Eleanor "Nell" Worthington (previously Mangel) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''
Neighbours
''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...
'', played by
Vivean Gray
Jean Vivra Gray (20 July 1924 – 29 July 2016), known professionally as Vivean Gray, also credited as ''Vivian Gray'' and ''Viven Gray'', was an English television and film actress. She starred in the films '' Picnic at Hanging Rock'' a ...
. She made her first on-screen appearance on 29 April 1986. She was known almost exclusively to others as Mrs Mangel. The character caused controversy among some of the public, who in turn abused Gray constantly because of Nell. In the short time she was in the series her constant sparring with
Madge Bishop
Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as the ...
(
Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston (born 30 December 1942) is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small ...
) was a focal point in her storylining, as well as being a continual annoyance among her neighbours with her nosy, interfering and nasty attitude. She is often described as one of the series' most iconic characters and one of its greatest villains.
Casting
Vivean Gray was cast in the role after she previously played a similar role to that of Nell in another Australian soap opera, ''
The Sullivans
''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
''.
Mrs Mangel was only supposed to appear in ''Neighbours'' for three weeks. However, the character proved popular with viewers and she became a permanent member of the cast. Gray decided to quit the series in 1988,
one of the main reasons which helped her reach the decision was due to high amounts of abuse received from the general public who failed to distinguish Gray from her character,
often taunting her for her character's cantankerous personality.
After leaving, Gray quit acting altogether and moved back to her native United Kingdom.
Co-star
Ian Smith
Ian Douglas Smith (8 April 1919 – 20 November 2007) was a Rhodesian politician, farmer, and fighter pilot who served as Prime Minister of Rhodesia (known as Southern Rhodesia until October 1964 and now known as Zimbabwe) from 1964 to ...
who played
Harold Bishop
Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Ian Smith. The actor was offered the role by the show's creator and executive producer Reg Watson. Smith made his first screen appearance as H ...
also passed comment on the situation stating that it was mainly youths who used to hound Gray, because of their dislike of Nell. Gray spoke about her decision to quit stating: "I loved ''Neighbours'' and the rest of the cast were marvellous. But because it was so successful, I could barely set foot outside my own door without someone screaming abuse at horrid old "Mrs Mangel". People didn't seem to appreciate it was acting. So I decided to take a break."
In 1989 Gray revealed that she would consider returning in the future after everything calmed down, but this never happened.
Characterisation
Nell is a very much a busybody: she is interfering, nosy and always gossiping.
She is frosty and old-fashioned as she does not like to be called by her first name. She constantly spies on her Neighbours and tells tales about them.
She insists she is a good Christian woman. She constantly moans and whines throughout her time in the serial. She has also been portrayed as fending off other characters if they tried to be nice to her.
It was the mixture of all these traits that allow Nell to become one of the most hated soap characters of her time.
In the ''Neighbours'' twentieth anniversary book Nell is described as being "the Ramsay Street gossip, the Queen Bee of the cul-de-sac, and her constant interfering in the affairs of her neighbours did not always endear her to the street".
Upon her departure, behind the scenes scriptwriters decided to give Nell a pleasant exit plot, seeing Nell finally finding happiness.
In the book ''"Soapbox"'', Gray compares Nell to Ida Jessup, a character she previously played in ''
The Sullivans
''The Sullivans'' is an Australian period drama television series produced by Crawford Productions which ran on the Nine Network from 15 November 1976 until 10 March 1983. The series tells the story of a fictional average middle-clas ...
'', stating: "Mrs Jessup and Mrs Mangel are sisters under the skin, they were both gossips with too many opinions. But Jessup had saving graces – she would help people – Mangel is mean and bitchy." However, Sarah Ellis from ''
Inside Soap
''Inside Soap'' is a weekly magazine published in the United Kingdom, released every Tuesday. It covers current and future storylines in soap operas in the United Kingdom, including '' Coronation Street'', ''Doctors'', ''EastEnders'', ''Emmerdal ...
'' wrote that Nell did have some redeeming features. She took care of her granddaughter
Jane Harris Jane Harris may refer to:
* Jane Harris (producer), British television director and producer
* Jane Harris (writer) (born 1961), British writer of fiction and screenplays
* Jane Harris (''Neighbours''), a fictional character in the Australian so ...
