Ben Norris talks returns, departures and Gina’s iconic hair on THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF MELBOURNE

The Real Housewives of Melbourne is back and the cast announcement was every inch the drama you’d expect.

From tips on styling big hair to in-house gossip on the casting decisions. I certainly wasn’t left disappointed leaving St Kilda’s iconic The Prince Hotel here in Melbourne.

While filming of the popular show for Foxtel commences on March 15, these ladies are already out of the gates in what is set to be an explosive season 5.

The new cast is made up of previous season favourites Gina Liano, Janet Roach, Gamble Breaux and Lydia Schiavello. While joining ladies are newbies Anjali Rao, Cherry Dipietrantonio, & Kyla Kirkpatrick.

So what should we expect from our Melbourne Housewives in 2020? Gina Liano said ‘less fights and more fun banter.’ Which sounds wise in theory but probably isn’t a reality.

Returning to the franchise, Liano confirmed it was the idea of expanding her platform to help shine a light on her favourite charities which include Animal Welfare and Sufferers of Domestic Abuse. That was the real drawcard, admitting the fighting had gotten out of control before the near three year break.

Gina Liano and I also swapped hairstyling tips. This involved discussing the importance of hair gel and even being granted permission to touch that iconic hair – with no airs and graces in sight.

Not all the Housewives are back, with shock departure Jackie Gilies announcing to the media last week she had quit the show to concentrate on IVF. Which follows the exit of other former Housewives Sally Bloomfield and Venus Behbahani-Clark.

However, things got interesting as one housewife suggested Jackie Gillies had in fact not been asked back to the show by Matchbox Pictures, suggesting a conflicting reality to what had originally been reported.

While another revealed it was Jackies sudden departure that left a spot open for another returning housewife – who originally wasn’t set to return.

Interestingly there was plenty of discussion about importance of authenticity amongst the cast, which now steers away from characters who may have fudged their stories previously to gain a spot on the show.

The launch was just a tease of what is about to come but my bets are on Kyla Kirkpatrick giving Gina Liano a run for her money on Queen B status. Time will tell.