Many good things have come out of Australia including Hollywood actors Heath Ledger and Nicole Kidman.

Australia has given us Kylie Minogue and, less kindly, Jason Donovan. The wonder of the Sydney Opera House is marvelled at worldwide and the Great Barrier Reef is a geographical phenomenon.

However, by far the best thing to come from down under is Neighbours.

Neighbours is an Australian institution. It's the antipodean equivalent of Coronation Street, only sunnier. In 2005 it celebrated 20 years on the box and it is still going as strongly as ever.

Neighbours launched the careers of some of the world's most famous people. In the 1980s Kylie Minogue played tomboy mechanic Charlene Mitchell. Guy Pearce, of LA Confidential fame, starred in it for years and Russell Crowe had a cameo role as Kylie's love interest.

More recently Delta Goodrem, who played Nina Tucker, catapulted into the UK singles chart with Born to Try, and Holly Valance - better known as Felicity Scully - had a string of top 40 hits. It seems Neighbours really is a launching pad for greater things.

Over the years Ramsay Street has played host to a number of incredible storylines, most recently a fatal plane crash which killed three of its most disposable characters. Murders have happened, bombs have been planted, and affairs run rife.

In fact you'd be hard pushed to find a Ramsay Street resident who hasn't been on the wrong side of the law at some point.

Neighbours should also be congratulated for introducing entirely new phrases into the British language. Did anyone greet someone with a 'G'day mate' before Neighbours came onto our screens? Did anyone ever say, when requesting someone to put more sausages onto a barbecue, 'Throw another snag on the barbie'? Of course not. We've got Australia's premier soap to thank for that.

The popularity of Neighbours, particularly among students, was demonstrated in the summer of 2005 when Alan Fletcher, better known as Erinsborough's Dr Karl Kennedy, went on a tour of Britain, singing at universities and Australian-themed pubs.

His nationwide tour, which included a date in Cardiff, sold out very quickly and every venue he played at was packed to the rafters. Appearing on a prime- time Radio One show, Fletch (as he is known to his fans) had more callers ringing in than any other guest that year.

The fantastic thing about Neighbours is that you can miss it for weeks and, on returning, still understand the plot. It's difficult to find someone who hasn't seen at least one episode.

Its popularity shows no sign of waning so we can expect the show, which is aired five times a week on BBC1 (and repeated daily), to continue for many years to come. Long live Ramsay Street and its merry band of inhabitants.

Page 2 - Where are they now?

Where are they now?

Neighbour's most famous former residents

1. Kylie Minogue: The Maesteg-descended pop princess is still recovering from breast cancer, but don't bet against a comeback. Loved by millions, especially in the UK;

2. Jason Donovan: Didn't do his public image any favours by suing The Face magazine for alleging he was gay, and then picking up a cocaine habit that left him looking shockingly skeletal, but now doing very well on the stage;

3. Guy Pearce: Doing very well for himself in Hollywood, courtesy of wise film choices such as LA Confidential and Memento.

4. Natalie Imbruglia: Went from lads'-mag favourite to rock chick to obscurity to, well, not very much. Her comeback last year didn't exactly put her back on the map;

5. Stefan Dennis: Worryingly threatened our charts in the late '80s, singing Don't It Make You Feel Good? while wearing a rolled-up leather jacket. Now back in Erinsborough as bad boy Paul Robinson, along with Mark Little (Joe Mangel) and Ian Smith (Harold Bishop).