In Neighbours, Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou) is left speechless when her estranged mother Estelle (Maria Mercedes) shows up on her doorstep looking for a place to live.
As viewers are aware, the former general manager of Lassiters is currently involved in a tumultuous divorce, which has been exacerbated by Paul Robinson’s (Stefan Dennis) incessant plotting.
To make matters worse, Terese’s boyfriend Glen Donnelley (Richard Huggett) is in the hospital after a life-threatening accident, so an unexpected visit from her mother, who calls her a ‘hell raiser,’ is the last thing Terese needs right now.
The nickname is anything but affectionate, which is all the subtext one needs to figure out the nature of the mother-daughter relationship.
‘Terese and Estelle had a long-standing feud,’ actress Rebekah Elmaloglou told Metro.co.uk. ‘ Terese had said almost 15 years ago, “I never want to see you again!” “Get out of my way.”
‘It’s huge for Estelle to return to Terese’s life, because there’s a part of Terese who wants to be loved by her mother.’ She would love to be in a relationship with her, but Estelle is one of those ladies who has chosen life over her children.
Estelle is ‘jealous’ of Terese, according to Rebekah, because of all she has accomplished, both personally and professionally.
‘Terese had it all — job and family – and she made it work,’ the soap star remarked. ‘Estelle didn’t, and she resented her daughter’s success. As a result, it’s a shattered relationship.
‘Terese is always trying to forgive and forget, but Estelle continues disappointing her. Her mother disappoints her on a regular basis, but her arrival adds to the already tumultuous situation!’
More drama is in store, as enmity between the two develops almost immediately. Estelle, on the other hand, claims to have come to help her daughter. Terese, on the other hand, believes she isn’t being really honest.
Rebekah screamed, ‘She’s suspicious right immediately!’ ‘I don’t blame her in the least. And it turns out that Estelle isn’t there to make amends with Terese after all. She was evicted from her prior residence with Terese’s brother and now has nowhere to go!’
Despite their differences, Terese and Estelle find common ground next week when they visit Josh’s plaque, which Rebekah praised as “beautiful.” Despite their connection in this specific scene, the actress cautions that Estelle will soon let Terese down once more.
How? Of course, by pursuing Paul!
‘Terese is enraged!,’ Rebekah adds to the plot progression. ‘However, this isn’t the first time Estelle has done anything like this. Estelle was flirting with Brad, which is why they had such a huge falling out years ago. Terese isn’t unfamiliar with this. But not Paul, of all people!’
There will undoubtedly be more on-screen conflict, but behind the scenes, Rebekah is overjoyed at the possibility of finally getting to learn more about Terese’s past, telling us that she was ‘static’ when she first learned about Estelle’s arrival.
‘They’ve been discussing it for years,’ she explained. ‘We talked about it before Covid, but it kept getting pushed back for various reasons. It was quite essential to me.
‘Terese’s admirers have always desired to learn more about her history. We all know she’s this incredible little career woman with a family. She’s fantastic. We knew she grew up in Darwin and didn’t have the best of upbringings, but we didn’t know the specifics.
‘So when the producer mentioned bringing Estelle in, I was ecstatic.’ “Yes! Finally!” I said.
Neighbours airs on Channel 5 weekdays at 1:45 p.m. and 6 p.m.
