You won't believe how incredible Neighbours stars Gayle and Gillian Blakeney look 31 years on!
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To those who have been devoted Neighbours fans since the early 90s, you'll definitely remember the Alessi twins, Christina and Caroline, played by Gayle and Gillian Blakeney.
The identical twins shot to fame on the Australian soap at just 26 years old, becoming household names as they navigated their way through some nail-biting and dramatic storylines, including being placed under witness protection after seeing a murder take place!
However, it's been over three decades since they hit our screens on the iconic show, and they look different today.
The Blakeneys are now 57 years old, but their ageless beauty still shines through in the photos they've shared of themselves over the years—with some posts featuring the sisters glammed up together, looking unrecognisable compared to when they were first on Neighbours.
They both had long dark blonde hair at the time but have since gone darker while still having locks down to just below their shoulders in length. In fact, when they returned to the show in 2019, they donned matching mid-length haircuts.
Let's rewind briefly and consider why we fell in love with them.
The plotlines were memorable—the twins tried to use their identical looks to confuse their neighbours by pretending to be a single person, Linda Giles. Of course, their plan backfired, and the girls had to come clean when they were exposed by bad boy Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis).
But this wasn't the only romantic feature they experienced during their stint on the soap—Christina went on to marry Paul, while Caroline had a fling with him, although for some reason, she eventually chose to leave the neighbourhood.
The twins eventually left the show separately in 1992 but returned three episodes in 2019 before they called time on acting completely to focus on their personal lives.
But that doesn't mean they've stayed out of the limelight since—before they made the semi-permanent transition to the other side of the camera, the sisters got mixed up in some music too, when they formed a band back in 1992, interestingly and aptly called The Twins.
They had a few hits, with 'All Mixed Up' and 'Mad If Ya Don't' being two of their most popular songs.
Today, the Blakeneys live with their respective partners and children in California and occasionally share snaps of themselves looking as fresh-faced as ever.
Gillian and Gayle keep in touch—the former even celebrated her pals' birthday with the pair dressed in matching black ensembles, and the latter captured the moment, writing 'me and my womb-mate' alongside a winky face emoji.
Gillian tied the knot with her hubby, David, at an intimate ceremony in October 2021. Gillian chose to walk down the aisle with Gayle's husband, Mark.
Having made an enormous impact on Australian screens in the ‘90s, more recently, Gillian has co-founded the luxury scarf company Leigh and Luca, which boasts several celebrity buyers.
Whatever Gayle and Gillian choose to do with their lives in the future, it's clear that their beauty has only grown and flourished over the years!
What are your thoughts, members? Are there other characters you would love to see decades back on-screen? Let us know in the comments below!
In the meantime, here’s a cheeky throwback to when Gayle, Gillian, and Stefan got together for a little chinwag in 2019:
Credit: Neighbours Official Channel.
The identical twins shot to fame on the Australian soap at just 26 years old, becoming household names as they navigated their way through some nail-biting and dramatic storylines, including being placed under witness protection after seeing a murder take place!
However, it's been over three decades since they hit our screens on the iconic show, and they look different today.
The Blakeneys are now 57 years old, but their ageless beauty still shines through in the photos they've shared of themselves over the years—with some posts featuring the sisters glammed up together, looking unrecognisable compared to when they were first on Neighbours.
The twins arrived on the soap back in 1990 in the guise of 'Linda Giles', the identity both women shared in Witness Protection after witnessing a murder. Credit: Channel 5.
They both had long dark blonde hair at the time but have since gone darker while still having locks down to just below their shoulders in length. In fact, when they returned to the show in 2019, they donned matching mid-length haircuts.
Let's rewind briefly and consider why we fell in love with them.
The plotlines were memorable—the twins tried to use their identical looks to confuse their neighbours by pretending to be a single person, Linda Giles. Of course, their plan backfired, and the girls had to come clean when they were exposed by bad boy Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis).
But this wasn't the only romantic feature they experienced during their stint on the soap—Christina went on to marry Paul, while Caroline had a fling with him, although for some reason, she eventually chose to leave the neighbourhood.
The twins eventually left the show separately in 1992 but returned three episodes in 2019 before they called time on acting completely to focus on their personal lives.
But that doesn't mean they've stayed out of the limelight since—before they made the semi-permanent transition to the other side of the camera, the sisters got mixed up in some music too, when they formed a band back in 1992, interestingly and aptly called The Twins.
They had a few hits, with 'All Mixed Up' and 'Mad If Ya Don't' being two of their most popular songs.
Today, the Blakeneys live with their respective partners and children in California and occasionally share snaps of themselves looking as fresh-faced as ever.
Gillian and Gayle keep in touch—the former even celebrated her pals' birthday with the pair dressed in matching black ensembles, and the latter captured the moment, writing 'me and my womb-mate' alongside a winky face emoji.
Caroline (played by Gillian) bowed out of the soap in May 1992, with Christina (played by Gayle) following a few months later. Credit: Channel 5.
Gillian tied the knot with her hubby, David, at an intimate ceremony in October 2021. Gillian chose to walk down the aisle with Gayle's husband, Mark.
Having made an enormous impact on Australian screens in the ‘90s, more recently, Gillian has co-founded the luxury scarf company Leigh and Luca, which boasts several celebrity buyers.
Whatever Gayle and Gillian choose to do with their lives in the future, it's clear that their beauty has only grown and flourished over the years!
What are your thoughts, members? Are there other characters you would love to see decades back on-screen? Let us know in the comments below!
In the meantime, here’s a cheeky throwback to when Gayle, Gillian, and Stefan got together for a little chinwag in 2019:
Credit: Neighbours Official Channel.
