Sky Mangel
Encyclopedia
Sky Mangel is a fictional character
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 from the Australian Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...

 soap opera Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera 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...

, played by Stephanie McIntosh
Stephanie McIntosh
Stephanie McIntosh is an Australian actress and singer. She is known for her role as Sky Mangel in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and her music career, which began with the release of her debut album Tightrope in September 2006.-Background:McIntosh attended Firbank and then Melbourne Girls...

. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 February 1989, played by Miranda Fryer
Miranda Fryer
Miranda Fryer is an Australian actress who played the part of Sky Bishop/Mangel in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 1989 to 1991.-External links:...

. McIntosh took over the role on 13 August 2003 when the character returned to the show. Sky made her final appearance on 3 August 2007.

Casting

Miranda Fryer was given the role of an infant Sky after she was spotted in a supermarket.

In December 2006, it was announced that McIntosh was to leave Neighbours. McIntosh told the show's producers that she wanted to move on when her contract expired in early 2007.

Same-sex kiss

In 2004, Lana Crawford
Lana Crawford
Lana Crawford is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Bridget Neval. She made her first appearance on 31 August 2004. Lana was introduced as Neighbours first openly lesbian character. During her tenure, Lana became friends with Sky Mangel and they shared the...

 (Bridget Neval
Bridget Neval
Bridget Neval is an Australian/Canadian actress. She has been in various television programs including Wicked Science but is most famous for her portrayal of Lana Crawford in Neighbours.-History:...

) was introduced to Neighbours. She was the soap's first ever openly gay character. Sky was seen by viewers becoming friends with Lana and they later shared Neighbours' first on-screen lesbian kiss.

After the kiss was shown in the G-rated timeslot, the storyline was attacked by radio callers and conservative groups for "making homosexuality look cool". Peter Stokes, chief executive of Christian group Salt Shakers said "It just saddens me that we give our young people the message that these relationships are OK". Ric Pellizzeri, Neighbours' executive producer, said the show was reflecting reality by becoming more contemporary. He said "We are not condoning or promoting homosexuality...ultimately, we're telling a story about tolerance". Pellizzeri also added that the kiss was as far as the show would go, but it would not be "dissuaded from telling stories about homosexuality".

Backstory

Sky was born in 1987 to Kerry Bishop
Kerry Bishop
Kerry Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Linda Hartley-Clark. She made her first on-screen appearance on 1 February 1989. Kerry is the only daughter of Mavis and Harold Bishop and sister to David Bishop. She gave birth to a daughter, Sky, and...

 (Linda Hartley-Clark) and Eric Jensen (John Ley
John Ley
-Life:He was born in Warwick 4 February 1583, and received his early education at the free school in that town. On 12 February 1602 he entered Christ Church, Oxford, and graduated B.A. and M.A. . Taking holy orders he was presented to the vicarage of Great Budworth, Cheshire, in 1616. He...

). Kerry wanted to settle down, but Eric decided he was not ready to commit to a family and left to continue being a hippy. When Sky was two, Kerry decided to take her to Erinsborough to meet her grandfather, Harold Bishop
Harold Bishop
Harold Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ian Smith. He made his first on-screen appearance on 30 January 1987. Smith was offered a role by Neighbours creator and executive producer Reg Watson...

 (Ian Smith
Ian Smith (actor)
Ian Smith is an Australian soap opera character actor and television screenwriter, best known today for his long-running role as the caring, kindly coffee shop owner Harold Bishop in the soap opera Neighbours....

). Kerry had been estranged from her father for a number of years. Harold was initially shocked to see Kerry and Sky, but Harold was happy to have a granddaughter. He invited Kerry and Sky to move in with him and his wife, Madge Bishop
Madge Bishop
Margaret Mary "Madge" Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Anne Charleston. She made her first on-screen appearance on 20 January 1986. Madge was one of the matriarchs of the Ramsay family. She departed in 1992, before making a return in 1996...

 (Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston
Anne Charleston is an Australian actress currently based in Galway, Ireland and the UK. She is known for her roles as Madge Bishop in the Australian soap opera Neighbours and Lily Butterfield in Emmerdale.-Early career:...

).

1989–1991

A few months after moving into Ramsay Street, Kerry married Joe Mangel
Joe Mangel
Walter Joseph "Joe" Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Mark Little. He debuted on-screen in the episode airing on 8 August 1988. Little later departed the serial and Joe left in 1991. In 2005 Little agreed to reprise the role as part...

 (Mark Little
Mark Little (Australian actor)
Mark Little , is an Australian actor, television presenter and comedian, born in Brisbane, Queensland.-Career:Little appeared in a string of Australian films and TV series during the 1980s. He also performed his own comedy/performance in Melbourne's burgeoning comedy clubs throughout the eighties...

