| Melanie Pearson | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Portrayed by | Lucinda Cowden | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration |
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| First appearance | 30 July 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Present; regular (departing) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by |
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Melanie Pearson (also Mangel) is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Lucinda Cowden. She made her first appearance as Melanie during the episode broadcast on 30 July 1987. Cowden originally appeared in a guest role, with Melanie being introduced as a love interest of Henry Ramsay (Craig McLachlan). Cowden returned as a regular cast member and the character was made a secretary working for Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Melanie is characterised as having a zany personality and wears wacky outfits. She also has a unique sounding laugh, which Cowden likened to sounds made by a seal or a donkey. Melanie's laugh became one of her defining features and television critics have discussed it in reviews.
In 1990, writers explored Melanie's romance with Kelvin Stubbs (Michael Fletcher). They later paired her in a relationship with Joe Mangel (Mark Little), which developed into a marriage. The character departed on 24 October 1991 and her exit story featured Melanie and Joe leaving Erinsborough. Producers asked Cowden to return soon after, but Cowden declined, citing numerous cast departures as damaging the show. In 2005, Cowden reprised her role for Neighbours' 20th anniversary episode. She reprised the role again on a recurring basis from 8 January 2021, then later as a regular from 22 September 2021. One of her main stories in this stint focused on her relationship with Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney). Neighbours was cancelled in 2022 and Melanie appeared until the series finale. Producers decided to center the episode around Melanie and Toadie's wedding. Cowden reprised her role in the Neighbours 2023 reboot. Producers decided to write Melanie out of the series again and Cowden exited the series on 19 November 2024, with a further guest appearance expected to air in 2025.