just tak
by Takaya Honda
The most fascinating conversations happen the moment the performance stops. Welcome to just tak., an unfiltered interview platform hosted by Australian actor Takaya Honda. After spending over a decade navigating the rigorous landscape of Australian television, Takaya is turning the microphone around to unmask the reality of the creative industry. Through long-form, intimate conversations with industry-leading actors, directors, and creatives, we explore the human instincts that drive the work. We discuss the reality of the daily grind, the politics of production, and the art of survival in a notoriously ruthless business. Whether you are an industry professional looking for tactical insight, or a fan wanting to hear the stories that never make it to the press release, just tak. delivers the reality behind the screen. No script. No character. Just the real story. Follow on just tak in your podcast app. Yo
Episodes
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miah madden | 41
Miah Madden joins Tak to talk growing up in the acting industry, studying law alongside a successful career and learning to live without needing everyone’s approval. She reflects on losing her father at a young age, the influence of her Aboriginal family and community, and starting work at just...
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only tak 2 (live bonusode) | 40.5
Tak goes rogue. And by rogue, we mean live. For Only Tak 2, Tak takes over the show completely, leaving Producer Tom with absolutely no way to edit him, cut around him or quietly remove anything he probably shouldn’t have said. No guest. No safety net. No edit. What could possibly go wrong? Note:...
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kate connick | 40
Kate Connick joins Tak for a chat about Neighbours, starting over in Australia, ambition, nepotism and learning to define success on her own terms. She talks about landing her first acting job as Fallon Morell, growing up with Harry Connick Jr. and Jill Goodacre, leaving LA, dating,...
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broadcaster rachel corbett | 39
Broadcaster, writer and podcaster Rachel Corbett joins Tak for a conversation about dementia, caring for both of her parents, family, career and finding contentment. Rachel spent almost two decades with dementia as a major part of her life, first with her mum and then, almost immediately...
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jessica redmayne | 38
Jessica Redmayne joins Tak for a deeply personal conversation about Home and Away, acting, grief and dementia. Fresh from her final episode as Harper Matheson, Jessica reflects on leaving Summer Bay, tackling a domestic violence storyline, losing her mum to younger onset dementia and the family...
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ben hall | 37
Ben Hall joins Takaya Honda to talk Pretty Woman: The Musical, Neighbours, Better Man and the relentless drive to keep improving. He opens up about life on tour, building chemistry with Samantha Jade, surviving live theatre disasters and the sacrifices required to make a living as an Australian...
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georgie stone oam | 36
Georgie Stone joins Tak for an honest and moving conversation about Neighbours, acting, trans representation and life after Mackenzie. She reflects on online abuse, advocacy, Harry Potter, finding her identity beyond the show and her upcoming move to London. What we get into: · Playing Mackenzie...
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shuang hu | 35
Shuang Hu joins Tak for a huge conversation about going from The Family Law to building a global audience of millions, generating more than 8 BILLION YouTube views, and taking control of her own career. What we get into: · Growing up Chinese-Australian in Townsville · Meeting Takaya on The Family...
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scott major | 34
Scott Major joins Tak for a funny, candid and wide-ranging chat about Heartbreak High, 17 years on Neighbours, acting, directing, indie filmmaking and what comes next for Australia’s creative industry. What we get into: Returning to Heartbreak High and playing Rivers again Why both generations of...
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madeleine west | 33
Madeleine West joins Tak for a raw, funny and wide-ranging conversation about Neighbours, surviving a near-fatal accident, rebuilding her identity, stand-up comedy, advocacy and the landmark Survivors Law. What we get into: * Motherhood and embracing the chaos * The landmark Survivors Law and why...
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only tak (live bonusode) | 32.5
Something a little different from Just Tak this week… No guest. No edit. Just Takaya, live on YouTube and answering your questions. In this special live episode, Tak takes questions from viewers around the world and chats all things Neighbours, Play School, acting and the realities of working in...
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debra lawrance | 32
Debra Lawrance joins Tak for a warm, candid and deeply personal conversation about Home and Away, Neighbours, Please Like Me, nearly 50 years in acting, learning to listen to her body, surviving the industry and the moment she finally became Debra rather than simply Pippa. What we get into: ·...
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actor george zhao | 31
George Zhao joins Takaya Honda for a funny, open and vulnerable chat about Ghosts Australia, The Family Law, acting, ego, imposter syndrome, identity, clown doctoring, almost quitting the industry and learning that casting is not a competition. What we get into: · George’s Logie nomination for...
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matthew backer | 30
Matthew Backer joins Takaya Honda for a funny, thoughtful and honest chat about Neighbours, Play School, acting, identity, bullying, coming out, casting, resilience and what it really means to bring yourself to the work. What we get into: · Playing Logan on Neighbours · Being labelled “the gay...
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nathan borg (curtis from neighbours) | 29
Nathan Borg was told more than once that acting probably wasn’t going to happen for him. He didn’t accept that. In this episode, Nathan talks to Takaya about growing up profoundly deaf, being bullied at school, landing Neighbours during COVID, and becoming the show’s first recurring actor with a...
