Welcoming Madison: A Conversation with Neighbours Newcomer Sarah Ellen ahead of her screen debut on Friday
The legacy of Neighbours’ much celebrated characters Charlene and Scott, played by superstars Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan continues with their on-screen daughter Madison moving into Ramsay Street.
Eighteen-year-old actress, model, singer and blogger, Sarah Ellen has been cast in the coveted role as Madison Robinson, which will see her join her on-screen brother Daniel played by Tim Phillipps and Uncle Paul immortalised by Neighbours’ icon Stefan Dennis.
The multi-talented teen has had a long held ambition to pursue an acting career and attended the Campbelltown Performing Arts High School from 2012-2014. She has also completed acting courses with NIDA and JMA Performing Arts, where she met and performed with Australia’s X Factor finalist Jai Waetford, also a guest actor on the soap.
Newcomer Sarah Ellen joins Neighbours as Madison Robinson, the younger sister of Daniel Robinson and niece of Paul Robinson this Friday and The Fan Carpet’s Jen Scouler had the pleasure of talking to Sarah ahead of her debut in the beloved Australian Soap...
How does it feel to join the Neighbours family?
I feel incredibly lucky, to be join the Neighbours family. It’s my first significant TV role so I couldn’t be more ecstatic that it’s on such a classic TV show that we used to watch growing up.
How did you first get the role?
It’s quite a refreshing story because a lot of the opportunities that come through for me, I get through my social media and what I do online, but for getting this role, it just came through my agency and I auditioned with a few other people. They flew me over to Melbourne to meet me and have me audition in the room with the producers which was really interesting. I got the role from that audition, so that was really good for me as I usually get a lot of opportunities from what I do online.
What did you do when you found out you’d got it?
It was a surreal feeling, really great! I was jumping up and down with excitement. My friends and family were really excited for me and feeling proud as well. They’ve been super supportive for me this entire time.
Have you watched Neighbours before?
Definitely, definitely when I was a kid I remember watching it growing up and every now and then I used to catch it on TV. In the last six months since I’ve gotten the role I’ve been watching it consistently.
Have you met any fellow members of the cast yet?
Yes, so I started filming about a week or two ago, so I got to meet the entire crew and the cast. It was really awesome working with them. I couldn’t have seen it going better, they’re just such lovely people. Also, the producers were really open to any ideas I had for the storyline and for Madison’s character. They’ve also been letting me help in the wardrobe department, seeing as I have a background in fashion so I got to style Madison which was really fun as well.
What is your character Madison like?
So, Madison Robinson, the daughter of Scott and Charlene [previously played by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue], is a sweet, sweet 17-year old girl who is extremely good hearted and very stylish, but also just like her mum, very feisty and adventurous.
In the story, Madison arrives in Erinsborough on a bit of a mission for her parents to find something out about her brother Daniel. He’s about to make a major life-changing decision so she goes to find him and support him through that and she also reconnects with her Uncle Paul as he’s going through a bit of stress at the time.
What I can say, is that she also makes a bit of an entrance, a bit of a heated entrance. Let's just say that there’s a stuntman on set for her entrance.
How did you find preparing to play Madison?
I’ve been steadily acting for the past year and a half and we went through every detail about Madison, me and my acting coach. So, what she’s like, what she reacts like to other people and we went through all her characteristics. It’s a bit of a process to get to know your character and really being able to play that character well.
Has Kylie Minogue given you any tips at all?
Kylie has been super supportive about the entire thing. She sent me a message saying ‘Welcome to the neighbourhood’ and just yesterday she commented on my Instagram photo when she saw I landed in London saying that she knows I’ll be great, which was really sweet. I told her that if I don’t run into her at Erinsborough, I might run into her in London!
That’s so cool! Is the role a big lifestyle change for you?
Neighbours is filmed in Melbourne and I live in Sydney so I am moving to Melbourne for quite a bit. I’m excited for the change, I do really love Melbourne, I think it’s a beautiful city.
How long have you wanted to be an actress, because obviously you’ve been training for quite a while?
I wasn’t really out there looking for a role, I think this role just came to me and the stars aligned for this role because it was such a perfect time.
My training has helped calming my nerves though, because on the first day I was quite nervous but definitely with acting with Stefan Dennis who plays Paul in one of my first scenes, it was great having such a professional actor to work with. He was extremely funny too, and cracking jokes which really helped. Calming my nerves is something that I do have to work on but I had Stefan to help me out.
SARAH WILL DEBUT ON NEIGHBOURS FROM APRIL 22. NEIGHBOURS AIRS WEEKDAYS ON CHANNEL 5, 1.45PM & 5.30PM
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