Ben Nicholas Online Interviews & Articles - Shaking Up the Neighbourhood

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INTERVIEWS & ARTICLES

Shaking Up the Neighbourhood by Jackie Brygel

TV Week, Australia, 21st May 2005

They're not your typical Ramsay Street residents, but the Timmins family are here to stay

Love them or hate them, the Timmins family have divided Neighbours viewers from the moment they moved into Number 28 Ramsay Street. Loud, argumentative and downright dysfunctional, the Timmins clan are anything but your typical TV family. After all, their morals are more than a little questionable and as for their fashion sense - well, it's certainly novel!

But some viewers believe the Timmins family have brought a much-needed dose of realism to life in Erinsborough. Full of life and always good for a laugh, they're seen by many as lovable battlers.

At 20, Melbourne-born actor Damien Bodie plays bad boy Dylan Timmins. Damien is first to admit that viewers have had very mixed reactions to his on-screen family. "I very much hope that people learn to like them," he says, "but it's certainly going to those extremes. I think people can relate to the fact that there's a family in the street that is not perfect. Theses guys are showing imperfections."

Fifteen-year-old Eliza Taylor-Cotter plays Dylan's party-loving sister, Janae. Eliza has already received many positive responses to her TV family. "Lately, I've just had people saying, 'It's so refreshing having real families on the show now'," she says. "The Timmins family are not always lovey-dovey and I think they do make things more real. They're so different from the other families on the show and we just love reading about what's going to happen to them next."

Seasoned film and TV actress Nell Feeney has taken on the controversial role of the not-always-nurturing mother of the Timmins clan, Janelle. "Playing the character, I'm not surprised that she would polarise the viewers and I would think the family would do the same thing," she says. "Janelle's not exactly nice, but she's not exactly awful. She makes wrong and right decisions."

Ben Nicholas, whose character Scott "Stingray" Timmins, moved to Erinsborough long before the rest of the Timmins family decided to settle there, is confident the tide will turn. "I think more people will come around and like the family," he says. "When my character first started, everyone was like, 'Oh, he's a bit too full-on!' Now everyone has become accustomed to him. I think people will get used to this family. They're really very funny."

Loyal, but loud

TV WEEK takes a look at the pros and cons of Neighbours' newest family

The Pros

* They're very loyal - "They stick together," agrees Damien. "They're extremely family-minded and they always defend each other," Ben confirms.

* They provide comic relief - "They are funny," Damien says, "and certainly for us as actors, they're fun to play."

* They're uninhibited - "They talk freely with each other," Nell says.

* They're individuals - "They're willing to go against the way society has been shown in Ramsay Street," Damien says. Ben adds - "They don't really care, they like the way they are."

The Cons

* They're very loud - "They'll have fun, they'll party, they'll drink, they'll go after more than one girlfriend - they will be extreme," Damien warns.

* They attract trouble wherever they go - "Even though they're incredibly protective of each other, they go about showing it the wrong way," Eliza says.

* They're not always honest, law-abiding citizens - "A couple of them have been known to steal from the general store," Damien reminds us.

* They're not always nice to each other - "Yes," Nell agrees, "they do argue too much."

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