(
Annie Jones Ann Jones (or similar) may refer to:
Writers
*Ann Jones (author) (born 1937), American writer on women's issues
*Anne Jones (writer) (born 1955), Australian editor and administrator
* Anna Jones (food writer), columnist and cookbook author
* Cat ...
) after her mother moved to Hong Kong, she loved
Bouncer
A bouncer (also known as a doorman or door supervisor) is a type of security guard, employed at venues such as bars, nightclubs, cabaret clubs, stripclubs, casinos, hotels, billiard halls, restaurants, sporting events, schools, concerts, or ...
the Labrador, and she had unrequited feelings for Harold Bishop.
In 2018, two years after Gray's death, producers reintroduced her granddaughter Jane for a storyline in which she tries to retrieve a set of valuable stamps from Nell's old house. However, before she finds the stamps, Jane learns Nell has died.
Ellis (''Inside Soap'') commented the news would "no doubt be an upsetting moment for long-time ''Neighbours'' fans as they say goodbye to one of the show's most iconic characters".
Storylines
Nell married
Len Mangel
'' Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera created by Reg Watson. It was first broadcast on 18 March 1985. The following is a list of characters that first appeared in the serial in 1994, by order of first appearance. Until 9 May, c ...
(
John Lee John Lee may refer to:
Academia
* John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society
* John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal
* John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...
) and they had two children,
Amanda (
Briony Behets) and
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
(
Mark Little). Amanda was highly praised as she excelled academically and married Peter Harris, a wealthy businessman. She later had a daughter, Jane. Joe proved to be a disappointment to his parents and he left home following an argument in which he was accused of robbing a local service station. Nell and Len decide to move into a smaller house in Ramsay Street and are later joined by Jane after Amanda and Peter leave for
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.
Nell quickly befriends
Helen Daniels
Helen Daniels is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', portrayed by Anne Haddy. Following the death of Jim Robinson ( Alan Dale) in 1993, she remained the only original character played continuously by the same a ...
(
Anne Haddy) and
Eileen Clarke (
Myra De Groot
Myra Tania De Groot (4 July 1937 – 4 April 1988) was a British-born theatre and television actress, and agent. She performed in the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand and Australia.
Professional career
De Groot was born in Westminste ...
), the only people she lets refer to her by her Christian name. Her nosy and pious views are a constant source of annoyance for her neighbours, in particular
Madge Bishop
Madge Bishop (also Ramsay and Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Anne Charleston. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 20 January 1986. Madge was introduced as the ...
(
Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston (born 30 December 1942) is an Australian actress, notable for her career locally and in the United Kingdom in theatre and television. Charleston started her career in theatre in the mid 1950's, and has been a staple of the small ...
),
Charlene Robinson
Charlene Robinson (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' played by Kylie Minogue. Charlene was introduced to the show along with several new characters, as part of a revamp by Network Ten to incre ...
(
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...
) and
Daphne Clarke
Daphne Clarke (also Lawrence) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Elaine Smith. Daphne was created by Reg Watson as one of ''Neighbours twelve original characters. The producer had originally wan ...
(
Elaine Smith). When Jane begins seeing
Mike Young (
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria (Australia), Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young (Neighbours), Mike Young in ...
), Nell tries to put a stop to it after receiving poison pen letters about Mike's alleged reputation of taking advantage of girls. After
Sue Parker (Kate Gorman) is revealed as the culprit, Nell relents and lets Mike see Jane.
When Len leaves Nell for another woman, she is forced to invent excuses for his absence and at one point prompts suspicion from Jane and her friends, who believe Nell has killed Len, after they dig up the garden and find several of his personal effects. Nell eventually explains Len has left and will not return.
Nell allows Harold Bishop to lodge with her and Jane. Nell is pleased to learn Harold is a devout Christian and a man of high moral standards. Nell develops a rivalry with Madge, which reaches a new high after it became clear Harold is in love with Madge. Nell constantly tries to ruin their romance.
Not accepting that she has not managed to split Madge and Harold up, she manages to spoil things on their wedding by playing the church organ badly on purpose.
Nell befriends Mike's pet Labrador Bouncer and he eventually becomes a family pet.
