A wild night out and salary woes: The cast of Neighbours’ real life drama rivals their characters on the show

Ramsay Street has it’s fair share of secrets and scandal, but there has been some real-life drama behind the scenes of everyone’s favourite soap, Neighbours.

We reveal what happens when the camera stops rolling, because behind that iconic sign lies some sordid real-life storylines…

Wild night gone wrong

When actor Scott McGregor visited a Gold Coast strip club in 2019, dancer Danielle Lee thought she’d have a night of celebrity fun and tips in store.

However, what she claims she got was a tirade of verbal abuse from 
the intoxicated star.

The dancer claimed 
the actor, who played Mark Brennan on the show, belittled her and called her a bunch 
of derogatory terms.

After Scott, now 39, refused to leave the club when he was directed to, she threw a glass at him in a bid to cover him in liquid.

While the judge ruled that Scott did verbally abuse Danielle, she was found guilty of assault on the actor.

Unceremonious axing

The world was rocked when Erinsborough patriarch Jim Robinson was killed off by a heart attack in 1993.

However, the reason for actor Alan Dale being axed was the real scandal.

It’s believed that after the star complained about his salary – the principal cast were paid a paltry $600 a week at the time – he 
was unceremoniously kicked 
to the kerb.

“I made some sort of crack about the fact that when we started Neighbours in 1985, we got paid the same money as when I was doing The Young Doctors [which he starred in from 1979-1983],” says the 73-year-old.

Despite being let go, Alan went on to star in several huge US TV hits including The OC and 24.

Nude leaks and creepy producers

In the mid ’90s, Nicola Charles’ vixen character Sarah Beaumont’s arrival 
on Ramsay Street marked 
the turning point of a more sexed-up version of the 
family soap.

Yet according to Nicola, who was in her late 20s at 
the time, producers were eager to take things further.

“I was patted on the knee 
in a very condescending way and told, ‘You can always leak photos of yourself after you wrap the show to boost your image,'” 
she tells.

“This is the same producer who said to me, ‘Would you like me to buy you a set of t*ts?'”

While Nicola turned down all offers, the actress, now 50, reveals the producer would often dangle money in front of her to say how much she could potentially earn if she took their advice.

Pain and humiliation

In 2013, the image of the tight-knit crew of Neighbours was turned on its head after Kym Valentine sued the show’s producers for “sex and disability discrimination”.

The long-time star, 43, who played Libby Kennedy from 1994, sued Fremantle Media Australia when she was replaced by another actress after she fell ill with pneumonia in 2008.

The case was settled out of court, with both sides agreeing to a settlement.

Despite the “pain and humiliation” Kym said the ordeal caused her, she was able to put it all behind her when she returned to the show in 2014.

A secret drug battle

Despite his warm performance as father Joe Scully, behind the scenes Shane Connor was slowly unravelling and throwing production into turmoil.

Privately battling an addiction to amphetamines, the actor, 61, confessed to some of his co-stars in May 2003 that he had been struggling with drugs.

However, producers issued Shane warnings about his allegedly hostile and unprofessional behaviour on set, before controversially firing him in September of the same year.

The actor then sued the company for unfair dismissal and after actor Jay Bunyan, who played Shane’s on-screen son Jack, admitted that other cast members also constantly arrived on set worse for wear, Shane was awarded more than $200,000 in compensation.

The actor later maintained that he had gotten his drug demons under control when his bosses sacked him from the popular soap.