<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> External links </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Website </Th> <Td> tenplay.com.au/channel-eleven/neighbours </Td> </Tr> <P> Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera . It was first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985 . It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems together . Seven decided to commission the show following the success of Watson's Sons and Daughters, which aired on the network . Although successful in Melbourne, Neighbours underperformed in the Sydney market and struggled for months before Seven cancelled it . The show was immediately bought by rival network Ten . After taking over production of the show, the new network had to build replica sets because Seven destroyed the originals to prevent its rival from obtaining them . Ten began screening Neighbours on 20 January 1986, taking off where the previous series left off and commencing with episode 171 . Neighbours has since become the longest running drama series in Australian television and in 2005, it was inducted collectively into the Logie Hall of Fame . On 11 January 2011, Neighbours moved to Ten's digital channel, Eleven . </P> <P> The show's storylines concern the domestic and professional lives of the people who live and work in Erinsborough, a fictional suburb of Melbourne, Victoria . The series primarily centres on the residents of Ramsay Street, a short cul - de-sac, and its neighbouring area, the Lassiters complex, which includes a bar, hotel, cafe, police station, lawyers' office and park . Neighbours began with three families created by Watson--the Ramsays, the Robinsons and the Clarkes . Watson said that he wanted to show three families who are friends living in a small street . The Robinsons and the Ramsays had a long history and were involved in an ongoing rivalry . Pin Oak Court, in Vermont South, is the real cul - de-sac that has doubled for Ramsay Street since 1985 . All of the houses featured are real and the residents allow the production to shoot external scenes in their yards . The interior scenes are filmed at the Global Television studios in Forest Hill . </P>

When was the first episode of neighbours aired