Lara Sacher
| Serena Bishop | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Neighbours character | |||||||||||||||||||
| Portrayed by | Lara Sacher | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2003–2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
| First appearance | 9 October 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Last appearance | 26 October 2005 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Introduced by | Ric Pellizzeri | ||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Former; regular | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | David Bishop |
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| Mother | Liljana Bishop |
| Half-brothers | Luka Dokich |
| Grandfathers |
Harold Bishop Miroslav Ristic |
| Grandmothers | Mavis Bishop Svetlanka Ristic |
| Uncles | Zoran Ristic |
| Aunts | Kerry Bishop |
| First cousins | Sky Mangel |
| Other relatives | Kerry Mangel |
Serena Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Lara Sacher. She made her first on-screen appearance on 9 October 2003. Serena's storylines included kissing her cousin's boyfriend, being taken advantage of by a photographer and starting an incestuous relationship with her half-brother. Shortly after the character's on-screen parents were axed, it was announced in May 2005 that Sacher would also be leaving. Serena made her last appearance on 26 October 2005.
Sacher was 16 when she landed the role of Serena Bishop on Neighbours. The part was her first professional acting job. Serena was the final member of the Bishop family to be auditioned, Sacher was delighted with the chemistry she shared with Kevin Harrington and Marcella Russo, who play her on-screen parents David and Liljana Bishop respectively.
In May 2005, it was announced that Sacher would be departing the show in an "extremely dramatic" storyline in October of that year. The news came a few weeks after her on-screen parents were axed as part of a cast shakeup. Script producer, Luke Devenish said "All three Bishops will be leaving together ... in one of our most startling storylines for the year". He added "The door will be left open for their return, however, despite the spectacular circumstances. Serena's final scenes will be nothing short of heartbreaking – but very memorable!" In 2007 Sacher revealed there were no plans to introduce her and Serena back into the serial.
Serena has been characterised as a snob who embarks on a journey growing up and becoming more likeable in the process. Originally Serena's tendency to act like a spoilt snob annoyed some viewers, who labelled the character as "mean". Describing Serena's journey and people's perception of her, Sacher stated: "Towards the middle and the end, she started growing up and she had some life changing experiences that really made her mature, and then people just started relating to her and really understanding her, and I think because she began as a snobby person they really appreciated her more so as she was growing up."
Sacher has stated that Serena's exit from the serial seemed premature. Serena had just started growing up, Sacher felt it was a shame she did not get to play the rest of her journey out. However she was happy with her dramatic exit in the plane crash. Of the filming of Serena's exit, Sacher had to film in a swimming pool fitting with dark lighting and a wave machine. She felt that from an actor's viewpoint it was good to "get her teeth into" the drama filled scenes.
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