The following is a list of characters who first appeared in the Australian soap opera Neighbours during 2010, they are listed in order of their first appearance. They were all introduced by the show's executive producer, Susan Bower. The 26th season of Neighbours began airing on 11 January 2010. Comedian Peter Moon joined the cast as theatre producer Terry Kearney in February. That same month saw Chris Pappas, the show's first regular, gay male character, make his debut. Established character, Donna Freedman's father, Nick Nixon joined in April and two new regular characters, Michael and Natasha Williams, began appearing from May. Former V actress, Jane Badler joined the show in June, playing businesswoman Diana Marshall. June also saw the first appearance of builder, Jim Dolan. Model and television presenter, Scott McGregor joined the cast as Detective Mark Brennan towards the end of August. Gabriella Darlington and P. J. Lane made their acting debuts as Poppy Rogers and Eli Baker respectively. From December, Gemma Pranita began appearing as established character Sonya Mitchell's younger sister, Jade.

Terry Kearney, played by comedian Peter Moon, made his first screen appearance on 5 February 2010. Darren Rowe from Digital Spy reported that Moon would be the latest celebrity to guest star in Neighbours in October 2009. Moon had previously auditioned for the soap twenty years ago when he hoped to be cast as Harold Bishop. Terry is a flamboyant English theatre producer. He departed on 30 June 2010 after accepting a job on a cruise ship.

When Kate Ramsay (Ashleigh Brewer) decides that she needs to get a paid dancing job to help support her family, she auditions for a show created by Terry. Terry likes Kate and thinks she has got talent, but the lead dancer, Candace Carey (Sheona Urquhart), disagrees and thinks Kate is not experienced enough. Terry overrules her and gives the part to Kate. When Terry watches a rehearsal he decides that Kate is the better dancer and makes her the lead. When Kate injures her ankle, Terry is forced to give the lead back to Candace. During the opening show, Kate convinces him that she'll be able to dance and Terry gives tells Candace that Kate is the lead again, this angers Candace and she pushes Kate on stage. Terry, who witnessed the push, sacks Candace after the show. Kate later meets with Terry at Charlie's, so she can ask him to give Candace her job back. Terry is shocked, but Kate tells him that if she is going to be a professional she has to learn how to deal with people like Candace.

When Kate needs some more dance work, she calls Terry and asks if he can help her put on a show at Charlie's bar for some business people. Following the end of the dance, Kate is offered some work and tells Terry that she will not take the job out of loyalty to him. Terry then encourages her to take the job, telling her he will be fine. Kate invites Terry to Harold's Store and asks Terry to talk to Ben Fitzgerald (Blake O'Leary) about dancing. Terry tells him not to become a dancer, he then sees Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha) and hurries outside to tidy up his appearance. Kate decides to set Terry up with Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver), so they can become friends. Terry and Lou are shocked and Terry is unhappy, he then tells Kate that he likes Lyn. Terry gets Kate to invite him to Toadfish Rebecchi (Ryan Moloney) and Stephanie Scully's (Carla Bonner) wedding reception and he tries to talk to Lyn, but she ignores him. Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) tells Terry not to try and date her. Lyn later agrees to go on a date with Terry and he takes her rock climbing, which she enjoys. Terry tells Lyn that he has been offered a job on a cruise ship for a few months. He then asks her to go with him and she says yes. However, she later changes her mind and asks Terry if they can stay friends. Terry asks Kate if she will take over the dance troupe for him and she agrees. Terry then leaves after a small send off from some of the neighbours.

Candace Carey, played by Sheona Urquhart, made her first screen appearance on 5 February 2010. Candace is a dancer who competes with Kate Ramsay (Ashleigh Brewer) for the lead in Terry Kearney's (Peter Moon) show. In August 2010, following the breakup of Declan Napier (Erin Mullally) and Kate's relationship, Candace shares a kiss with Declan. She arrives at Charlie's to perform a dance routine for a bucks night and makes it clear she has been attracted to Declan for some time. Mullally said "Candace gets talking to Declan and is there for him, he wants comfort and makes that split-second decision to kiss her". Mullally adds that Declan cannot believe what he did and does not want to pursue a relationship with Candace.

When Kate Ramsay auditions for Terry Kearney's dance troupe, Candace becomes jealous of her dancing ability and tries to humiliate her in front of the other dancers. After seeing a rehearsal Terry decides to give the lead to Kate, which angers Candace. Candace later comes to Charlie's with some friends and Kate goes to talk to her, Candace tells Kate that she is big enough to admit that Kate was the better dancer. However, it becomes apparent that Candace is lying to Kate. The next day Candace hides Kate's dance shoes and when Kate falls over during a dress rehearsal, Kate realises that Candace has sabotaged her shoes. Kate manages to make it to the opening night and Candace has to give the lead back to her. During the dance Candace tries to bump Kate offstage, which Terry sees from the wings. After the show Kate confronts Candace and tells Terry that she was pushed. Terry takes Kate's side and fires Candace, who wonders how she is going to support her child now. Kate, feeling guilty upon hearing that Candace is a single mother, meets with Terry and asks him to give Candace her job back. Kate later sees Candace at the Store and Candace tells her she is back and will be the lead again.

Kate complains that she has not had any dance work for a while and she runs into Candace. Candace tells her that she has got a new dance job at a club and takes a phone call about it in front of Kate. Kate watches Candace write an address down and later turns up at the audition. Candace tells Kate to leave and that the job is not for her. Kate and Candace both dance in the production and Kate is offered some more work later that night. Candace comes to Charlie's to warn Kate not to turn up for the job, but Kate refuses to listen. Candace also tells her that she knows what Kate did for her. When Kate turns up for the job, she is shocked to discover that the job is at a lap dancing club. When Terry is offered a job on a cruise ship, he tells Kate to take over the dance troupe. Candace is unhappy when she finds out that Kate has not booked many dance jobs for the group and refuses to teach Ben Fitzgerald (Blake O'Leary) and Callum Jones (Morgan Baker) some new dance moves. However, Candace turns up at the Kennedys' house to teach the children and she tells Kate that she enjoyed herself. For Ringo Brown's (Sam Clark) bucks night, Zeke Kinski (Matthew Werkmeister) hires Candace and two other dancers for the entertainment. Candace is surprised to see Declan and they later share a drink together. Declan tells her that he and Kate split up and she asks if he wants to go get some air. They go up to the roof of Lassiter's and Kate sees them sharing a kiss.

Chris Pappas, played by James Mason, made his first on-screen appearance on 25 February 2010. The character of Chris is Mason's first major professional television role. Chris is a student at Erinsborough High who befriends Andrew Robinson, Summer Hoyland and Harry Ramsay. In August 2010, it was announced that the character would reveal he is gay to his friends. He is the show's first on-going gay male character in 25 years.