Natalie Imbruglia insists Neighbours exit felt like her character was killed off
Former Neighbours star Natalie Imbruglia has reflected on her character Beth Brennan moving to Perth.
Natalie Imbruglia felt like she was killed off with her Neighbours exit.
The 51-year-old singer, who first got her break in the iconic Australian soap as Beth Brennan, joined the cast in 1992 before her character "moved to Perth", and she officially left in 1994.
Speaking to The Big Issue magazine, she recalled: "When I got the job on Neighbours I was 16 and a half.
"I was out of the family home and earning money and living the life of my dreams, so it was very exciting.
"My character was a builder's labourer, or, as we say in Australia, a brickie, which means lots of flannelette shirts and dungarees, so I was quite comfortable.
"But eventually I think she moved to Perth, which is like death on Neighbours, isn't it? You either get pregnant and have a baby or move to Perth."
Natalie, who would make a one-off return in 2022, was taking her acting ambitions "quite seriously" at the time and moved across the world to make things work, but visa issues forced her to change her plans.
She explained: "I wanted to be an actress. I actually came over to England to pursue acting quite seriously. I did a panto to make money in Australia, and then I came and fell in love England.
"And then I couldn't get a visa, and then I rant out of money, and I was so terrified of having to go home with my tail between my legs.
"That's when I was like, well, you do have other skill sets, why don't you start writing songs?
"So it came out necessity, I was back to something that I could do and that I really love."
Once the Torn hitmaker had left Neighbours, she gave more thought to a career in music.
She said: "I'd sung before Neighbours as a kid, but in my head it was just a bit cheesy, and I wanted to be a serious actress.
"So I kind of went through a period where I didn't think it was cool to do all of that, to be a triple threat and do singing, dancing and acting.
"So it wasn't until I left Neighbours that I started singing seriously. I tried to get a manager, and I made some demo tapes, and I think I made a demo of Diamond in the Rough [originally by Shawn Colvin[, which is quite grown-up for a 17-year-old."
