The first episode introduced the members of the Ramsay and Robinson families as well as bachelor Des Clarke, and his soon-to-be wife and former stripper Daphne Lawrence.
Myra De Groot joined the cast as Des's mother, Eileen and Maxine Klibingaitis arrived as plumber's assistant, Terry Inglis.
Philip Martin began appearing from June and his children, Debbie and Michael, arrived in July and October respectively.
George Young and con man Douglas Blake, played by Anne Haddy's real-life husband James Condon, made their first appearances in September.
[1] Max lived at No.24 with his wife, Maria (Dasha Bláhová) and their sons, Shane (Peter O'Brien) and Danny (David Clencie).
[10] In her review of the serial, Jacqueline Lee Lewis of The Sydney Morning Herald felt Bláhová "gives a particularly sensitive performance" as Maria.
When Danny turns eighteen, Maria tells Max that when she found him with another woman on their wedding anniversary, she ran away to a country inn, where she met Tim Duncan (Nick Carrafa).
O'Brien auditioned for the role of Shane twice in 1984 and following the cancellation of medical series Starting Out, he was cast as the older Ramsay brother.
[21] Shane was described by Network Ten as a "very together guy, despite being deprived of a normal childhood because of his father's obsession with his diving training".
[29] Of filming the scenes, she stated "When I return to the series I cry a lot and experience a huge amount of emotional upset.
[30][31] While Kim is in a relationship with Scott Robinson, she keeps it a secret from her mother, Marcia Taylor (Maureen Edwards), knowing she will not approve.
Danny Ramsay (David Clencie) and his friend Eddie Sherwin (Darren Boyd) reveal the relationship when they play a practical joke.
Marcia, who teaches at Erinsborough High, forces the boys to play the tape in class, embarrassing Kim and Scott.
Scott realises that there is something wrong with Kim and she admits that she is hiding from a man named Brad (Rick Ireland), who is allegedly the father of the child she is expecting.
Kim returns to Erinsborough thirty two years later to visit her sons David and Leo Tanaka, who want to know who their father is.
De Groot was only supposed to be in Neighbours for a week, but she thought Eileen was too interesting to be allowed to leave and wrote an expanded character and took it to the producers.
[33] In their backstory, it details that Malcolm left Eileen and had another child Sally Wells (Rowena Mohr) and again abandoned his family.
Des takes Daphne on honeymoon and leaves Eileen to look after his house and care for their teenage charge, Mike Young (Guy Pearce).
Nell Mangel (Vivean Gray) reads Eileen's tea leaves for her and reveals that a younger man is soon going to enter her life.
Eileen begins dressing younger to attract a young man and becomes convinced that Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) is her admirer.
Philip is the husband of Loretta (Lyn Semler) and father to Debbie (Mandy Storvik) and Michael (Sam Hammington).
Cassell had sworn off joining another long-running series following a run of bad luck with several projects, including the short-lived Taurus Rising.
[39] He had become known for his "tough guy" image and found the Neighbours role surprising as there was a comedic element to it, an area Cassell was keen to work in.
[39] George becomes a love interest for Des's mother Eileen Clarke (Myra De Groot), who also takes "a bit of a shine to him".
Cassell explained that Eileen initially acts coyly around him, but when they begin dating, she becomes bossy, which George does not mind because he was married for 20 years and was used to being bossed around.
[40] His character was introduced as a love interest for Helen Daniels, played by Condon's real life wife Anne Haddy.
"[40] Haddy told Jenny Cooney (TV Week) that Helen regularly shows her art at the local bank, where it catches Douglas's eye.
"[40] Haddy also said that she and Condon, as well as the viewers, would not know the outcome of Helen and Douglas's romance until the release of the scripts, which were being rewritten due to the serial ending early.
Helen admits that things are moving too quickly for her, but she realises that it might be her last chance for happiness and they start making wedding plans.
Jim breaks the news to Helen, who is furious that Douglas had broken her heart and left the family with financial problems.