In late 2001, Maggie got a call from a British journalist friend called Shelley Bovey. Described as a complete "Neighbours nut", Shelley wanted to know if it was possible to visit the set while she was in Melbourne. Maggie called Neighbours Casting Director Jan Russ to see if they could both come out to the studios which are just outside Melbourne in Nunawading, and Jan arranged for their visit.

When Maggie and Shelley arrived at the studios (the exact same studios where Maggie had filmed episodes of Prisoner) there was a big surprise in store....

Jan mentioned to Maggie that there was a role coming up and she was interested in her for the part. Being retired from the acting industry for a number of years and for various reasons, thinking she would hear no more about it, Maggie said "okay".

A few weeks later Jan was back on the phone and sent through a character breakdown for the role. The rest as they say is history - Maggie is back on Television and looking better than ever.

We first see the character of Rosie Hoyland in episode 3958 at the christening of Drew and Libby's baby, Ben. Maggie was delighted with the way her character came into the show, with her first scenes being filmed in a beautiful anglican church. The infamous rivalry between Harold Bishop (Ian Smith) and Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver) takes another turn for the worse as both men take an instant shine to Rosie, and boy, does she know it!

We gradually get to find out more bits and pieces about Rosie as the series goes on. We also get to meet some more members of her family; including her grand-daughter Summer, who all take up residence in 'Number 32' in Ramsay Street, which of course was home to the legendary Mrs Mangel, played by Vivean Gray.

Rosie enters the series at exactly the right time for characters Lou and Harold, who both seemed rather vulnerable and generally unhappy with the way life has treated them!

Rosie is seen as a welcome break in the monotony and both characters take an instant shine to her. Rosie is well aware that the two men like her, but she plays them off against each other. Although Lou is desperate to strike up more than friendship with Rosie, it appears Harold has really fallen for her in a big way. When Lou and Rosie get together it causes quite a bit if upset between the two old friends. Rosie explains to Harold that they can never be more than friends. However, Harold doesn't take the news well and everything seems to go downhill from there, including a warning from the owner of the Coffee shop that his tenancy is under review.

Much to Harold's dismay, Lou and Rosie become the latest romance in Erinsborough as the series hits episode 4000, with them dominating the events that take place. Lou comes to see Rosie at the church to bring her some flowers which have been left over, and then cunningly suggets that they go into the vestry so he can close the self locking door behind them. Unknown to both of them, the flowers have fallen over onto a candle and a fire has broken out in the main church. Elsewhere, The Scully family are preparing for Steph's wedding. Flick,(Holly Valance) is feeling guilty over her feelings for Stephs fiance Mark and goes for a walk to try and clear her head. She happens to stumble across the fire, and alerts emergency services. As the fire spreads, she becomes the hero of the hour as she moves into the church to see if Rosie may be trapped there. She manages to find them and they all manage to escape from the burning church.

Devastated after the fire, Rosie starts looking for some fund-raising ideas to get the church back to normal. Her ideas include a raunchy calendar featuring all of Ramsay Street's men - including Harold and Lou!! An interesting storyline involving hypnosis brings some of Rosie's past out into the open and we begin to find out more about her.

Rosie soon welcomes more of her family to Erinsborough, including her grandchildren Summer (Marisa Siketa) and Boyd (Kyal Marsh) who are later followed by their father Max, played by Stephen Lovatt, When Max arrives to see his children, it's evident that he doesn't see eye to eye with Rosie.

As the Hoyland family settled into Erinsborough, Rosie looked like she would be a part of the community for some years to come. However, Rosie continually found herself in trouble after her fundraising ideas didn't go down well with Bishop McDermot, who told her to abandon her plans.

The relationship between Rosie, Lou and Harold was one of the highlights of 2002 and gave rise to some exceptional performances from Maggie, Ian and Tom. It was refreshing to see three members of the senior cast involved in a gripping love triangle, and was a welcome break in the norm for fans of the show.

