Eleanor "Elly" Conway (also Brennan) is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jodi Gordon. She was originally played by Kendell Nunn from her first appearance on 13 December 2001, until her departure in May 2002. Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role. The character was introduced as Susan Kennedy's (Jackie Woodburne) teenage niece, giving her instant connections within the show. Nunn said Elly had "a lot of attitude", while she was also billed as being rebellious and spirited. Elly did not like living in Ramsay Street, but she eventually befriends her neighbour Michelle Scully (Kate Keltie). A notable storyline for the character focused on her relationship with her estranged father Ian Conway (Peter Maver). When she gets in contact with Ian, he leads her to believe that Susan's husband Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) is actually her real father.
The character was reintroduced on 18 July 2016, with Gordon taking over the role. She was initially contracted for three years and chose not to relocate to Melbourne, where the show is filmed, as her family is based in Sydney. Gordon explained that since Elly's last appearance, she had trained as an English teacher. Elly is now portrayed as a feisty, unpredictable "free spirit". Gordon also said she used her outgoing persona to hide her insecurities. The character's early storylines saw her clash with her student Piper Willis (Mavournee Hazel) and later Stephanie Scully (Carla Bonner) when she flirted with Steph's partner Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor). Later storylines saw Elly miscarry after being bitten by a venomous snake, and establish an on-off relationship with Ned Willis (Ben Hall). Elly's housemate Angus Beaumont-Hannay (Jai Waetford) develops an obsessive crush on her and takes advantage of her twice, which almost causes her to lose her job and home. Producers introduced Elly's former boyfriend Finn Kelly (Rob Mills) in March 2017, which led to further exploration of her background.
In January 2020, Gordon announced that she would be leaving Neighbours. She filmed her exit scenes in April and Elly made her final appearance on 10 July 2020. Gordon reprised her role for the show's finale episodes in 2022, and returned again in November 2023 upon the soap's revival. Her final appearance aired on 28 December 2023, following Elly's wedding to Chloe Brennan (April Rose Pengilly).
Casting On 22 November 2001, Kylie Miller of The Age reported that Kendell Nunn had joined the cast as Elly, along with Blair McDonough as Stuart Parker. Nunn successfully auditioned for the role a year after being discovered by a model scout in August 2000. Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role. She had to complete her last year of high school while working on the serial, which she said was "a bit of a struggle." The show's producer Peter Dodds told Wendy Granditer of Inside Soap that Elly would have instant ties to the show as she would be introduced as the "rebellious niece" of Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne). Nunn made her first appearance as Elly during the episode broadcast on 13 December 2001.
Development Introduction and early storylines Elly is introduced as the teenage daughter of Susan Kennedy's sister, Liz Conway (Christine Keogh). The show's producer Peter Dodds stated that Elly's arrival in Erinsborough would occur at the same as her cousin, Libby Kennedy (Kym Valentine), goes into labour in "typically trying circumstances." It later emerges that Elly has been expelled from her school after she was caught smoking cannabis. Of Elly, Nunn said "She's a great character – she has a lot of attitude and sometimes gets on the wrong side of people." Nunn explained that Elly initially dislikes Susan's husband Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) because she has been without a father figure in her life. She also dislikes being in Ramsay Street. The official Neighbours website described the character as a "spirited teenager", as well as "smart, insightful and just a touch rebellious". During her time in Erinsborough, Elly befriends her cousin Darcy Tyler (Mark Raffety) and her neighbour Michelle Scully (Kate Keltie).
In one of her early storylines, Elly stays out late partying, angering Karl and Susan. Elly makes it clear that she does not intend to live by their rules. Nunn attributed this behaviour to a lack of discipline in Elly's life. She explained that her mother, Liz, let her do whatever she wanted, so she is not going to listen to Karl and Susan. The Kennedys know that Liz does not intend on returning to Australia to collect Elly, but she is unaware. Nunn stated "Elly thinks she's only staying for a short while – that either her mum will come back, or send her a ticket so she can join Liz in Europe. So she doesn't make much of an effort to get along with her aunt and uncle – she pushes them as far as she can." Elly's behaviour leads to Karl losing his temper and insisting that she abides by his rules or leave. Nunn said that Karl and Elly do not get along and they "rub each other up the wrong way" because of the lack of male figures in her life.
Towards the end of her stay with the Kennedys, Elly decided to meet with her estranged father. Karl tried to help and managed to get in touch with Ian Conway (Peter Maver), as he felt that Elly might settle down if she met with her father. However, Elly soon found out and contacted Ian herself to set up a meeting. When Ian arrived he insisted on having some time alone with Elly. Nunn told an Inside Soap columnist, "Once Karl and Susan have left the room, Ian tells Elly that he's not her dad but he knows who is. Then he comes out with it – her real dad is Karl!" Ian claims that Karl and her mother had an affair and Elly was born as a result. Elly was horrified by Ian's revelation, but the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Nunn thought that since Elly and Karl did not get along, part of her did not want it to be true. But because she wanted a family, she hoped that she did belong to Karl. When Elly looked into Karl's background and found out he had previously had an affair, she started to believe that he was her father. However, it was later revealed that Ian really was Elly's biological father.
