Christina Alessi (also Robinson) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Gayle Blakeney.

In 1989, sisters and television presenters Gayle and Gillian Blakeney were cast as twins Christina and Caroline Alessi respectively,[1] after they wrote to the show's producers at Grundy about making an appearance.

[1] The Blakeneys had an interest in twin psychology at the time, and they worked with the scriptwriters to make sure their characters were portrayed as authenticate as possible.

[1] The sisters' fictional backstory was detailed in both Anthony Hayward's The Who's Who of Soap Operas and Josephine Monroe's The Neighbours Programme Guide.

[4] The twins' differing personalities were also shown through their dress sense, with Christina adopting a "casual, girlie" style in contrast to Caroline's business suits.

Blakeney told Donna Hay from What's on TV that "were both actors so we didn't have any trouble separating the script from real life.

"[8] In December 1990, a writer from TV Week revealed that scriptwriters were planning a series of relationship issues for Christina and Paul, which would play out in early 1991.

They stated the relationship would be "tested severely" and "jealousy rears its head" when Christina accepts a blind date with another man.

Christina fears that she will give birth at the road side but they hitchhike in a passing ice cream van and make it to the hospital.

"[8] Christina gives birth to a son, Andrew (Shannon Holmes) and Paul is left annoyed that his plans were ruined.

One altercation leaves Amy in need of medical care when she runs in front of Paul's reversing car and is knocked down.

She added that Caroline did not want to betray her sister but may regret not exploring her feelings for Paul if he and Christina broke-up anyway.

Gayle told Twomey that if Christina discovered the truth "she would go off the rails, she'd be deeply hurt that her husband and her sister had betrayed her.

[14] He enlists the help of Gaby Willis (Rachel Blakely) who pretends to need Christina to model a dress design for one of her clients.

Of the restaged marriage, Dennis added "the whole thing certainly brings Paul and Chrissie closer and seals the bond for their future years together.

[16] Of their return to the serial, Gayle Blakeney stated, "We were tickled pink to be asked back and we knew if they wanted to reprise the characters after so long, it had to be for a great storyline – which it is.

Caroline begins working for Paul at The Robinson Corporation and proved to be good at the job, unlike Christina.

The police eventually caught the murderer after he appeared in Ramsay Street after tracking the twins down, and they were able to go back to being themselves.

[19] Their marriage falls apart in the intervening years when Paul returns to Australia to serve a seven-year-prison sentence for fraud, and they later divorce.

When Andrew (now Jordan Patrick Smith) arrives in Erinsborough to see his father, he tells Paul that after living in Scotland for eight years, he and Christina eventually settled down in Sydney.

Years later, Paul finds Christina and Caroline at a resort in Queensland, where he and his fiancée Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou) have eloped to.

Paul soon learns from Caroline that the wives are part of a plot orchestrated by his daughter Elle Robinson (Pippa Black).

Christina and Caroline act as witnesses for the wedding and they decide to spend some time together before returning to their respective homes.

James Cockington from The Sydney Morning Herald branded the story as a "contrived" effort and raunchy plot ploy designed to beat rival soap opera Home and Away in television ratings.

[22] A critic for the Hull Daily Mail was not a fan of the character, writing "drippy Christina (Gayle Blakeney) is so wet you could wring her out.

Christina has only just come back from seeing her sister in Milan, after leaving Paul holding the baby, and when she returns expects him to hand it over and move out of their home so she can live there.

"[23] An Inside Soap writer opined that Christina was not as smart as Caroline but the more "dim, slightly podgier twin".

"[14] Kate Randall from Heat included Christina and Caroline in the magazine's top ten Neighbours characters of all time feature.