Josh Anderson is a fictional character from the Australian soap opera Neighbours, played by Jeremy Angerson. He first appeared on-screen in the episode airing on 5 February 1990. He arrives in Erinsborough following his father's relocation to the area. Producers hired Angerson because they were increasing the size of the male cast. Josh is characterised as academically bright and good at chemistry. Angerson has described Josh as "naïve and a bit unpredictable" and "honest". During his tenure Josh helped to form the show's group of teenage characters consisting of himself, Todd Landers (Kristian Schmid), Melissa Jarrett (Jade Amenta) and Cody Willis (Amelia Frid). Other stories included a relationship with Phoebe Bright (Simone Robertson), the issue of temporary blindness and Josh becoming a stripper. The latter storyline challenged Angerson who felt nervous portraying a stripper. He later described filming Josh's stripping scenes as "pretty horrendous" and an "horrific experience".
Angerson finished filming his final scenes in March 1992 and Josh departed the series during the episode broadcast on 14 April 1992. Following his departure, Angerson missed the excitement that playing Josh gave him. The character was well received by critics of the genre. Josh's transformation from shy school boy to stripper was praised by Hilary Kingsley from the Daily Mirror. Josh's character development garnered him the label of the show's heart-throb character of the early 1990's.
Casting
When Craig McLachlan quit his role of Henry Ramsay to star in fellow soap opera Home and Away, producers decided to introduce two new characters to help Neighbours recuperate. Jeremy Angerson was cast in the role of Josh, while Richard Norton was selected to play Ryan McLachlan. Angerson and Norton moved in together in a flat share to accommodate filming for the show. When Angerson was fifteen, he worked at the Adelaide Grand Prix selling souvenirs and met a casting director who worked for Neighbours. When Angerson auditioned for the role, the same casting director was responsible for hiring him to play Josh. Describing the process, Angerson told Steve Smith from Fast Forward that "When I was living in Adelaide a talent scout came up about once a year. I didn't hear much about casting in Melbourne for the programme but I got an audition for it and was lucky enough to get the part. It was a complete surprise!" Mark Little who played Joe Mangel took on the role of Angerson's mentor during his time on the show. Angerson was a junior speed-skating champion but had to stop his training for the role because he kept arriving on set with cuts and bruises.
Character development
Characterisation and relationships
The character is introduced into the series following his father's purchase of a local news agents. Of Josh's arrival Angerson told Chrissie Camp of TV Week that "Josh's father own's a newsagents in Erinsborough and he gets friendly with Todd and Melissa. He's a fairly intelligent, but excitable type of character." Josh is characterised as friendly, intelligent and "bright academically" with a keen interest in football and chemistry. He uses the latter to play pranks on people which often leads him into trouble. Writers gave him a best friend in the form of established character Todd Landers (Kristian Schmid) who bonded over mutual interests. Anthony Hayward wrote in his book The who's who of soap operas that "enjoying Todd's popularity with girls, Josh has tried to get advice from him on how to get on with the opposite sex, but he has never managed to attain the same degree of success."
In an Inside Soap feature, Angerson described Josh as "a black sheep and a bit naïve" and thought Todd was the more "heroic" of the two characters. Angerson told Hilary Kingsley from the Daily Mirror that Josh is "a nice person" who is happy at his school. Angerson liked his character, despite him being a "naïve and a bit unpredictable" but ultimately Josh is "honest". He further explained Josh's naivety, stating "he's a bit of a scammer, and doesn't see that there is ever a problem. He never thinks his romances will go wrong. But even when he's hurt he doesn't show it."