While helping Daphne decorate a nursery for her unborn baby, Nell climbs up a ladder and is knocked to the ground by Bouncer and as a result suffers amnesia, losing two years of her life. She thinks Jane is still at school and Len is still around. Jane cannot bring herself to tell Nell that Len has left so she fabricates a story in which Len died and his ashes were scattered under the rosebushes in the front garden. Nell is then seen saying goodbye to the rosebushes, prompting people to think Nell is losing her sanity. Nell decides to sue Des and Daphne, but this action is unpopular with the neighbours and Nell finds herself isolated. Daphne takes her revenge by revealing the truth about Len's departure to Nell, who is horrified. She later agrees to settle out of court for a lesser sum.
After a heated confrontation in the street with Madge, Nell suffers a heart attack and rushed to hospital. Amanda returns home from Hong Kong seemingly to see her mother, but it turns out she is on the run for insurance fraud. Nell and Jane tell her to go and she leaves again. Len files for divorce and suggests he and Nell share the proceeds from the sale of Number 32. Nell refuses to leave and blackmails Len by threatening to follow him wherever he moved to, in order to keep the house.
Nell meets
John Worthington (
Brian James), a retired dentist, and falls in love with him. During this time, Joe returns and slowly manages to repair his frosty relationship with Nell, but takes a dislike to John at first, as he fears he will hurt Nell like his father did. Nell and John marry and move to England, where Nell suffers several health problems. During
Annalise Hartman
Annalise Hartman is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Kimberley Davies. She made her debut during the episode broadcast on 15 January 1993 and departed on 31 January 1996. Davies reprised the role in J ...
's (
Kimberley Davies
Kimberley Davies (born 20 February 1973) is an Australian actress most famous for playing Annalise Hartman on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'' from 1993 to 1996. She is sometimes credited as "Kimberly Davies".
Life and career
Davies wa ...
) documentary, Jane reveals Nell is still alive and living in England.
In 2012,
Sonya Rebecchi
Sonya Rebecchi (also Mitchell) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours'', played by Eve Morey. The actress auditioned for the role and began filming in June 2009. She made her first screen appearance during the episod ...
(
Eve Morey
Eve Morey (born 4 June 1983) is an Australian actress. Her roles have included Lucy Green in '' Pig's Breakfast'' and Sonya Rebecchi in the soap opera '' Neighbours'', the latter role played from 2009 to 2022. She has also appeared in '' All Sai ...
) discovers a picture of Nell among the photos of past Ramsay Street residents and names
her daughter after her. In 2015,
Naomi Canning (
Morgana O'Reilly
Morgana O'Reilly (born 19 August 1985) is a New Zealand film, television and theatre actress. She has appeared in several theatre productions and created the one-woman play ''The Height of the Eiffel Tower'', which she performed at the Edinburg ...
) confirms Mrs Mangel is still alive and is grateful for how helpful she was when she telephoned her for some research in order to provide trivia for a quiz at the Erinsborough festival. When Jane returns to Ramsay Street in 2018, she explains that she has been living with Nell, who is now widowed, and has adopted some of her views. It is revealed that Jane has returned to the Street to look for vintage stamps belonging to Len that Nell had hidden in the house now occupied by
Shane
Shane may refer to:
People
* Shane (actress) (born 1969), American pornographic actress
* Shane (New Zealand singer) (born 1946)
* iamnotshane (born 1995), formerly known as Shane, American singer
* Shane (name)
Shane is mainly a masculine g ...
(Nicholas Coghlan) and
Dipi Rebecchi
Dipi Rebecchi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera '' Neighbours'', played by Sharon Johal. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 24 April 2017. Johal originally auditioned for the role of Dipi's younge ...
(Sharon Johal). Jane confesses to them that Nell is very ill and needs to go into care and that she was hoping to sell the stamps in order to raise the necessary funds. Shortly after, Joe calls Jane to tell her that Nell has died.
Reception
Although at the time Nell was disliked by some of the viewers, she later became remembered as an iconic and popular character.
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Global through its network division's MTV Entertainment Group unit, based in Manhattan. The channel is geared towards young adults aged 18–34 and carries comedy programming ...