However, everything seemed to go downhill for Rosie when Ruby Dwyer came to Erinsborough. She makes friends with Harold after claiming to share the same interests as him, but Rosie is not convinced. Harold is having difficulty getting over his feelings for Rosie and joins a dating agency, He later develops a crush on Ruby, and it seems clear she feels the same way. In some touching scenes, Rosie watches Harold and Ruby become an item as she begins to realise her true feelings for him. Rosie confides in both Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewatha) and Susan Kennedy (Jackie Woodburne) about her feelings for Harold, and also about her belief that Ruby is out to cause trouble. At first it's unclear whther Rosie is jealous of Ruby and therefore more cautios, but her suspicions are confirmed when she finds out Ruby has a gambling addiction.

When Lou becomes ill with kidney failure, Rosie feels hurt when he rejects an offer of help. Harold is informed that he is suitable to donate a kidney to Lou, and he agrees to go along with the operation. Rosie visits both men in hospital as they wait to undergo the life saving operation. Rosie plucks up the courage to ask Harold about the relationship they could have had together, but Harold assures her he's happy now that he has found Ruby. Holding back the tears and trying her best to put on a brave face, Rosie smiles and does her best to pretend it's all in the past.

Her suspicions about Ruby resurface again when Harold began to lend her large amounts of money, and also when money went missing from her own handbag. After noticing Ruby emerging from a casino only days after Harold's burglary, Rosie admitted to him she thought Ruby was involved, to which Harold was furious. Later, things began to get very difficult when Ruby decided to confess everything to Rosie, knowing that in Rosie's capacity as miniter she would have to keep it in confidence. Hence Rosie was left with the agonising decision of telling Harold the truth or continuing with her vows to the church.

Ruby reports Rosie to the Bishop for breaking her confidence, and Rosie is close to ending her involvement with the church. Rosie begins to get reacquainted with her son Max, and they confide in each other about their problems. In her capacity as minister Rosie was also fortunate to be able to give out sound advice to family and friends, and was someone everyone is Ramsay Street admired and respected.

Ultimately, Rosie was on course to become the new matriarch in Neighbours, playing the part of the caring grandmother which Anne Haddy had spent years creating in the role of Helen Daniels, reinforcing the importance of such a character in the show.

Sadly, Maggie's one year contract on Neighbours was not renewed. Despite being an extremely popular addition to the 2002 cast, the producers decided to write her out. With the recent storlyline of Rosie betraying Ruby's trust, the Bishop suddenly informs Rosie that because of her recent behaviour it would be in her best interests to leave. In episode 4213, Rosie comes to see Max in Lou's Place and tell him she will be leaving to help out with cyclone relief in Papua New Guinea.

In a touching final scene with him, Max questions Rosie's decision but she remains certain that she should stay faithful to the church, and the recent experience with Ruby was a timely reminder of why she joined the church in the first place - to be of help to people. Having made Erinsborough her home, an emotional Rosie tells Max it won't be forever. He hugs her, and says he'll miss her very much, as will Summer and Boyd.

(Above): Maggie's last day filming Neighbours, ending with an emotional farewell

The news that Maggie would be leaving Neighbours came as a great shock to many fans of the show, who were enjoying her portrayal of Reverend Rosie. In response to the decision to axe the character, almost one thousand fans of Neighbours joined a campaign to Rescue Rosie. It seemed the fans weren't going to let her go without a fight! The campaign received great publicity in the UK and Australia and was supported by the BBC's Newsround website who covered the story.

For more details on the Rescue Rosie campaign, visit the Perfect Blend website for the full details.

Maggie has said she thoroughly enjoyed playing Rosie in Neighbours, and would have liked to continue with the role. She has thanked the huge number of fans who supported her and tried to save Rosie from the axe.

It remains to be seen whether Rosie will make a comeback, but with her daughter Izzy now in Ramsay Street and her relationship with Harold and Lou far from resolved, fans remain hopeful they will see her return to the show one day.

(Below): Maggie pictured in the grounds of the Neighbours studios on her last week on the show, with a bouquet of flowers sent from some of her fans in the United Kingdom.