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Elly Conway Biography & Facts

Eleanor "Elly" Conway (also Brennan) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jodi Gordon. She was originally played by Kendell Nunn from her first appearance on 13 December 2001, until her departure in May 2002. Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role. The character was introduced as Susan Kennedy's (Jackie Woodburne) teenage niece, giving her instant connections within the show. Nunn said Elly had "a lot of attitude", while she was also billed as being rebellious and spirited. Elly did not like living in Ramsay Street, but she eventually befriends her neighbour Michelle Scully (Kate Keltie). A notable storyline for the character focused on her relationship with her estranged father Ian Conway (Peter Maver). When she gets in contact with Ian, he leads her to believe that Susan's husband Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) is actually her real father. The character was reintroduced on 18 July 2016, with Gordon taking over the role. She was initially contracted for three years and chose not to relocate to Melbourne, where the show is filmed, as her family is based in Sydney. Gordon explained that since Elly's last appearance, she had trained as an English teacher. Elly is now portrayed as a feisty, unpredictable "free spirit". Gordon also said she used her outgoing persona to hide her insecurities. The character's early storylines saw her clash with her student Piper Willis (Mavournee Hazel) and later Stephanie Scully (Carla Bonner), when she flirted with Steph's partner Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor). Later storylines saw Elly miscarry after being bitten by a venomous snake, and establish an on-off relationship with Ned Willis (Ben Hall). Elly's housemate Angus Beaumont-Hannay (Jai Waetford) develops an obsessive crush on her and takes advantage of her twice, which almost causes her to lose her job and home. Producers introduced Elly's former boyfriend Finn Kelly (Rob Mills) in March 2017, which led to further exploration of her background. In January 2020, Gordon announced that she would be leaving Neighbours. She filmed her exit scenes in April and Elly made her final appearance on 10 July 2020. Gordon reprised her role for the show's finale episodes in 2022, and returned again in November 2023. On 28 December 2023 Gordon left the show again after Elly's marriage to Chloe Brennan. Casting On 22 November 2001, Kylie Miller of The Age reported that Kendell Nunn had joined the cast as Elly, along with Blair McDonough as Stuart Parker. Nunn successfully auditioned for the role a year after being discovered by a model scout in August 2000. Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role. She had to complete her last year of high school while working on the serial, which she said was "a bit of a struggle." The show's producer Peter Dodds told Wendy Granditer of Inside Soap that Elly would have instant ties to the show as she would be introduced as the "rebellious niece" of Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne). Nunn made her first appearance as Elly during the episode broadcast on 13 December 2001. Development Introduction and early storylines Elly is introduced as the teenage daughter of Susan Kennedy's sister, Liz Conway (Christine Keogh). The show's producer Peter Dodds stated that Elly's arrival in Erinsborough would occur at the same as her cousin, Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine), goes into labour in "typically trying circumstances." It later emerges that Elly has been expelled from her school after she was caught smoking cannabis. Of Elly, Nunn said "She's a great character – she has a lot of attitude and sometimes gets on the wrong side of people." Nunn explained that Elly initially dislikes Susan's husband Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) because she has been without a father figure in her life. She also dislikes being in Ramsay Street. The official Neighbours website described the character as a "spirited teenager", as well as "smart, insightful and just a touch rebellious". During her time in Erinsborough, Elly befriends her cousin Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety) and her neighbour Michelle Scully (Kate Keltie). In one of her early storylines, Elly stays out late partying, angering Karl and Susan. Elly makes it clear that she does not intend to live by their rules. Nunn attributed this behaviour to a lack of discipline in Elly's life. She explained that her mother, Liz, let her do whatever she wanted, so she is not going to listen to Karl and Susan. The Kennedys know that Liz does not intend on returning to Australia to collect Elly, but she is unaware. Nunn stated "Elly thinks she's only staying for a short while – that either her mum will come back, or send her a ticket so she can join Liz in Europe. So she doesn't make much of an effort to get along with her aunt and uncle – she pushes them as far as she can." Elly's behaviour leads to Karl losing his temper and insisting that she abides by his rules or leave. Nunn said that Karl and Elly do not get along and they "rub each other up the wrong way" because of the lack of male figures in her life. Towards the end of her stay with the Kennedys, Elly decided to meet with her estranged father. Karl tried to help and managed to get in touch with Ian Conway (Peter Maver), as he felt that Elly might settle down if she met with her father. However, Elly soon found out and contacted Ian herself to set up a meeting. When Ian arrived he insisted on having some time alone with Elly. Nunn told an Inside Soap columnist, "Once Karl and Susan have left the room, Ian tells Elly that he's not her dad but he knows who is. Then he comes out with it – her real dad is Karl!" Ian claims that Karl and her mother had an affair and Elly was born as a result. Elly was horrified by Ian's revelation, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Nunn thought that since Elly and Karl did not get along, part of her did not want it to be true. But because she wanted a family, she hoped that she did belong to Karl. When Elly looked into Karl's background and found out he had previously had an affair, she started to believe that he was her father. However, it was later revealed that Ian really was Elly's biological father. Reintroduction On 28 April 2016, Jonathon Moran of The Daily Telegraph reported that the character would be returning to the show with actress Jodi Anasta in the role. Anasta told Moran that she was "thrilled to be working" and said that her "biggest hurdle" was learning all of her scripts. She chose not to relocate to Melbourne, where the show is filmed, as her family is based in Sydney. She initially signed a three-year contract and made her first appearance as Elly on 18 July 2016. Anasta explained that in the character's fictional backstory, she has been living in Bondi and visiting her mother in Sweden. Elly has trained as a schoolteacher and has come to Erinsborough to teach alongside Susan. She thought Elly was different, as she had "gone through those young adult years where.... Discover the Elly Conway popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Elly Conway books.