Clive Gibbons (Geoff Paine) was at the center of many Neighbors storylines over the years.
Whether on hand to deliver troubling medical news or dressing up in a gorilla outfit, the legendary character has pretty much done it all.
The Doctor is currently embroiled in the middle of a massive storyline, as he desperately tries to gain the affection of Jane Harris (Annie Jones), after keeping a huge secret from her.
However, the untimely end of the neighbors is near, after Channel 5 controversially decided to scrap it from their programs in favor of ‘original British drama’, which the broadcaster claims has a ‘strong appeal’ to audiences.
The show ends on a glorious note this Friday (July 29), with an hour-long outing celebrating everything Neighbors is, was, and still could have been.
Before all that though metro.co.uk spoke to some of the show’s stars, including actor Geoff, who reflected on his time in Erinsborough, and teased what viewers can expect from the grand finale.
What do you think of the end of Neighbors?
I think people expected it couldn’t go on forever. So, if you hear [that’s its ending], you think: “How are we going to do this?”. Jason [Herbison] and the whole team did a great job tying it all together, pulling back some cast and finding a way to have a finale that will tick a lot of boxes for the old days, and a tip of the veil on people who made the show what it was.
So the finale is a proper celebration of the show and its success over the years?
That’s what it is! There will be faces that people will audibly scream when they see them. “Oh my god, there they are!” I recently spoke to one of the first cast members on set and they had to interrupt us to say, “It’s time to act!”. We were catching up for over 30 years, people I haven’t seen in decades. It’s fantastic.
How did you feel when you read the last episode?
Some kind of strange embargo has been put in place! They teased it. It’s going to be a big episode, that’s for sure! It’s going to be big.
Clive is determined to win Jane back right now. Would you like to see them together when the show comes to an end?
I would always wish a happy ending, but who knows what will happen between now and the end of the show? When people feel too comfortable in Neighbours, something comes along to rattle them.
Absolute! Because a lot of fans loved Clive and Sheila together, so they were shocked when Clive and Jane happened, so you can never really predict what’s going to happen.
Correct! Who knows? Will Jane be happy? Will Clive be happy? There are so many things they can take apart.
You’ve been the center of some incredible storylines over the years – do you have a favorite?
It was such a big gap between the very beginning and these days, so what was Clive like in the early days? He was the hidden doctor, the crazy gorilla gramman. I had to explain to my own children what a gorilla gram was. “What are you talking about? Why would people dress up as gorillas and deliver messages?” I said, “Because there was no internet! Back then you couldn’t send emojis, you had to pay people to do that kind of thing.”
I loved my introduction to show business. One shot on day one, in a gorilla suit. I realized I couldn’t take myself too seriously.
I enjoyed the on-and-off things with Sheila. Collette is such a powerful actress, who is just so much fun to work with on set. I also enjoyed the fact that Annie and I got to play Clive and Jane as the couple who found each other after all these years. To get that heat back after all this time, that was nice.
In more recent scenes, the dynamic between Karl and Clive was fun – when we see Karl at Clive’s house.
It’s funny, I never know if Clive is the human email that brings seriously difficult and medical news. But luckily I work with a team that allows me to humanize Clive so that he is a real person and not just an information provider.
Do you miss playing Clive?
Yes absolutely. I have other things in the world that I’m doing right now, playing a completely different character than Clive. I play a laconic guy who lives in regional Australia so I like differences and variety, but Clive was an interesting guy at times.
We know Neighbors is ending, but if it were to return one day, even in a different format, would you want to return as Clive?
Secure! Who knows what the future could be? We have so many options now – streaming, internet and stuff like that. The way we watch television has changed so much since the 1980s, when it was just a few networks with a few choices. Even shooting a show was hard work, and now we can literally watch anything whenever we want.
What’s next for you, do you have anything planned for when the show ends?
I work at a university. I work with behavioral scientists, and I do a lot of work in educating and facilitating, using acting skills to help people interact with behavioral science. I’m in the municipality, so I’m the guy who reads a lot about building applications! I also do a little theater work. I have other aspects, but I will miss being able to rock out to Ramsay Street with that particular team. It’s bittersweet as we get closer to the end.
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