It was the springboard that launched their hugely successful careers, so when they announced last year that Neighbours was to be axed after 37 years, the show’s stars loyally flocked back to Ramsay Street for a stellar finale.
But now some are furious after it emerged that the Aussie soap is to be resurrected on streaming giant Amazon.
Hollywood actor Guy Pearce, who returned for the last three episodes before Channel 5 pulled the plug on the show, was first to take a swipe at production chiefs.
The 55-year-old, fondly remembered for his role as brooding heart-throb Mike Young, remarked caustically of the supposed finale: ‘It’s hard to watch, isn’t it?
‘Knowing we’ll never see another episode ever again? A painful reminder the things we love can be snatched away, never to return.
Hollywood actor Guy Pearce (pictured, right), who returned for the last three episodes before Channel 5 pulled the plug on the show, was first to take a swipe at production chiefs
‘Unless Amazon comes in to save the day and makes our finale look like a rather expensive exercise.’
He added: ‘I don’t want to say waste of time. But still.’
Meanwhile, sources in Melbourne, where Neighbours was filmed, have revealed that Kylie Minogue – whose career took off while she played mechanic Charlene Robinson between 1986 and 1988 – also felt that she was ‘duped’ into going back.
One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Kylie has apparently got a bit of the hump about it all. It’s a case of why did she and others make the effort to go back. She and the others were told it was the end.
‘She knows what she owes to Neighbours and she would have always done it, but it does all seem a little baffling.’
Ms Minogue, 54, returned for the final episode last July along with Jason Donovan who played her husband Scott.
Another former Ramsay Street actress, Margot Robbie, who is about to star in the film Barbie, made a video for the episode from Los Angeles.
She tried to change her schedule so she could travel to Australia for filming, but when this proved impossible she sent 37 bottles of champagne – one for each year the show was on air.
Meanwhile, sources in Melbourne, where Neighbours was filmed, have revealed that Kylie Minogue (pictured, right) – whose career took off while she played mechanic Charlene Robinson between 1986 and 1988 – also felt that she was ‘duped’ into going back
The source added: ‘Imagine if Margot had managed to swing it so she could travel from Hollywood to Melbourne and it came back after all? She would have been fuming.’
Other Neighbours veterans who appeared in last year’s finale included Natalie Imbruglia and Holly Valance.
It was announced last year that Neighbours would no longer be filmed after Channel 5 and the production company Fremantle failed to reach a new deal.
However, last month it was confirmed that Amazon Freevee would be bringing the show back.