) and Sky gained a father and a brother, Toby
Toby Mangel
Toby Mangel is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Geurens. He made his first on-screen appearance on 10 November 1988. Toby was originally played by Finn Greentree-Keane from 1988 until 1990...

 (Ben Guerens
Ben Guerens
Ben Geurens is an actor.-Biography:Geurens graduated from NIDA in 2004. At drama school his credits include The Return, Romeo and Juliet, Much Ado About Nothing and Who's Afraid of the Working Class.-Roles:Geurens is best known for playing suburban rascal Toby Mangel on the soap opera Neighbours...

). Joe and Kerry officially adopted both Sky and Toby. During a picnic with Harold and Kerry, Sky is bitten by a Redback spider. She is rushed to hospital, where luckily she survives. On few months later, Madge is knocked unconscious while she is looking after Sky, and a chip pan catches fire. Sky and Madge are saved by the family's pet dog, Bouncer
Bouncer (Neighbours)
Bouncer is a fictional Labrador Retriever from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours. He made his first on-screen appearance on 4 February 1987 and he exited the series on 12 February 1993 after six years...

, who answers the telephone and barks into it for help. In 1990, a pregnant Kerry is killed by a stray bullet while protesting against duck hunters. Sky was too young to realise exactly what had happened to her mother.

Shortly after Kerry's death, Eric shows up wanting custody of Sky. Joe fights Eric for Sky, but the court awards custory to Eric. Joe takes Sky and Toby, but realises that he cannot live his life on the run and returns Sky to Eric. Eric later allows Sky to return to Joe. Sky gains a mother figure in the form of Joe's new wife, Melanie Pearson
Melanie Pearson
Melanie Pearson is a fictional character from the Network Ten soap opera Neighbours played by Lucinda Cowden. She made her first appearance on 30 July 1987, and appeared initially from 1987 to 1991 when the character left the soap...

 (Lucinda Cowden). Joe, Melanie and Sky move to the countryside. Joe and Melanie later divorce and Sky grows up without a mother figure.

2003-2007

Joe gets engaged to his new girlfriend after she discovers she is pregnant and Sky has difficulty coping with the new additions to the family. She decides to go to Erinsborough to visit Harold. Harold believes Sky is a burglar, when she lets herself in through his back door. He barely recognises her as she is now a teenager. However, Sky reveals her true identity and Harold invites her to stay. Harold grew concerned when he thought he smelt Cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...

 in Sky's room, but Sky tells Harold that she had just been burning incense. Sky was hurt that Harold suspected her of taking drugs and he tried to make it up to her. Harold decides to introduce Sky to Boyd Hoyland
Boyd Hoyland
Boyd Hoyland is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Kyal Marsh. He made his first on-screen appearance on 5 June 2002...

 (Kyal Marsh
Kyal Marsh
Kyal Reese Marsh is an Australian actor. He was born in Clare, South Australia. He moved to Melbourne with his family when he was one year old.-Acting & modelling career:...

). Sky and Boyd bond and begin hanging out together.

Sky has a hard time settling in at Erinsborough High School as her blue hair and dress sense make her stand out. Erin Perry (Talia Zucker
Talia Zucker
-Biography:She also played the role of Claire Jardine in the ABC series Dirt Game with Joel Edgerton and Gerald Lepkowski in 2009. Talia appeared as a guest character in the Australian drama series City Homicide and played a lead role in the children's series Scooter: Secret Agent and Legacy of the...

) bullied and teased Sky about her appearance. Erin and her friends later knock over a portable toilet that Sky was in at the school formal. Sky and Boyd's friendship caused embarrassment for him at school and he once denied he was friends with her. Sky was hurt, but Boyd kisses her in front of the school. Sky and Boyd eventually lose their virginity to each other.

Sky's uncle David
David Bishop (Neighbours)
David Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Kevin Harrington. He made his first on-screen appearance on 12 May 1988, arriving for his father's wedding. David, along with his wife and daughter, returned in 2003...

 (Kevin Harrington), his wife Liljana
Liljana Bishop
Liljana "Lil" Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Marcella Russo. She made her first on-screen appearance on 9 October 2003...

 (Marcella Russo
Marcella Russo
Marcella Russo is an Australian actress who is best known for playing Liljana Bishop in the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 2003 until 2005, when her character was killed off in the Neighbours plane crash....

) and their daughter Serena
Serena Bishop
Serena Bishop is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Lara Sacher. She made her first on-screen appearance on 9 October 2003. Serena's storylines included kissing her cousin's boyfriend, being taken advantage of by a photographer and starting an incestuos...