Reintroduction
On 28 April 2016, Jonathon Moran of The Daily Telegraph reported that the character would be returning to the show with actress Jodi Anasta in the role. Anasta told Moran that she was "thrilled to be working" and said that her "biggest hurdle" was learning all of her scripts. She chose not to relocate to Melbourne, where the show is filmed, as her family is based in Sydney. She initially signed a three-year contract and made her first appearance as Elly on 18 July 2016. Anasta explained that in the character's fictional backstory, she has been living in Bondi and visiting her mother in Sweden. Elly has trained as a schoolteacher and has come to Erinsborough to teach alongside Susan. She thought Elly was different, as she had "gone through those young adult years where you test the boundaries."
Anasta described the older Elly as "fun, feisty", unpredictable and wild. She also called Elly "a free spirit" and thought she was "a bit of a tomboy". Anasta went on to say that while her character has many layers of naughtiness, she has "a heart of gold." Anasta thought Elly was a strong character, who often hides her insecure side with her "outgoing, positive personality". The actress told Daniel Falconer of FemaleFirst that Elly often goes out to party instead of focusing on her work. Anasta did not think she shared many of Elly's personality traits, such as her flirty and unpredictable side, but she thought that she did have some of Elly's strength. Anasta also compared Elly to her Home and Away character Martha MacKenzie, calling Elly "much more troublesome, and manipulative and vindictive than Martha; a lot more fiery and nasty." In the years away from Erinsborough, Elly has become an English teacher, like her aunt Susan. Anasta called Elly's teaching style unconventional, but thought she was "naturally gifted" at it. Anasta had trouble understanding how Elly manages to balance her job with her personal life, saying "I think it's because Elly is smart – she's a naturally good teacher – but she's also lazy and focuses on doing what she wants."
Elly returns to Erinsborough amid the high school formal and clashes with Piper Willis (Mavournee Hazel) over Tyler Brennan (Travis Burns). When Piper sees Elly talking to Tyler, Piper throws a drink over her, before learning Elly is her new English teacher. Of the incident, Anasta explained, "It's just some harmless flirting in Elly's eyes. From then on, their relationship is on a downward spiral. So I can tell you Elly won't be making friends with Piper!" Elly also got on the wrong side of Stephanie Scully (Carla Bonner) by flirting with her partner Mark Brennan (Scott McGregor). Anasta said Elly enjoys flirting with Mark, but had no intention of trying to take things further. She enjoys the company of all the Brennan brothers and develops a good friendship with them. Anasta also said that Elly would be accepted eventually, as people get to know her, and she would go on to make friends.
Elly moves in with Karl and Susan on Ramsay Street straight away. Anasta was pleased with the way Elly and Susan's relationship is portrayed, saying "Susan doesn't necessarily agree with the way Elly goes about things, but she doesn't judge her either." When asked by Sophie Dainty of Digital Spy what Elly and Susan's relationship was like, Anasta replied that they have a very mother/daughter relationship. Elly brings out Susan's "spicy side" and they have fun together, but Elly can also talk to Susan about her life. She also pointed out that there was an interesting contrast between Elly and Susan's teaching styles. Mark James Lowe of All About Soap observed that Elly appeared to be running away from something, and Anasta said Elly's past would be revealed in due course. She also told the show's official website that Elly had a broken heart and had some "personal issues to battle". The actress thought it would be "a big summer for Elly as she finds her place". She added that Elly would leave some fractured relationships in her wake, but she would also form some solid ones.
Snake bite and miscarriage Anasta teased Elly's first storyline, saying it would happen quickly and be "quite a big tragedy". She also said that it would be linked to Elly's past and give the audience more insight into the character. A week after her return, Elly is bitten by a venomous tiger snake on Ramsay Street. Elly had spent the day having several "run-ins" with Steph and they later begin arguing in the street, where Elly notices Nell Rebecchi (Scarlett Anderson) is about to come into contact with the snake. She manages to pick Nell up and get her out of the way, but the snake bites her instead. Anasta was worried that no one would want to help Elly, as she had upset a few of the other characters since her arrival, but she thought that the event showed them that she is not all bad. She stated, "I think what this whole scenario has shown is that Elly does have a good heart. What she did for Nell was quite heroic I think, and shows another side of Elly; that she puts others before herself." Anasta told the show's official website that she enjoyed working with the real snake during the storyline.