Neighbours creator Reg Watson dies aged 93
Written by News on 13/10/2019
Reg Watson, the creator of popular Australian soap Neighbours, has died.
His death was announced by the show on Twitter, just a few months before it is due to begin celebrating its 35th anniversary year in 2020.
Executive producer Jason Herbison paid tribute, describing Watson, who was 93, as “a pioneer of drama, prolific in his output and by all accounts a lovely person to work with”.
Herbison said his “legacy lives on in Ramsay Street” – the fictional road on which the long-running drama has been set since it made its debut in 1985.
The show premiered on Channel 7 before moving to the Ten Network due to poor ratings, but it quickly picked up and later found an audience in the UK.
Some of the biggest stars of Australian entertainment launched their careers via Neighbours, including Kylie Minogue and actress Margot Robbie.
Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson in the show, tweeted: “Many Australian careers have a lot to thank for this man, a legend… Mr Reg Watson.”
Away from Neighbours, Watson also created Prisoner: Cell Block H, The Young Doctors and Sons And Daughters before his retirement in 1992.
The producer and screenwriter, who grew up in Queensland, was given a Member for the Order of Australia in 2010 for his services to media.
(c) Sky News 2019: Neighbours creator Reg Watson dies aged 93
