Sunny Lee
| Sunny Lee | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Neighbours character | |
| Portrayed by | Hany Lee |
| First appearance | 8 April 2009 |
| Last appearance | 19 November 2009 |
| Introduced by | Susan Bower |
| Classification | Former; regular |
| Profile | |
| Occupation | Student |
| Home | Seoul |
Sunny Lee is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Hany Lee. She made her first screen appearance during the episode broadcast on 8 April 2009. Sunny was created by executive producer Susan Bower in response to criticism that Neighbours was "too white". Lee came to the attention of Neighbours producers after she entered a competition run by Dolly Magazine to win a three-month contract with the show. Despite not winning, she was cast as Sunny soon afterwards. In August 2009, it was announced that Lee and Sunny would be departing Neighbours and Sunny made her final appearance on 19 November 2009.
Sunny was an exchange student from South Korea who is taken in by Karl (Alan Fletcher) and Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne). Sunny was described as having "typical teenage insecurities", which made her appear abrasive, unfriendly and "snobby". Her storylines focused on her starting a relationship with Zeke Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister), having her first kiss stolen by Donna Freedman (Margot Robbie) and being the subject of a crush by Robin Hester (Benjamin Jay). During her time on Neighbours, Sunny was poorly received by television critics.
In July 2008, Neighbours was branded "too white" by black and Asian viewers in Britain. A report found that many ethnic viewers felt they were under-represented in some of Britain's most popular television shows. In Australia there was talk of a 'White Australia policy' when it came to casting actors for top-rated soaps. In response to the criticism, executive producer Susan Bower made the decision to add more ethnically diverse extras, small walk on roles and speaking parts. She also decided to introduce 15-year-old Korean actor Hany Lee into the cast as exchange student, Sunny Lee. Bower said "I know we're going to get flak about this gorgeous little Korean girl who's going to be coming in next year, because you're damned if you do and damned if you don't".
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