The following is a list of characters that first appeared or will appear in the Australian soap opera Neighbours in 2012, by order of first appearance. All characters are introduced by the shows executive producer Susan Bower. The 28th season of Neighbours will begin airing on 9 January 2012.[1] Four piece indie band William and the Tells will make their debut as Red Cotton in the same month. Toby Wallace will also make his debut in January as Corey O'Donahue. Dominic Emmerson and Luke Malliki will begin appearing from February, as will Rani Kapoor. Vanessa Villante will arrive in March.
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Red Cotton, played by real life band William and the Tells, will make their first on screen appearance in January 2012.[2][3] The band's casting was announced on 21 September 2011.[2] William and the Tells are a four piece indie group from Melbourne fronted by siblings William and Peter Ewing, with their friends Ben Callaghan and Sam Walsh.[2][4] The group have been renamed Red Cotton for their one month guest stint with the show.[2] They began filming their first scenes the week following the casting announcement.[2] William and the Tells will perform their own material when they appear as Red Cotton, during a storyline which sees Andrew Robinson (Jordan Smith) become their manager.[3] Of joining Neighbours William Ewing said "It's a huge opportunity for a bunch of local boys. Being able to blend acting and music will be great fun, and I'm looking forward to meeting long-time hero Lou Carpenter."[3]
Corey O'Donahue, played by Toby Wallace, will make his first on screen appearance in January 2012.[5][6] Wallace's casting was announced in December 2011 and he has a one month guest contract with the show.[7]
Rani Kapoor, played by Coco-Jacinta Cherin, will make her first on screen appearance in February 2012.[8] The character and casting was announced on 7 December 2011.[8] Rani is the teenage daughter of Ajay (Sachin Joab) and Priya Kapoor (Menik Gooneratne).[8]
Dominic Emmerson, played by former Home and Away actor Lincoln Lewis, will make his first on screen appearance in February 2012.[9][10] The character and casting was announced on 24 September 2011.[11] Lewis had a four week guest stint with Neighbours and of his casting he said "I've wanted to be on Neighbours since I was a little kid and finally it has happened."[11] Lewis filmed his scenes alongside Ashleigh Brewer and Stefan Dennis on location in Port Douglas from 10 October.[11][12][13] The shoot lasted for a week.[13]
Dominic is a marine biologist, who is described as being charismatic and a charmer.[11][14] Of his character, Lewis explained "At the start, Dominic comes across as annoying but as time goes by you see it is just a cheeky persistence. He has a live-for-the-moment attitude. Nothing is too much drama for him."[14] Dominic meets Kate Ramsay (Brewer) after she escapes from Melbourne to Port Douglas and loses her phone on the beach. Dominic finds and returns it and a relationship sparks between them.[14] Colin Vickery of The Advertiser said "At first Kate is suspicious of smooth-talking Dominic but slowly she melts."[14] She finds he is the distraction she has been looking for and they have a holiday fling.[11][12] Of playing Dominic, Lewis said "It's such a fun little role."[12] Vickery said "Lewis brings a wonderful lightness of touch to his Neighbours role."[14]
Luke Malliki, played by Nathan Strauss, will make his first on screen appearance in February 2012.[15] Strauss will appear alongside Ashleigh Brewer (Kate Ramsay) for three episodes.[15]
Vanessa Villante, played by Alin Sumarwata, will make her first on screen appearance in March 2012.[16] The character and casting was announced on 5 December 2011.[16] Sumarwata relocated to Melbourne from Sydney for the role and she filmed her first scenes the week before her casting announcement.[16][17] The actress said she is "very excited" about her new role.[16] Vanessa is a professional chef and Sumarwata said she shares a similar love for food with her character.[17] Of Vanessa, Channel 5 said "Anything but a wallflower, it seems that Vanessa will cook up a storm in more than one sense of the word, embracing life to the full and turning the world on its head for one of Ramsay Street's male residents.[17]