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Neighbours: Channel 5 soap to get high school spin-off Erinsborough High

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Neighbours: Erinsborough HighImage source, Fremantle Media

The Australian TV soap opera Neighbours is going to be getting a high school spin off.

Neighbours: Erinsborough High will be a five-episode series focusing on the teenage cast during their final exams.

It won't be on TV but will be streamed on Channel 5's My5 app.

Bosses of the series, which will be filmed in Melbourne in Australia, say the aim is to explore issues that are relevant to a younger audience.

Each of the 22-minute episodes will feature cast members from the regular Neighbours show, alongside brand new faces.

The show's creators say they want to look at issues that affect young people at school like bullying, mental health, cultural diversity, parental and peer pressure, and how teachers and students get on.

Image source, Fremantle
Image caption,

Mackenzie Hargraves (Georgie Stone) is the first transgender character on Neighbours

It's not the only way that the show is trying to reflect the issues that affect younger viewers.

They recently introduced their first transgender character Mackenzie Hargraves.

Mackenzie is played by 19-year-old Georgie Stone who approached the show and said she should be in it!

What does 'Transgender' mean?
  • The word 'gender' is about being male or female.

  • Some people might feel that they were born into the wrong body, and that the gender they were born with, doesn't fit who they are.

  • People who feel this way are known as transgender, or trans.

  • Other people may feel they don't quite 'fit' with typical boys and girls but this doesn't mean they are trans. Everyone can play around with different clothes, toys or hairstyles and have fun!

Her storyline will include her fight to be accepted in school and having her classmates stand up for her right to use the female bathrooms.

Neighbours also screened Australian TV's first gay wedding in 2018.