The Susan Kennedy star beat off competition<\/a> from 27 other soap favourites to be named winner of the fan-voted tournament \u2013 with an incredible 225,000 votes having been cast in the grand final alone.<\/p>\n And speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com<\/strong> about her win, Woodburne admitted the news had taken her by surprise.<\/p> \u201cI couldn\u2019t believe it, I wasn\u2019t aware that there was a competition happening!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n She added that she had been so busy with the recent Neighbours Celebration Tour that she\u2019d had no idea about the contest, but said that had made her victory all the more exciting when she found out.<\/p>\n \u201cI was a little bit overwhelmed actually,\u201d she said. \u201cBecause the response to the show has been incredible, just incredible. The response from the fans and all the people that have come to see the show, it\u2019s just been extraordinary. And then this on top of that was just that extra bonus, the cherry on the cake \u2013 it was just beautiful!\u201d<\/p>\n Read more:<\/strong><\/p>\n Woodburne continued that the award, coupled with her experiences on the UK tour, had given her a newfound appreciation for the fans \u2013 saying that it had been a \u201cprofound experience\u201d to come face-to-face with lots of committed Neighbours<\/a> viewers.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve shared their stories with us, told us what it means to them that the show is coming back, and how happy they are about that, and just the gap in their lives that will be filled with the show returning,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve all been very moved by that \u2013 when we\u2019re on the other side of the world, we\u2019re making this very fast-paced television show, you don\u2019t really get a sense of intimate importance that it has to people.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it\u2019s actually been very humbling to share people\u2019s stories and hear them tell you what that little half hour a day of escapism and blue skies and good stories, what that means to them.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting on winning the award, she added that she was \u201cjust so thrilled\u201d and called it a \u201clovely, lovely, lovely gift to be given\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means so much to me, it really does,\u201d Woodburne concluded. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t do a lot of publicity, I don\u2019t do any social media, so I don\u2019t really follow all of this that\u2019s going on. So when something like this happens, I feel so humbled by it because I feel like I haven\u2019t earned it!\u201d<\/p>\n The Susan Kennedy star comfortably beat EastEnders<\/a> favourite Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) in the final \u2013 scoring 68 per cent of the total votes to emerge victorious.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, fellow Neighbours characters Mike Young (Guy Pearce) and Toadie Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) also made it all the way to the semi-finals in the tournament.<\/p>\n It was recently revealed that\u00a0Neighbours would return to filming in April<\/a>, with a premiere for the brand new episodes currently expected in the autumn.<\/p> ![\"""\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2019\/04\/neighbours-jackie-woodburne-susan-kennedy-1553956662-ba2757a.jpg?quality=90&crop=5px%2C0px%2C854px%2C569px&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"\"\\"\/")
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