Caroline Alessi

Fictional character from the soap opera Neighbours

Caroline Alessi is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Gillian Blakeney. She made her first appearance during the episode broadcast on 18 January 1990, alongside her twin sister Christina Alessi, played by Gillian's real life twin, Gayle Blakeney. Both sisters reprised their roles in June 2019, and returned on 6 September.

In 1989, twins Gillian and Gayle Blakeney were cast as sisters Caroline and Christina Alessi respectively, The pair almost went to fellow Australian soap Home and Away, but they preferred Neighbours as a programme and they wanted to stay in Melbourne, where it was filmed. They began filming their first scenes seven months after signing with the show. The Blakeneys had an interest in twin psychology and they worked with the scriptwriters to make sure their characters were portrayed as authentically as possible. When they were younger, the twins were "very close" and played pranks on their teachers and boyfriends. As they grew older, they kept "a mischievous sense of humour" and often shared similar thoughts. Before moving to Erinsborough, Caroline worked in several hotels and restaurants, eventually moving up to a more managerial role. Producers created an infidelity storyline which threatened to destroy her sister's marriage to Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis). Writers had developed an attraction between Caroline and Paul which later became an issue when the pair share a passionate kiss. The kiss occurs during a time that Paul and Christina had been having marital problems. Paul had briefly abandoned Christina and upon his return tries to meddle in Andrew's upbringing. Gillian told a TVTimes reporter that Caroline is "really drawn to Paul" but "terribly close to Christina". On screen, Christina makes Paul sleep on the sofa to give her space. Caroline leans over Paul to tuck in his blanket and Paul awakes. He mistakes Caroline for Christina and kisses her. Gillian that "she would never want to do anything to hurt her sister." Blakeney added that Paul and Christina seemed to be failing so "Caroline would really be kicking herself if she stepped out of the picture and Paul and Christina split up anyway." Blakeney chose to leave Neighbours in February 1992. She planned to record another single with her sister and study in Paris for a month. Of her decision to leave, Blakeney stated "While I love the character and I have thoroughly enjoyed myself on the show, I feel it is time to move on as an actor. It was my first acting experience and it's been a great grounding." They filmed these during the same week, before returning to Los Angeles on 7 June. Of their return to the serial, Gillian Blakeney stated, "Strangely enough it feels so comfortable and familiar despite the obvious changes. The cast and crew have been so welcoming." The BBC's official Neighbours website said the character's most notable moment was "Kissing Paul after he had married her sister." James Cockington from The Sydney Morning Herald branded the story in which Caroline and Christina swap identities to secure a business deal "contrived". He accused Neighbours of making the plot raunchy to beat rival soap opera Home and Away in viewership. A Soaplife writer included Caroline and Paul's affair in their "top 10 relative romps" feature. A writer from The Journal chose Paul meddling in Caroline's business activities in their "pick of the day" feature. Tony Pratt from the Daily Mirror questioned why Caroline moved abroad in her exit story because the majority of Neighbours characters were simply "exiled" in Queensland. A writer from The Press and Journal opined that "fans of BBC's Neighbours will be on the edges of their seats for the lunch time session, in which Caroline makes a choice between the two men in her life." They also included the Caroline's story in their "best of next week" television feature.