Celebrated ‘Neighbours’ actress passes away

Veteran television actress Vivean Gray has passed away aged 92.

Vivean was best known for playing Ms Mangel on Neighbours in the 80s.  Ms Mangel was an overbearing and meddlesome character that was so real for many Australians that Vivean would be sent abuse by fans.

The abuse was something that Vivean didn’t give much attention to saying in an interview, “You’ve just got to have a sense of humour about the whole thing, and rationalise it by saying at least the character is working!”

The character of Ms Mangel left it’s marked on Ramsay St. even though Vivean left the show after only two years.  Executive Producer of Neighbours, Jason Herbison, released a statement about her passing saying, “She was a true soap legend, and we thank her for all the wonderful memories.”  Jason said of her iconic character “Mrs Mangel was the ultimate busybody, remembered for her conservatism and her caustic wit”.

Actor Mark Little, who played Joe Mangel on Neighbours tweeted out his condolences:

Vivean Gray:Legend many times over.I was privileged to know and work with her.We laughed a lot creating The Mangel https://t.co/1sejJjptOO.

— Mark Little (@themarklittle) July 29, 2016

Vivean was also a starred in the 1970s hit program The Sullivan as the town gossip Mrs Jessup.

In other sad news, the voice of loved children’s show character Postman Pat has also passed away.  Ken Barrie was the voice of Pat and other beloved characters in the original episodes of Postman Pat.

Ken carried the mantle of Pat from 1981 until handing the role over to actor Lewis MacLeod in 2004.

Ken was 83.

Where you one of the millions that couldn’t stand the character of Ms Mangel?  Was Postman Pat a staple of your kid’s TV watching?