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shane isheev (neighbours script producer) | 28
Shane Isheev joins Takaya Honda for a proper behind-the-scenes deep dive into the Neighbours writers’ room, life as a script producer, fan backlash, storylines that changed direction, and the wild plots that never made it to air. What we get into: · Going from Neighbours superfan to script…
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riley bryant (jj from neighbours) | 27
Riley Bryant joins Takaya Honda for a funny, thoughtful and emotional chat about Neighbours, school, anxiety, growing up through lockdowns, surviving one of the fastest sets in television and figuring out whether acting is still the life he wants. What we get into: · Playing JJ Varga-Murphy on...
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tim robards | 26
Tim Robards joins Takaya Honda for a funny, honest and surprisingly revealing chat about Neighbours, SAS Australia, Peloton, fatherhood, fitness, wine, acting and what success really looks like when life changes. What we get into: · Tim’s work with Peloton as an Australian guest instructor ·...
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presenter andrea mclean | 25
Andrea McLean joins Takaya Honda for a raw, generous and deeply honest conversation about leaving Loose Women, losing professional identity, financial collapse, shame, resilience and building a life after public failure. What we get into: Growing up in Trinidad and Tobago and returning to the UK...
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rob 'millsy' mills | 24
Rob Mills joins Takaya Honda for a warm, funny and refreshingly honest chat about fame, theatre, Neighbours, music, ageing, resilience and what it really takes to keep showing up in the creative industry. What we get into: Australian Idol and early fame Rob’s Neighbours era as Finn Kelly…
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actress charlotte nicdao | 23
Charlotte Nicdao joins Takaya Honda for a funny, honest and beautifully chaotic conversation about acting, ambition, friendship, motherhood, fame and Mythic Quest. Best known as Poppy Li in Apple TV’s Mythic Quest, Charlotte also reflects on voice work, upcoming film projects, her podcast At The...
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actor travis jeffery | 22
Travis Jeffery joins Takaya Honda for a raw, funny and deeply honest conversation about acting, ambition, grief, body transformation and learning that “making it” does not mean losing yourself. Best known for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Unbroken, Pirates of the Caribbean and Gallipoli,...
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olivia junkeer (yashvi from neighbours) | 21
Olivia Junkeer joins Takaya Honda for the first official episode of just tak, as the podcast steps into its new era. Best known to Neighbours fans as Yashvi Rebecchi, Olivia talks about life after Ramsay Street, moving to London, the chaos and heartbreak of growing up on set, the work that shaped...
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takaya honda (david from neighbours) | 20
Takaya Honda steps out from behind the microphone as Lucinda Cowden takes over hosting duties for a funny, revealing and fan-led chat about Neighbours, David Tanaka, fatherhood, representation, auditions, and what comes next for the podcast. What we get into: · Growing up in a high-achieving...
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we need to talk... | 19
Takaya Honda returns for the first Bin Night since Matt’s departure, opening up about the future of the podcast, what happens next, and whether Bin Night can really continue without one half of the original duo. Joined by producer Tom Sage, Tak puts it all on the table and calls on the Bin…
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morgan baker (callum from neighbours) | 18
Morgan Baker joins us for a funny and honest chat about growing up on Neighbours, life as Toadie’s son, and figuring out who he was beyond the show. What we get into: Starting Neighbours at just 10 years old, and why leaving at 17 was about more than walking away from a show. It was about backing...
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comedian brett blake | 17
Comedian and former Neighbours lighting technician Brett Blake joins Bin Night and brings absolute chaos with him. From his early days behind the scenes on Ramsay Street to life as a professional stand-up comedian, Brett shares the moments that shaped him — including a few that nearly finished…
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actor george burgess | 16
Tak & Matty step off Ramsay Street this week and sit down with George Burgess - from NRL powerhouse to rising force on the big screen 🎬🔥 What we get into: The transition from South Sydney Rabbitohs enforcer to rising actor, now sharing the screen with Ethan Hawke, Luke Hemsworth and Dan...
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liam maguire (rhett from neighbours) | 15
From missing out on one role to landing another, to real-life romance, throuple storylines and life after Ramsay Street, Liam Maguire gets properly honest about how Neighbours changed everything. What we get into: The full audition story, originally going for Logan, missing out, and how that...
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ben jackson (max from neighbours) | 14
Ben Jackson joins Bin Night to talk about landing the role of Max Ramsay on Neighbours, from catching the acting bug as a kid to surviving terrifying auditions and early stage mishaps. He shares behind-the-scenes stories from Ramsay Street and shows off his brilliant cast impressions. What we get...
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majella davis (krista from neighbours) | 13
This week on Bin Night, we’re joined by Majella Davis for a heartfelt and hilarious deep dive into the journey that took her from rural New South Wales to Ramsay Street. From twin sister dynamics and early band dreams to almost quitting acting altogether, Majella shares the real story behind the...