 (Lara Sacher
Lara Sacher
Lara Sacher is an Australian actress who played Serena Bishop on the Australian soap opera Neighbours from 2003 to 2005.- Biography :...

) move in with Sky and Harold, while their new house is being built. Sky tries to stop Serena sneaking out to a night club, but ends up going with her. Sky and Serena argue and Sky is followed by a guy who tries it on with her. Sky runs home and is caught and grounded by Harold, while Serena watches. Sky comes face to face with John Swan (David Murray), the duck hunter who shot her mother. Sky follows him to the wetlands to confront him. David goes with her and she attacks John. John explains that he does not hunt anymore and returns to the wetlands to remember Kerry. Sky then changes her image and reverts back to her blonde hair.

Lana Crawford (Bridget Neval) begins working at the Coffee Shop and enrolls at Erinsborough High. Sky and Lana fight and they are placed in detention together. Sky and Lana gradually get to know each other better and they become friends. During a sleepover one night, Lana, having read too much into Sky's friendly feelings for her, kisses Sky. Sky is shocked and Lana runs away. Lana later admits to Sky that she is a lesbian. They later create a cartoon strip together and sell it to an underground gay magazine. When Lana tells her she is leaving, Sky impulsively kisses her. Boyd finds out about the kiss and dumps Sky. They get back together with the help of Serena. Lana leaves for Canada, but stays in touch with Sky.

Sky and Boyd's relationship breaks down when Sky finds out that Boyd kissed Serena. Sky then begins dating Dylan Timmins
Dylan Timmins
Dylan Kim Timmins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Damien Bodie. He made his first on-screen appearance on 3 February 2005. Dylan is the older brother of Stingray, Janae and Bree Timmins. Dylan became the protégé of Paul Robinson...

 (Damien Bodie
Damien Bodie
Damien Bodie is an Australian actor.-Biography:Bodie was educated at Sandringham Secondary College and is best known for his role as Dylan Timmins on the Australian television series Neighbours . Bodie played the role of Oscar in the television series Short Cuts which won three awards in 2002...

). Sky and Dylan begin working together to stop corporate giant Affirmacon from turning Erinsborough into a giant shopping mall. Sky joins Dylan, David, Liljana and Serena in a joy flight to celebrate twenty years of Lassiters. While the plane is crossing the Bass Strait, a bomb goes off and the plane goes down. Sky and Dylan survive, but David, Liljana and Serena are killed.

Sky attends art classes at Eden Hills University and becomes attracted to her art teacher, Jean-Pierre Valasco (Steven Cabral). She sleeps with him and Dylan finds out. The couple break up. This leaves Sky depressed and sleeps with Dylan's brother Stingray
Scott Timmins
Scott John "Stingray" Timmins is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Ben Nicholas. He made his first on-screen appearance on 11 March 2004. The character died on 22 March 2007.-Casting:...

 (Ben Nicholas
Ben Nicholas
Benjamin Nicholas is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Scott "Stingray" Timmins in the Australian soap opera Neighbours.-Biography:...

). Shortly after, she discovers that she is pregnant. Sky realises that the baby could be Stingray's. Sky asks Dylan if they can get back together. Dylan tells his girlfriend, Elle Robinson (Pippa Black
Pippa Black
Pippa Black is an Australian actress. From 2005 to 2009, Black played Elle Robinson in the soap opera Neighbours. Black played Tonya in the NBC series Outsourced from 2010 to 2011.-Career:...

) that he is thinking of getting back together with Sky. Elle then fakes an illness, so Dylan stays with Elle until he discovers the truth.

Sky is scared as she is lying about the baby's father. Dylan tells Sky he loves her and they kiss. Dylan later asks Sky to marry him and she accepts. Sky faints and is taken to the hospital. She tells Dylan the truth about the baby and Dylan ends their engagement. Dylan then gets back together with Elle. While Sky is in hospital, she shares a room with Carmella Cammeniti
Carmella Cammeniti
Carmella Cammeniti is a fictional character from the Australian Network Ten soap opera Neighbours, played by Natalie Blair. She appeared on a recurring basis from 2003-05, then became a main character from 2006-08, before making a final guest appearance in 2011...

's (Natalie Blair
Natalie Blair
Natalie Louise Blair is an Australian actress, best known for her role as Carmella Cammeniti on Neighbours, an Australian TV series.-Career:...

) cousin, Teresa (Hannah Greenwood
Hannah Greenwood
Hannah Greenwood is an Australian stage and television actress, best known for starring as Saskia Litras in the Australian children's television series Noah and Saskia.-Background:Greenwood currently lives in Melbourne, Australia...