, a satellite television station which airs in the UK, commented on Nell, branding her as one of the series most iconic characters,
they also added: "Nell Mangel was a woman who infuriated nearly everyone she encountered. She lived in 32 Ramsay Street from 1986 to '88 and was interfering, nosey and self-righteous. If ever there was an opportunity to ruin people's fun, be it rescuing Lucy Robinson from a well, Des and Daphne having a barbecue or Helen having another stroke, Mrs. Mangel would be promptly on the phone to report it to the police, the school or the parent concerned. Ooh, she was a cow!"
Also adding Gray's abuse from the public in their opinion was because her portrayal was so convincing.
A
Scottish national newspaper, ''
The Scotsman
''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...
'' has also praised the character for her nasty streak saying: "Vivean Gray made more of an impact in that short time on the Aussie soap than most actors manage in their entire careers. As the cantankerous Mrs Mangel – arch nemesis of feisty Madge Ramsay – Gray played one of the most detestable villains ever to set foot in Ramsay Street. Her nosiness and holier-than-thou-ness were bad enough, but it was in her dealings with Madge where she really raised the hackles of the ''Neighbours'' faithful."
Media brand
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
have commented that Nell was interfering and nosy. To celebrate ''Neighbours'' 25th anniversary,
Yahoo
Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo! Inc. (2017–present), Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds ma ...
conducted a poll to find out who was the viewers favourite character of all time, in the results Nell came in joint third place along with
Charlene Mitchell
Charlene Alexander Mitchell (June 8, 1930 – December 14, 2022) was an American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. In 1968, she became the first Black woman candidate for President of the United States.
In the ...
. Kate Bevan of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' called Nell a "proto-
Dot Cotton
Dorothy "Dot" Branning (also Cotton) is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera, '' EastEnders'', played by June Brown. In a special episode entitled ''EastEnders: Dot's Story'' (2003) a young Dot was played by Tallulah Pitt-Brown in fl ...
" of soap ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
''.
Neil Wallis and Dave Hogan reviewed Nell in their 1989 book ''The Neighbours Factfile'', of her they commented: "
he wasnever addressed by her Christian name because she is so frosty and disliked by the other residents of Ramsay Street, this gossiping, interfering old busybody is referred to everyone as 'Mrs. Mangel'."
Popular culture website TV Cream refer to Nell as "Jane's interfering nan".
''
Soaplife
''Soaplife'' was a soap opera
A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio d ...
'' magazine named Nell as one of their "Nightmare ''Neighbours''" and said "Probably the most unpopular neighbour ever! The original busybody, Nell was always poking her nose into other people's business, ready to phone the police at the merest scent of trouble. Who can forget her long-running feud with Madge, when Madge thought Nell was after her fiancé Harold Bishop. Few tears were shed when she left for a new life in England after marrying John Worthington."
Polly Hudson of the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'' described the character as "a nosey, spiteful killjoy, hellbent on ruining everyone on Ramsay Street's fun".
Hudson thought Nell was somewhat redeemed by her love for Bouncer the dog, saying "there is good in everyone, somewhere, if you look really hard."
Paying tribute to the character following her off-screen death, Sarah Ellis of ''Inside Soap'' wrote, "For someone who was only on our screens for two years, Mrs Mangel left a legacy to last a lifetime. RIP Mrs M – you will be missed!"
Nell was placed at number seven on the ''
Huffpost's'' "35 greatest Neighbours characters of all time" feature. Journalist Adam Beresford described her called her "the mighty Nell Mangel, the greatest busybody to ever twitch a curtain."
Beresford likened Nell's values to a "a bygone, almost Victorian" era as she was "constantly aghast" in response to the "rough and ready" local "shenanigans".
[ Beresford noted her infamy as one of the soap opera genre's "greatest comic creations" despite only being on the show for eighteen months. He concluded that it was "astonishing" but a "testament to Mrs Mangel's impact."][ In 2022, Kate Randall from '']Heat
In thermodynamics, heat is defined as the form of energy crossing the boundary of a thermodynamic system by virtue of a temperature difference across the boundary. A thermodynamic system does not ''contain'' heat. Nevertheless, the term is al ...
'' included Nell in the magazine's top ten ''Neighbours'' characters of all time feature. Randall stated "the street busybody was only in the show for 18 months, but Nell Mangel left a 30-year impression. She was forever falling out with Madge- maybe because she had a mad crush on Harold."
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangel, Nell
Neighbours characters
Television characters introduced in 1986
Female characters in television
Female villains