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lucinda cowden (melanie from neighbours) | 12
This week we’re joined by the brilliant Lucinda Cowden for a proper trip down memory lane. Expect Neighbours secrets, kids’ TV chaos, theatre, London life and a few stories she probably shouldn’t admit to. What we get into: Life as a kids’ TV presenter in the 90s… and the very accidental moment...
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sally-anne upton (vera from neighbours) | 11
From an extraordinary childhood journey to an acting career full of unexpected turns, Sally-Anne Upton reflects on the life experiences that shaped both her craft and her resilience as a performer. A wide-ranging, funny and deeply human conversation about chance, craft and the moments that no one…
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sara west (cara from neighbours) | 10
Sara West, best known to Neighbours fans as Cara Varga-Murphy, joins us in this episode of Bin Night with Tak & Matty. Sara opens up about her journey from being a “wayward kid” whose mum sent her to drama school to keep her out of trouble… to becoming an award-winning filmmaker and Logie…
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hannah monson (nicolette from neighbours) | 09
Hannah Monson (Neighbours’ Nicolette Stone) joins Takaya Honda (David Tanaka) and Matty Wilson (Aaron Brennan) for Bin Night, the Neighbours podcast for UK and Australian fans. In this episode, Hannah opens up about: the path into acting (Shakespeare first, singing absolutely not) her most…
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april rose pengilly (chloe from neighbours) | 08
April Rose Pengilly (Neighbours’ Chloe Brennan) takes the bins out with Takaya Honda (David Tanaka) and Matty Wilson (Aaron Brennan). Her fairytale wedding in a castle, backstage Kylie moments, growing up on tour with INXS royalty, plus what a Neighbours revival could really look like. In this...
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zima anderson (roxy from neighbours) | 07
Zima Anderson will flip you inside the octagon and dazzle you with her art in this wildly honest chat that swings from Ramsay Street chaos to MMA grit and a near-death SAS Australia fall. A special treat from our launch partner sponsors Beauty Boat… Zima (Roxy Willis), takes out the bins with...
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candice leask (wendy from neighbours) | 06
“You get so overwhelmed by, sh*t, now I actually have to act!” “I remember I was walking home from Moonee Ponds… and I got the email to say congratulations, you got the job,” Wendy says. Takaya Honda and Matty Wilson host Bin Night with Tak & Matty, the Neighbours podcast for UK and Australian...
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ryan moloney (toadie) | 05
Beekeeper. Commercial pilot. Eco-bunker baron. Leave your assumptions at the door, because the real Ryan Moloney (Neighbours’ Jarrod “Toadie/Toadfish” Rebecchi) has some serious layers. For 30 years, Ryan brought Toadie (and his undercuts) into our living rooms. Now he takes the bins out with...
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rebekah elmaloglou | 04
“I even got a call from Jason Herbison, our producer, asking if I’d stolen them!” Rebekah Elmaloglou is here to set the record straight. She did not steal coffee pods from the Neighbours set. The Kennedys’ couch however… “I was given the couch! I did not steal the couch,” Bek says. Bek…
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alan fletcher | 03
Alan “Fletch” Fletcher (Dr Karl Kennedy) says “everything was better” this last time around on Neighbours. He’s in the bin with Takaya Honda (David Tanaka) and Matty Wilson (Aaron Brennan), talking Karl & Susan Kennedy: why that relationship worked for decades (even with Karl’s… flaws), what the...
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stefan dennis | 02
No character, in the history of television, has ever schemed or been redeemed more often than Paul Robinson, played to dastardly effect by the one and only Stefan Dennis. SPOILERS AHEAD – this episode contains spoilers for the finale of Neighbours. So lock in because in this episode Stefan gets...
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annie jones (plain jane superbrain) | 01
As Neighbours ends and we say goodbye to Ramsay Street, Annie Jones – a.k.a. Plain Jane Superbrain / Jane Harris – joins Bin Night with Tak And Matty for one last emotional trip to Erinsborough. Annie is the hug you need as the lights go out on Neighbours for the very last time. She’s gorgeous,...
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don't forget bin night!
Bin Night is your unofficial Neighbours after party, where your favourite Ramsay Street couple wheel the bins out, talk trash and bicker like an old married couple. Hosted by Takaya Honda (David Tanaka) and Matty Wilson (Aaron Brennan), this is your direct line to all the goss about the show, the...
About this show
The most fascinating conversations happen the moment the performance stops.
Welcome to just tak., an unfiltered interview platform hosted by Australian actor Takaya Honda. After spending over a decade navigating the rigorous landscape of Australian television, Takaya is turning the microphone around to unmask the reality of the creative industry.
Through long-form, intimate conversations with industry-leading actors, directors, and creatives, we explore the human instincts that drive the work. We discuss the reality of the daily grind, the politics of production, and the art of survival in a notoriously ruthless business.
Whether you are an industry professional looking for tactical insight, or a fan wanting to hear the stories that never make it to the press release, just tak. delivers the reality behind the screen.
No script. No character. Just the real story.
Follow on just tak in your podcast app.
Yo
Hosted by
Takaya Honda