New Idea refusing to pay Neighbours star for 'child snatch' interview

Women's magazine New Idea is refusing to pay a former Neighbours star for an exclusive interview about snatching her child back from her ex-partner in Malaysia because she allegedly lied about going to a drug rehab centre.

Eliza Szonert was filmed in December grabbing her son Griffin while he was eating breakfast with her estranged partner in a Kuala Lumper restaurant.

Two bodyguards from an international child recovery agency distracted the boy's father, Ashley Crick, while Ms Szonert picked the boy up and left the eatery.

Ms Szonert and her son were detained in Malaysia for almost a month after the incident.

Ms Szonert said New Idea promised to pay her $7000 for an tell-all interview but have backed out because of allegations she went to a rehabilitation centre in Thailand for drug abuse.

"It was felt she did not respond to these accusations completely. No payment for the story has been made," a New Idea spokeswoman told The Sydney Morning Herald.

Ms Szonert said the allegations are based on a false discharge document from the rehab clinic that appeared online, and that she went to the centre to deal with depression.

She said she plans to sue New Idea, and she needed the cash to pay her mother back for paying for her to stay in Malaysia while the diplomatic row was resolved.

"I don't want people to think that I'm greedy," Ms Szonert said.

Ms Szonert played Danni Stark in Neighbours in the 1990s and also appeared in film The Dish and the Underbelly series.