Elly Conway

Eleanor Leanna Rose "Elly" Conway made her first screen appearance on 13 December 2001.[33] The character was initially played by Kendell Nunn, and Neighbours marked Nunn's first television role.[33] The show's producer Peter Dodds told Wendy Granditer of Inside Soap that Elly would be introduced as the "rebellious niece" of Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne).[34] Of her arrival, he said "Elly arrives just in time to see her cousin, Libby Kirk, go into labour under typically trying circumstances."[34] Nunn thought Elly was "a great character" and said she had lots of attitude, which would get her on the wrong side of certain people.[33] A writer for Neighbours.com added that Susan and Karl (Alan Fletcher) would have their work cut out for them trying to keep Elly out of trouble, adding that she was "smart, insightful and just a touch rebellious".[33]

In early 2002, Elly decides to meet her estranged father.[35] Karl decided to get in touch with Ian Conway (Peter Maver) because he felt that meeting her father would settle her down. However, Elly found out and called Ian herself to set up a meeting.[35] When Ian arrived he insisted on time alone with Elly. Nunn explained "Once Karl and Susan have left the room, Ian tells Elly that he's not her dad but he knows who is. Then he comes out with it – her real dad is Karl! Ian says that Karl and her mum, Liz, had an affair years ago and Elly is the result!"[35] Elly was horrified by the news, but as she thought about it, it started to make sense. Nunn told an Inside Soap writer that as Elly and Karl did not get along, there was a part of her that did not want it to be true. But she wanted a family, so there was a part of her that hoped she belonged to Karl.[35] When Elly looked into Karl's background and found out he had an affair, things started to fall into place for her. However, it was later revealed that Ian really was Elly's father.[35]

A writer for the BBC said Elly's most notable moment was "Asking Karl if he was her real father."[36] Kylie Miller of The Age branded Elly a "likeable delinquent."[37] Michael Idato of The Sydney Morning Herald criticised Nunn's acting ability and her debut performance on Neighbours, saying "Every now and again an actor comes along who delivers her lines with such appalling imprecision that you are rendered speechless by the  performance. It's the same state of disbelief brought about by outstanding performances, but it differs mainly in that it is combined with a knitting of the eyebrows and an urge to summon other people to the TV set to share in the dreadfulness of the moment. In this case, the  actor's name is Kendell Nunn and the production presumably was running so far behind they had neither the time to (a) rehearse nor (b) do a second take. On the Richter scale of drama debuts, she ranks about an 0.2."[38] Idato went on to say that her arrival is underwhelming and Elly is a "hybrid of the brazen-hussy-troublemaker and dumped-by-a-disinterested-mum character types that seem to reproduce like rabbits on soaps."[38] Roz Laws, writing for the Sunday Mercury, dubbed Elly a "troublesome teen".[39]

On 28 April 2016, Jonathon Moran of The Daily Telegraph reported that the character would be returning to the show with actress Jodi Anasta in the role.[40] Anasta splits her time between Melbourne, where the show is filmed, and Sydney, where her family is based. She initially signed a three-year contract and made her first appearance as Elly on 18 July 2016.[40][41] Anasta told Moran that she was "thrilled" to be working and said that her "biggest hurdle" was learning all of her scripts.[40] Elly is now a school teacher, like her aunt Susan, and Anasta described her as "fun, feisty" and unpredictable.[40] She added, "she is an English teacher, which is amazing because I get to play out one of my childhood dreams of being a teacher and I get to have fun and be a little bit naughty. She is a little bit wild and has an unconventional way of teaching so all these great layers of naughtiness but with a heart of gold."[40] Elly's first scenes saw her return amid the Erinsborough High formal and clash with Piper Willis (Mavournee Hazel) over Tyler Brennan (Travis Burns).[41]