“Neighbours” Gay Couple Take Out The Trash With New Podcast
With Aussie soap Neighbours finally ending, it’s time to say goodbye to some favourite Ramsay Street residents. Many have featured as Straight Mates, including Tim Robards and Matt Wilson, who graced our cover.
Wilson, as Aaron Brennan, along with his screen partner Takaya Honda as partner David, made headlines as the first gay characters to be married on Australian television. But while their characters have gone, the actors are back in a weekly podcast called Bin Night With Tak And Matty. As Wilson explains, it’s keeping the Neighbours flame alight.
DNA: How did the podcast come about?
Matt Wilson: During the covid lockdown, Takaya hosted a podcast called Tak Talks in which he interviewed various Neighbours cast members. It was a way to catch up with everyone, and when Neighbours was ending, we wondered, “Where do we, and all our friends, go? We realised we have special access to all our interesting friends and created a platform for conversations. Things like favourite and worst moments, what they got out of the show, sharing moments we all had together and funny bits that never made the cut.
What storylines would you happily ‘bin’?
There was one where Aaron had to reveal he’d had pec implants. Xanthe (Lilly Van der Meer) wasn’t feeling confident and wanted cosmetic surgery, and he had to talk her out of it by his own experience. I said, “Guys! You can’t just throw that on me!”
“We’d wear a cock sock, and it’s exactly as it sounds!”
During the run, you had a few nude scenes!
There was a lot of skin! I swear those calls came from the network. My theory is that the network would call and say, “Ratings have dropped. Give us some skin!” And they always threw in Aaron and David! (Laughs). We’d wear a cock sock, and it’s exactly as it sounds! Nothing’s left to the imagination.
If memory serves correctly, you had a tattoo on your arse.
(Laughs) I do have a tattoo on my arse. I got it at Schoolies (Spring Break) when I was 17. But no one will ever know what it means because I don’t remember getting it!
Take us back to the same-sex marriage story between Aaron and David. How was it embraced?
It was one of the biggest moments of our careers and for Australian television. At the time, it took me by surprise. We had so much work in front of us, there wasn’t a chance to sit back and think, “Whoa! This one is going to hit hard”. We filmed it before same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia, and then the new law was passed, so it had this weight to it. They say that famous people have a presence, but so did this story. It had such magnitude. Even the word iconic isn’t enough to describe it. Aaron and David’s costumes are now in the Melbourne Museum. It’s marked in time!
In terms of podcast guest stars, are we talking possibly Margo Robbie, Guy Pearce or Kylie Minogue?
We have a joke called “Mission Margo”, where we’ll keep climbing the ladder until we get her. We also intend to do a tour podcast in the UK. Margo might be listening!
On the podcast, will you also discuss your personal career and family life?
Takaya and I both have babies close in age, and even though we live 2000 km apart, we help each other out by discussing our lives and parenting. Tak works with Dementia Australia, and I volunteer with Wildlife Noosa. I help when whales are caught in shark nets, and koalas are found dehydrated. There are loads of snakes too! I’m about to do a course in snake handling! We have more and more stories each week.
Neighbours recently made headlines because of set props circulating in Melbourne op shops. Did you score a prop?
I have a few items from Aaron’s wardrobe, including his wedding ring. That was quite special. I wonder if those props are still available in the op shops. Maybe we could do a giveaway on the podcast!
Follow their YouTube @takandmatty, Instagram, and all major podcast apps
