant, just one question remains – is the father Paul or Jeffrey?

Neighbours airs Monday–Thursday on Network 10 and 10 Peach in Australia, and on Amazon Freevee in the UK.

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Here are the Neighbours spoilers for next week:

Monday 13th January (Episode 9172 / 269)

Erinsborough is starstruck by a celebrity appearance.

Yaz is consumed by her private quest.

Sadie confronts unexpected opposition.

Terese commits an act of betrayal.

Tuesday 14th January (Episode 9173 / 270)

Paul and Terese are confronted by hard truths.

A resident struggles with being the third wheel.

Nicolette stumbles upon a clue.

Wednesday 15th January (Episode 9174 / 271)

Krista’s priorities come under threat.

Terese faces a painful decision.

Aaron opens his heart again.

Thursday 16th January (Episode 9175 / 272)

Yaz is pushed to the edge.

Paul struggles with his exile.

The housemates’ good intentions backfire.