Casting
Vivean Gray was cast in the role after she previously played a similar role to that of Nell in a fellow Australian soap opera titled The Sullivans. 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 all together and moved to the United Kingdom. Co-star Ian Smith who played Harold Bishop also passed comment on the situation stating that it was mainly young 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.
Read more about this topic: Nell Mangel
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