Neighbours star Delta Goodrem joined the Australian soap back in 2002, playing schoolgirl Nina Tucker. The fan favourite character was introduced as a nervous teenager with a hidden talent for singing.
However, according to Goodrem, Nina’s personality could have been very different had she not intervened. The actor shared that the role was rewritten to suit her vision, after she had a word with the show bosses.
Appearing on ITV’s This Morning, Goodrem shared that she began acting at a young age and used the money to finance her very first musical demo. After launching her singing career, she was offered the role of Nina – but not as we know her.
Noel Vasquez//Getty Images
Related: Best streaming services
“When I first got the script sent to me, I had actually joined as a singer. The role was going to be a singer but they were trying to get me in quicker which was amazing,” she told presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley.
“We thought ‘oh, we’ll put her as the bad-girl-turned-good’ and I got the script and I just cried because I had written this song ‘Born to Try’ and I just felt in my heart that that would be, you know, in that moment I just didn’t feel that was the right place for my song.”
The star explained that she spoke to the “amazing” producers to adjust the character, which led to the Nina saw on screen. She acknowledged that it was a bold move as she was only 15 or 16 at the time.
“I don’t know if I would have done it now. My parents were outside the office going ‘oh my gosh!'” she laughed.
As for her singing career, Goodrem will soon be representing Australia in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna, Austria. She will be performing the song ‘Eclipse’, which she co-wrote with Jonas Myrin, Ferras Alqaisi and Michael Fatkin.
“It feels like a celebration. I’m kinda approaching it like I’m really excited to be able to be over here, getting to share new music,” she said. “I just feel really grateful to get to bring the song and bring it to life on the stage.”
She added: “It’s definitely questioned my songwriting, you know, when everyone dissects your song. Me and the producers and writers have been like ‘oh we’ve never experienced like that dissect’. But it’s really fun. It’s enjoyable.”
The Eurovision Song Contest 2026 Grand Final and Semi-Finals will be shown live on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Neighbours concluded in December 2025, but classic episodes are available to watch via Prime Video and YouTube.
Read more Neighbours coverage on our dedicated homepage
For exclusive soap star interviews, gossip, spoilers and theories every week, don’t miss the Soap Scoop podcast from Inside Soap magazine. The latest episode delves into next week’s soap spoilers for EastEnders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale – as Gary Windass battles Theo Silverton, and Kim Tate is rocked by a poisoning mystery!