Coronavirus: Cast of Neighbours thank Portstewart fans

Thursday evenings are now a date in our diaries to stand at our front doors and applaud the key workers and carers during the coronavirus pandemic.

It is also a chance to see our neighbours. For some in Portstewart though, once a week is not enough.

Their now daily chorus has caught the attention of a well known group of neighbours on the other side of the world.

If lockdown has taught us anything, it's the value of family and friends.

But also, perhaps unexpectedly, it has brought those living side-by-side in streets across Northern Ireland closer together.

And if there is one place that has made the most of staying at home, it's Castleton Park in Portstewart.

It all started with one woman - Dorothy Lennox.

"I knocked [her neighbour] Elizabeth's door one morning because I felt down and depressed and said to her 'come on out here and dance with me for the NHS'.

"So she came out and she and I danced.

"We had no music or anything, we just danced and that is how it all started," said Dorothy.

Since then, the residents have stepped out of their houses at 10:30 every morning to sing and dance to various songs.

But one song in particular became their anthem to finish on.

"We all pick songs every day," Sarah-Jane Robertson said.

Sarah-Jane suggested the Neighbours theme tune because "it just fitted".

From there, it "sort of became our theme tune and we just finish with it every single day", she explained.

But little did they expect that a video of their daily chorus posted on social media would find its way across the world, catching the attention of the actual Neighbours cast in Australia.

"To all the wee folk of Castleton Park in Portstewart, this one's for you," was the message from actor Stefan Dennis, who plays Paul Robinson in the hit Australian soap.

"So thanks so much for all of your support and make sure you keep on keeping safe, okay?"

That message was followed by clips of some of the show's best known cast members dancing along and waving to their Portstewart fans.

They included actor Alan Fletcher, who plays Karl Kennedy, and Jackie Woodburne who plays his ex-wife Susan Kennedy.

Jackie Woodburne is originally from Carrickfergus - her family emigrated to Australia when she was a child.

Dorothy Lennox, whose experience of feeling low resulted in an unexpected high, told BBC News NI: "We got such a shock. It was brilliant!

"It is wonderful to think that they would be thinking of a wee town like ours and send a video through of their cast. It was very, very special - something we will always remember."

She added that Portstewart, albeit small, is a happy town.

"All up round here. All good neighbours. They would not let you down at any time," she said.

Whether it is across the world, or simply across a garden fence, a small gesture, a wave or a singsong with neighbours can make lockdown a little bit easier.