Neighbours superfan has watched every single episode for 30 years

Kerry Sturgeon has watched over seven-thousand episodes - totalling over 3,500 hours or 210,000 minutes - a whopping 145 days of her life.

She says she loves the Aussie soap so much that she has never been on holiday in her whole life - as she’s terrified she’ll miss an episode.

The mum-of-three tuned the timer of her VCR everyday throughout the years and did not even let giving birth stop her from tuning into the drama of Ramsay Street.

Kerry, 42, of Wakefield, said she began watching Neighbours - which has now celebrated its 30 year anniversary - when she was in school and fell in love with the happy-go-lucky characters.

The soap was first broadcast in Australia in 1985 and 30 years on it’s still going strong after being broadcast to more than 50 countries around the world.

Kerry said: “I’ve never missed an episode. Not a single one.

“I started watching it in school. We would come home and have our tea and watch Neighbours.

“My favourite character of all time was Cheryl Stark. I absolutely loved her.

She was so funny and she was never sad. She was my favourite. She was just happy, loud and outrageous.

She said: “When she first came into the show she had won the lottery and she was buying these big boats that were in Ramsay Street.”

Kerry and husband Mark, 52, have been together for 27 years and despite having three boys the couple have stayed faithful to the soap.

She said: “Neighbours makes me laugh so much. I love the relationship between Karl and Susan Kennedy.

“Karl and Susan have divorced so many times. I don’t like to see them apart. I adore that couple. I don’t like it when they split.

“I like to see them as me and my husband, so I hate it when they break up. I end up in floods because I don’t want to imagine it happening to us. Karl

only has eyes for Susan really.

“My husband and I have been together for 27 years and we have always watched it together. I got him hooked on it when we met and now he can’t miss an episode either.

“Going into labour never stopped me because it was always videos. I remember having to set a timer on the video player. I would set it for half past one until half past two so I didn’t miss it.

“I knew if I set it for a whole hour I would definitely have it all recorded.”

The school catering assistant, who has three sons - Andrew, 25, Matthew, 20, and Casey, 18 - said she has never been on holiday in her life and would prefer being at home watching Aussie soap.

She said: “I absolutely adore it. It’s just so happy. I watch Eastenders as well and it can get quite depressing.

“I have never been on holiday. Never, ever. They freak me out because I’m such a home bird. I would much prefer to get tea ready and watch Neighbours. I’m

a creature of habit.

“I would love to meet the cast and see all of my favourite characters in real life.

They would have to come to me because I would never be able to go all the way to Australia and miss the show.

“My sons don’t watch it religiously like me and my husband. All three boys know what’s going on. They wouldn’t make sure they were home in time for it.”

Kerry said she has watched the soap for so long that she feels like she knows the characters and at times the storylines have mirrored her own life.

She said: “There was a recent storyline with Jason Donovan’s dad who has become ill and my dad has gone the same way. That’s been hard to watch.

“I have watched Toadie since he was a child. I’ve seen him grow up.

“Paul Robinson was in the beginning. I love Paul because he has got a heart of gold but he plays nasty so well. Now Harold is back and even Madge is back.

“I love it. It’s so feel good. I always remember all the characters. I feel like I know all the characters.”

The superfan also fell in love with Scott and Charlene who entered the Aussie soap in 1986.

The wedding of Scott and Charlene Robinson - played by Jason Donovan and pop princess Kylie Minogue - was watched by some 20 million people in the UK when it was broadcast in November 1988.

Kerry said: “I loved Scott and Charlene. I so wanted to be Charlene. I loved her. She was a tomboy but then she would look so lovely when her hair was done.

“I remember watching their relationship grow and they were just the best sweethearts ever.”

The mum-of-three has used video players to record her beloved soap over the years but says her digital box has revolutionised her viewing.

She added: “I would be lost without series link. It’s revolutionised everything. I never watch it on first look though; I just watch that day’s episode.

“My husband is a driver so he gets home in time and likes to have a shower first while I get the tea ready. We have our tea on our lap and Neighbours on.”