Neighbours veteran Kym Valentine has announced that she's returning to Ramsay Street on a permanent basis. The actress played Libby Kennedy on the Aussie soap for over a decade, but left in 2004 to tour with the musical Dirty Dancing. However, her success on the stage was marred by medical problems and the 30-year-old had to take a break from acting. "Physically and mentally I needed a rest," she told the Sunday Herald Sun. Kym believed she had a hernia in her stomach. After further testing it was reportedly revealed that she had three. Now she has a one-and-a-half inch scar on her stomach, she promises: "You won't see me in a bikini on Neighbours!" Kym's character Libby, the only daughter of Susan and Karl, went through some testing times when she was last in Erinsborough. Her husband, Drew, met an untimely death caused after falling from a horse, and the young mum was devastated by his sudden demise. She later became involved with a Year 12 student while teaching at Erinsborough High, which placed a heavy strain on her relationship with her mother. Kym's return comes in the middle of a ratings war among soaps Down Under. A number of Neighbours cast members have not had their contracts renewed, including Nell Feeney, who plays Janelle, and Sianoa Smit-McPhee, better known as her screen daughter Bree.
