British-born actor found fame with Australian roles in Prisoner and Picnic at Hanging Rock. But it was as a meddling neighbour that she will be remembered

British actor Vivean Gray, best known as the Ramsay Street villain Mrs Nell Mangel in Neighbours, has died aged 92.

Gray was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire, as Jean Vivra Gray, but moved to Australia in 1952 to pursue her career as an actor. Before she was spying on Scott and Charlene as the meddling Mrs Mangel, Gray had landed roles in Australian series including Prisoner: Cell Block H, Anzacs, Matlock Police and The Sullivans, on which she played a similar neighbouring gossip, Mrs Jessup, for the series’ 16-season run.

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On the big screen, Gray was known as maths teacher Miss McCraw in the classic Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock – but it was her role on Neighbours for which she will be most remembered.



For two years, between 1986 and 1988, gossip on Ramsay Street travelled faster thanks to the nosy Mrs Mangel, an immediate fan favourite. Intended to appear for only a three-week stint, the character was so popular that the writers kept returning to her, and the constant battles she waged against her foil Madge Bishop (Anne Charleston).

The character is now remembered as one of the series’ greatest villains – but not all viewers of the show were able to separate the fact from the fiction at the time.

Mark Little (@themarklittle) Vivean Gray:Legend many times over.I was privileged to know and work with her.We laughed a lot creating The Mangel https://t.co/1sejJjptOO.

“I loved Neighbours and the rest of the cast were marvellous,” Gray said in a 1989 book, The Neighbours Factfile. “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.”

The break never came to a close; Neighbours would be Gray’s final role.



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Mark Little, who played Gray’s onscreen son Joe Mangel in Neighbours, tweeted: “Legend many times over. I was privileged to know and work with her. We laughed a lot creating the Mangel Dynasty. RIP.”

Rick Maier, Network Ten’s head of drama, said: “Mrs Mangel and Mrs Jessup were two of our most iconic characters from one of our very best actors. Vivean’s contribution to Australian drama will never be forgotten. It is a very sad day for the Neighbours family.”

Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ executive producer, also praised the character: “Mrs Mangel was the ultimate busybody, remembered for her conservatism and her caustic wit. She was a true soap legend and we thank her for all the wonderful memories.”