Dan Ewing: I never understood Neighbours

[Light of the Bay]

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s15/home-and-away/news/a478142/home-and-away-dan-ewing-i-never-understood-neighbours.html

Home and Away star Dan Ewing has revealed he always preferred his show to Neighbours.

The actor, who plays Summer Bay's Heath Braxton, admitted he never understood the appeal of the fellow Australian soap.

Speaking on NovaFM, Ewing said: "I never got the Neighbours thing. I always preferred girls in bikinis. I would never say anything bad about our Channel 11 reverent but I have always liked the scenery and visuals of Summer Bay."

Hmm.. let's see.

For me the appeal of Neighbours is the tight-knit community spirit, the comedy, drama, family values and friendships. All of those are things that H&A have lost. Scenery and visuals are simply not enough to keep a soap going - it's got to have qualities that people can relate to. In the old eps it's such a welcoming show and the characters are relatable - now it's about crime and we're expected to tune in for shirtless guys. Maybe I'm being harsh but I'm actually quite annoyed by what Mr Ewing has said. Neighbours isn't my favourite soap but it's vastly superior to H&A because it's gone back to its roots and doesn't rely on sensationalism.

[Dingo x]

I actually agree with you, I find that I can relate to Neighbours a lot more than I can to Home and Away now. I do still love Home and Away but Neighbours is more realistic with their storylines. I honestly do prefer Neighbours over Home and Away these days.

[JamesC10]

I actually agree with you, I find that I can relate to Neighbours a lot more than I can to Home and Away now. I do still love Home and Away but Neighbours is more realistic with their storylines. I honestly do prefer Neighbours over Home and Away these days.

Ditto! Agree with everything you have said.

[shelly25]

I was a little annoyed when I first read it.

I don't think Dan was having a go at the show (I noticed on Twitter that some one tweeted him saying he was disrepectful. He just said it was his opinion. He's entitled to that, but still....) but just because they don't have half naked people parading around, it dosen't mean it's not good.

Even the producer of Neighbours said the show is more character driven as they don't venture much outside of Erinsborough. That way, they can focus on the characters more.

I LOVE Home and Away but I also love Neighbours which has really stepped up over the last couple of years. In the past, Neighbours has tried to be like Home and Away but I'm glad it's gone back to it's roots.

[ScreamingQueen2006]

Agree you with as well Light of the Bay. Home and Away has always been my favourite soap and I will be fond of it forever, but at the moment Neighbours is far better than Home and Away by miles. I can relate better to Neighbours, plus it's alot funnier and less crime based.

[Light of the Bay]

All your replies have been really interesting and its really telling to see that people agree that H&A is a little too far-fetched. I still dip in and out and I'll never give up on it but Neighbours really is going from strength to strength. It's nice to watch a soap where the stories reflect "real life" and actually allow us to evaluate our own lives. That's what good storytelling is all about.

[~Lynd~]

I definitely agree Neighbours is much more relatable.

In regards to the article, Sorry Dan but this is exactly the sort of thing that makes you sound like a douche.Be quiet.

[Pierced Musie]

To be honest when I read this story this morning it sounded more like he is talking about the past (he never understood the appeal of Neighbours, not that he doesn't understand it now). If he was talking about never understanding the appeal of Neighbours over H&A in the past then I do see where he is coming from. The locations are more appealing on H&A and always has been.

Does that make sense?

I don't think he is being disrespectful in this article... unlike some of his other comments .

[Ukfan2013]

I don't think there is anything wrong with what he said. He said that when growing up he never understood neighbours (he always preferred to look at girls in bikinis most guys probably do ). Also said he preferred the scenery and visuals of home and away. He also grew up near and would always see the trucks etc Like he said his opinion. Don't think he was being horrible at all.

Here is the video of it http://www.novafm.com.au/video/dan-ewing-talks-all-things-home-and-away

[TelephotoMarigold]

It doesn't matter why he said and in what context he is now going to have that comment repeated back to him with the spin on it that he hates Neighbours. Good luck to him if he ever needs a job in future and he ends up on the very soap he is reputed not to understand!