). Teresa plans to steal Sky's baby after she is born to replace the baby she lost. Sky gives birth to a daughter, who she names Kerry after her mother. Teresa sets fire to the hospital and Sky is moved to another wing. Sky realises that Kerry is missing. However, it emerges that Stingray took Kerry and passed out because he was drunk. Dylan finds them and he takes Kerry, but Elle returns her to Sky anonymously.

Karl tells Sky that Kerry is more developed than he thought and that there is a chance that Dylan is her father. It is later proven that Dylan was Kerry's father and Sky considers reporting Karl to the Medical Board. Sky and Dylan become friends again. Sky begins a relationship with Stingray. Kerry is diagnosed with leukemia and Stingray is a bone marrow match. Sky has visions that Stingray is going to die and she organises a commitment ceremony for them. Stingray later dies at his mother's birthday party, from an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...

.

Sky starts seeing spiritualist, Terrence Chesterton (Scott Johnson
Scott Johnson (actor)
-Biography :Scott is a 1996 graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney. Since graduation, he has combined stage acting with various roles in Australian television and films....

), who is running a scam with his partner, Charlotte Stone (Rachel Gordon
Rachel Gordon
Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon Rachel Gordon (born 10 May 1976 in Brisbane, Australia is an actress.Gordon is a 1996 graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney. Since her graduation, she has combined stage acting with various roles in Australian television and films.In late...

). Sky becomes suspicious about Terrence and tells him a fictional story about Stingray. Terrence responds as if it really happened and Sky discovers the truth. She confronts him and as he grabs her, she hits him over the head. He falls unconscious and Sky runs off. Charlotte finds Terrence and kills him, framing Sky. Sky is jailed for murder. Sky is freed from jail after Boyd tricks Charlotte into confessing the truth about Terrence. Sky meets the recipient of Stingray's heart, Caleb Maloney (Nick Russell) and she grows close to him. Sky decides to move to Port Douglas, so that Kerry can be closer to Dylan. Boyd decides to go with her and they depart together. Harold later mentions that Sky is 6 months pregnant.

Reception

For her portrayal of Sky, McIntosh was received a nomination for "Most Popular New Female Talent" at the 2004 Logie Awards. In 2006, she received the "Fave Female Hottie" award at the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards
The Australian Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards is an annual awards show which awards entertainers with a blimp trophy, as voted by kids. The show is usually held during October or November and a televised show is produced, touted as the biggest party for kids on the planet.-Host Cities:* 2003 -...

.

Describing Sky, media company Virgin Media
Virgin Media
Virgin Media Inc. is a company which provides fixed and mobile telephone, television and broadband internet services to businesses and consumers in the United Kingdom...

 said "As Harold's eccentric granddaughter, Sky Mangel spent her time on Ramsay Street dating Boyd Hoyland, becoming an artist and having a baby with Stingray Timmins. Phew." In a separate feature, Virgin placed Sky's 2003 return to the show at number ten on their "Soap Comebacks" list. In 2007, Australian newspaper the Herald Sun
Herald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...

 placed Lana and Sky's kiss at number nine on their list of Neighbours Top Ten moments. They said "It's rare that Neighbours attracts the attention of the shock jocks around the country, but that's what happened when Sky Bishop, played by Stephanie McIntosh, gave Lana, played by Bridge Neval, a kiss. Sky was exploring her sexuality and the scene was one of the most talked about ever in the press. Lana left Erinsborough and Sky has gone on to be an unmarried mum".

In 2010, to celebrate Neighbours' 25th anniversary Sky
British Sky Broadcasting
British Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland....

, a British satellite broadcasting company profiled 25 characters of which they believed were the most memorable in the series' history. Sky is included in the list and the company state: "Sky was a classic soap child who left for a few years and came back far more attractive. It's little wonder that she became the focus of a teen brigade including Dylan, Stingray, Boyd and Serena, not to mention that brief lesbian period with Lana. With her beloved Grandpa Harold on hand to dispense advice when she variously lost her family, got pregnant, and lost the father of her baby, Stingray, she brought sunny confidence to her regular visits to the funeral home". To celebrate Neighbours 6000th episode in August 2010, TV Week
TV Week
TV Week is a weekly television magazine in Australia, first published as a Melbourne-only publication in December 1957 , and bearing a strong affiliation to television station GTV.The publication is still publishing weekly...

put together a list of the top 25 Neighbours characters. Sky was included in the list and the magazine said "With a teenage pregnancy, a penchant for activism and a same-sex affair, Sky was never boring".
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