Neighbours’ boss reveals hope iconic show WILL return – despite being cancelled for second time
NEIGHBOURS’ boss has revealed his hope that the iconic show WILL return – despite being cancelled for a second time.
The Sun Online exclusively revealed last month that the Australian soap had been axed again.
The decision came after production company Fremantle failed to agree a new deal with Amazon.
The news came just two years since Amazon brought the soap back to life following Channel 5’s decision to axe it after 37 years.
It started filming in 2023 and was shown on Amazon Freevee worldwide.
However, last year Amazon axed the service and folded it into its Prime Video streaming offering.
And now, after two years streaming, the show will come to an end once more.
But Neighbours‘ boss Jason Herbison has opened up about the show coming to an end for a second time – but is hopeful it will be back for a third time at some point.
Speaking to TV Tonight, he said: “We were considered a very big success on Amazon Freevee, and we’re so grateful to them for this chapter and this two and a half years.
“The team at Amazon Freevee did an incredible job of launching us over there. I think we were on bus stops all across the UK, it was amazing and they have been wonderful to work with.”
But after Freevee was shut down, Jason admitted the show “just not simply part of their [Prime Video] content strategy going forward”.
He added: “And there’s really no hard feelings with that. Things change and as I say, we’re just very grateful to them to have had this chapter.
“But just as we said before, we were resting the show, we do see Neighbours as eternal.
“Who knows about the future? So I think whatever ending, it will be a door left open kind of ending again.”
His comments come just days after a dramatic first look at the epic 40th anniversary week was revealed – as an iconic character ‘returns from the dead’.
A brand new trailer shows the Lassiters lake become a crime scene as Jane Harris spots a body floating in the water.
Neighbours stars who made it big
The long-running Aussie soap has launched the careers of some of Hollywood's biggest stars. Here are some of the Neighbours alums who went on to make it big after starring on the soap...
Kylie Minogue
- Before she hit the big time with her music career, Kylie shot to fame playing Charlene Mitchell on Neighbours. Shortly after her arrival, Kylie began an on and off-screen romance with co-star Jason Donovan, who played Scott Robinson, which gained the couple an army of adoring fans.
Jason Donovan
- After his stint as Scott, singer and actor Jason became an international popstar and had his pick acting of roles. He moved to the U.K., married, had children and has since starred in over a dozen West End show, most notably Joseph and his Technicolour Dreamcoat.
Alan Dale
- New Zealand born actor Alan was one of Neighbours 12 original cast members having made his debut as Jim Robinson on the soap’s first episode on 18 March 1985. As the head of the Robinson clan, widower Jim lived at Number 26 Ramsay Street with his children Paul, Julie, Scott and Lucy, and was a real anchor in the community. He stayed with the show for eight years, before his character was killed off in dramatic scenes aired in 1993 but which still reverberate through the soap to this day.
Margot Robbie
- Way before she was Barbie or Harley Quinn, Margot was best known as Ramsay Street resident Donna Freedman. Her notable storylines included her marriage to Ringo Brown and becoming a young widow following his tragic death. After three years she bid farewell to the soap and Australia with a plan to make a name for herself in Hollywood which she did when she bagged the role of Naomi Lapaglia opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street.
Jesse Spencer
- Jesse rocked up on Ramsay street in 1994 with the rest of the Kennedy clan. He stayed for five years, literally growing up in front of the camera, but in 2000 felt it was time to spread his wings and head for Hollywood. It was certainly a smart move as he went on to bag leading roles in popular shows like House and Chicago Fire.
Russell Crowe
- New Zealand-native Russell had a brief arc on Neighbours, appearing in four episodes of the soap 1987 as Kenny Larkin, the former cellmate of Street resident Henry Ramsay. The role obviously got him noticed though because he quickly went on to become a fully-fledged Hollywood A-lister, winning the Best Actor Oscar for his standout performance as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator.
Elsewhere, Leo Tanaka and Krista Sinclair’s wedding day is rocked by drama after Krista sleeps with Sebastian Metcalfe.
And Harold Bishop is left shaken when newcomer Agnes Adair bares a striking resemblance to his late wife Madge.