Dennis 'didn't want to play Paul Robinson'

Stefan Dennis has revealed that he originally did not want to play Paul Robinson in Neighbours.

The Australian actor, who first played the character in 1985, is currently celebrating the 25th anniversary and the 6,000th episode of the show with the rest of the cast.

Dennis told Woman's Day magazine: "I was actually very reluctant to take the role. I was waiting for a role in a film, which I was positive I was going to get. But it was the old story of 'a bird in the hand' from my agent that convinced me to do it."

He also said that he still loves playing the soap's resident villain.

Dennis also remembers starring in the show at the same time as Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, saying: "Going to do shopping centre appearances with the cast was unbelievable.

"They would expect maybe 1,000 people, but anything between 5,000 and 10,000 people would turn up and all it would be was a cacophony of noise - just squealing and screaming. It was the Kylie and Jason show back then."