How do you film a soap opera in the age of the coronavirus, when kissing is banned, makeup is scaled back and extras are seen as a danger to everyone’s health?
TV producers around the world will be closely watching as "Neighbours” — Australia’s longest-running, globally popular serial drama — plows ahead with its demanding, five-day-a-week filming schedule, even as the pandemic has brought much of the world’s television industry to a grinding halt.
For actor Takaya Honda it was clear things would be different when he stepped back onto the set in Melbourne after the show took a four-week hiatus. He was greeted by fellow actor Sally-Anne Upton, who was dressed in protective medical gear, ready to check his temperature. It was no performance.