Harlow travels to London next week on Neighbours in the UK, where an encounter with her aunt leaves her perplexed, and an unexpected romantic experience helps her forget about Ned.
These scenes will premiere in the United Kingdom on Monday, March 28th, and in Australia on Monday, April 18th.
Neighbours was announced to be coming to the UK in October of last year as part of a significant new plotline for Harlow Robinson (Jemma Donovan), in which she would reunite with her aunt and attempt to unravel a family secret.
The plot will premiere on UK screens next week, and we’ve already had a sneak peek of what’s to come as Harlow travels to London in search of answers to the mystery surrounding her late mother, Prue Wallace (Denise van Outen).
Harlow and Ned (Ben Hall) have had a lot of turmoil in the last few weeks after they slept together at River Bend. Since then, Ned has been divided between Harlow and Amy (Jacinta Stapleton), and has finally decided to return to Amy, despite Harlow’s best efforts to persuade him otherwise.
Harlow decides to travel to London after her aunt Harriet contacts her, but her abrupt departure leads Ned to believe she’s making the lengthy journey to put some distance between them.
In next week’s episodes, she continues to mess with Ned’s mind as she travels to the British capital… while Harlow manages to push Ned out of her mind as she meets a potential new romantic interest.
Harlow arrives in London next Monday (UK: Monday 28th March / Aus: Monday 18th April) and continues to reject Ned’s calls. This trip will provide her a reprieve from the Erinsborough drama, and she intends to leave it all behind.
She soon finds herself enjoying a brief flirtation with Corey (Laurence Boxhall), a fascinating stranger who puts her in a good mood. Who is Ned?
She is in London, however, not for love, but to reunite with her aunt.
Prue, Harlow’s mother, was associated with a cult called The Order in the United Kingdom, which was one of the causes for a gap between her and Harlow. Despite the fact that Prue stated she had left the order, she spent weeks attempting to elect Harlow into it. Harlow cut her mother off after knowing the truth.
After a few months, Gary Canning (Damien Richardson) reunited with Prue, who had been kicked out of the cult for failing to pay her dues. Prue announced her engagement to Gary upon her return to Australia, but they were both murdered by psychotic Finn Kelly within days of each other (Rob Mills).
Finn had hidden a bomb in Lucy Robinson’s (Melissa Bell) engagement package, but Prue was inadvertently killed when her box was mixed up with Lucy’s. Prue and her car were both blown up as she opened the box to grab a bottle of champagne.
Harlow meets up with her Aunt Harriet, represented by British actress and broadcaster Amanda Holden, early on in her journey, and they enjoy meeting up over coffee.
Harlow’s elation is short-lived, however, when she realises she’s misplaced Prue’s diary, which leaves her distraught. It was her last link to her late mother.
Harlow chooses to get a drink with Corey, her unexpected encounter, to distract herself from thoughts of Ned and her anguish over the stolen diary. Harlow is once again enjoying her vacation thanks to the two of them getting along so well.
When Harlow meets up with Harriet again soon after, she realises she hasn’t actually misplaced Prue’s diary — Harriet has taken it!
As she awkwardly hurries away from Harlow, Harriet drops it, and the secret is out.
Harriet’s motive for stealing the diary is unclear. What secrets is it concealing?
When she sees Corey again later in the week, she is taken aback when he advises that she burn her mother’s diary.
It’s her only remaining link to Prue, and she’d like to retain it. It is, however, tied to The Order, a strange cult that her mother was a member of and tried to recruit Harlow into, and she is desperate to be free of the organisation.
Harlow eventually decides to burn it – will she be able to put the past behind her?
Back in Erinsborough, Ned is attempting to maintain a normal relationship with Amy, who has lately proposed that they have a child of their own. However, he’s becoming increasingly disturbed by Harlow’s continued obliviousness, leading Amy to believe that he’s becoming aloof because he’s unsure about having children.
Will he sacrifice his shot of happiness with Amy for one night with Harlow?
He quickly discovers that Harlow informed Amy part of what happened at River Bend, but he has no idea what she knows and what remains a mystery. How long will he be able to keep the kiss from Amy?
Harlow returns to London and invites her new romantic interest Corey to dinner to thank him for all of his assistance throughout her vacation. When he tells her he’s into her, she’s taken aback, and it takes all of her resolve to say no, with Ned still playing in the back of her head.
She advises Corey to keep their friendship, but is she doing the right thing by declining a new opportunity for Ned’s sake?
Is she willing to give Corey a chance?
Amanda Holden described her first day on set as a delightful and bizarre experience when the London narrative was released last year.
“I would never have believed it if someone had told me when I was 12/13 years old that I would one day feature on Neighbours!” she said. “There were so many people beeping their horns in their automobiles, and passersby mistook Jemma for my genuine daughter because we look so similar!” I’m looking forward to continuing the storey of my character Harriet.”
While we don’t know much about her character yet, we do know that Sophie Ellis-Bextor will appear in the London episodes in a cameo role.
While strolling down The Queen’s Walk, a promenade on the south bank of the River Thames, Harlow will have a fortuitous encounter with the Murder on the Dancefloor singer, and her counsel will be useful to Harlow’s hunt.
Sophie remarked of her role in Neighbours, “It was a significant part of my school days.” “We all watched it and discussed it.” It’s great to finally be able to claim I’ve been there!
