Dipi and Shane come to a decision about their Neighbours future
Number 30 is about to lose two residents.
It is all change in Neighbours as Dipi and Shane Rebecchi (Sharon Johal and Nicholas Coghlan) announce their plans to pack up and leave Ramsay Street this week – and not everyone takes the news well.
The double exit comes following a tumultuous few months for the pair with Shane battling drug addiction, Dipi having an affair, and the marriage seemingly coming to an end after Shane got involved with Amy Greenwood (Jacinta Stapleton).
But they have now reconciled and, perhaps unsurprisingly, have decided that Erinsborough is not the best place for them anymore. Sharon Johal has been chatting to RadioTimes.com about her upcoming exit – and check back as we'll have more from her about her departure in the coming weeks.
Speaking about the thought process that led to Dipi deciding that Sydney is where they should be, Sharon said: "When you have gone through such immense trauma in a place that you are reminded of it constantly, with Chloe still there and Hendrix still having issues, it’s a constant reminder of all the mistakes."
"She has reminded herself what is most important to her and that is her family. Two of her children, who are younger than Yashvi, are in Sydney and she starts to wonder what the hell she is doing in Erinsborough. It makes sense to her to have a change and to go back to her family and leave that place – as sad as it is to leave everyone behind."
While the two are keen to get on with their fresh start, the announcement does cause some issues for the Rebecchi family when young Nell (Scarlett Anderson) reacts badly to losing the woman who had been a mother figure to her since her own mum passed away just over two years ago.
"Nell breaks down and she goes missing because, and it makes me want to cry now, but she says that she does not want me to leave her as her mum did" Sharon revealed. "How can this young child who has gone through so much trauma go through more change? In the end though, it's Nell who tells her that she should go."
And the relationship that Dipi and Nell have is mirrored off-screen two with the pair forming a close friendship over the last few years.
"After Eve left as Sonya, I was the one that Scarlett spent most of her time with and I've always taken that upon myself, to protect them and I've got that maternal nature. She was really close to me and we were quite concerned about how we would tell Scarlett we were leaving but she's a little older now. She’s only just started calling me Sharon – she always called me Dipi!"
Dipi and Shane's exit scenes aired last week in Australia and will air later in April in the UK.
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