Just two years on since its historic return to TV, it’s time to say goodbye to Neighbours once more as the curtain, perhaps literally this time, comes down on Ramsay Street again.
The Aussie soap, a true staple of UK daytime TV for 40 years, famously concluded three years ago with a finale that dreams are made of as legendary faces from the past returned home to Erinsborough.
Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce and Margot Robbie all appeared in the star-studded episode that beautifully brought to a close to the story of the residents of Ramsay Street for what was thought to be forever.
Flash-forward just a few months later and Neighbours was saved by Amazon, who resurrected the beloved show for two more series.
The Amazon Prime Video (formerly Freevee) era proved an unexpected gift for fans, with Neighbours going on to achieve milestones once thought an impossibility, including its 9,000th offering and of course the 40th anniversary, plus a US Daytime Emmy nod.
Amid all the extra bells and whistles that came with the extra 460 episodes was that perfect blend of drama and comedy that audiences know and love, with stalwarts Karl and Susan Kennedy (Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne) at the very centre where they belong.
‘We had a sense of pride and accomplishment that we’d got these extra episodes and managed to make the show even better than before,’ Dr Karl star Alan Fletcher told Metro, who said that much of the cast were ‘resigned’ to the show coming to an end this time around.
‘I think for Jackie and I it was a little bit different because we’d been there for a long time and for us it was like a natural cycle coming to an end in a way. There was a real sense when it ended the first time that there was unfinished business.
‘This time round we knew it was coming and we had a good sense of how it was going to end, so we were well prepared for it and I think that made it a bit easier.
‘There were some cast members who were fairly new and it was hard for them because they’d only just had the opportunity to start developing their characters.
‘Of course there are a lot of people in our audience for whom Neighbours means an enormous amount. It wasn’t just a TV show, it was part of their family life. They’re all gutted, of course.’
With production having wrapped in July, Neighbours will screen its final episode this week, bringing to a close yet another chapter in the Ramsay Street history book, and this ending is very different to the last, which couldn’t have been more perfect.
‘You couldn’t do that twice,’ Jackie Woodburne, who has played Susan Kennedy for more than 30 years, told me. ‘I think you’re right, the first finale was perfection for the end of that Neighbours.’
‘I think what [Executive Producer] Jason Herbison came up with this time, the audience will think it is as perfect for the extra couple of years of Neighbours that we got.’
The seeds for the big goodbye have already been set in motion, with art imitating life as the future of Ramsay Street is at stake after Erinsborough City council gave the green light to demolish the legendary suburb in favour of a freeway.
The controversial plans have led to an uprising among the residents, who are banding together in a bid to save the Street they’ve called home for decades, proving yet again that when times are tough, good neighbours really do become good friends.
Dr Karl is leading the Fight The Freeway charge but he’s not alone in trying to secure a future for the locals as Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) has a back-up plan in case the rebellion falters. He’s acquired an apartment complex in the city, hopeful that his family and neighbours could call it home one day.
His efforts, however, have reignited an age-old feud as 80s icon Shane Ramsay (Peter O’Brien) has returned home with a business brainwave of his own, hoping to use a plot of land he owns to build a new suburb entitled Ramsay Hills.
Life after Neighbours for Alan and Jackie
Being the absolute powerhouse of an actor that she is, Jackie has not only lined up her next project but she’s filmed it already, appearing in Neighbours boss Jason Herbison’s upcoming Channel 5 thriller The Impostor (December 15, 9pm) opposite Danni Minogue and Coronation Street’s Kym Marsh.
‘I finished Neighbours on a Friday and began with The Imposter on the following Monday!’ enthused Jackie. ‘So I went straight into that for six weeks and wrapped up recently and I’ve got to say I’m loving not having a job at the moment. I’m enjoying this sense of freedom.
‘Who knows what the future will hold – hopefully exciting challenges. But for right now I’m enjoying this little down time.’
Alan, meanwhile, is planning a new tour. ‘Neighbours was a gift because it gave us an audience,’ he said. ‘I’ve just come back from a big tour and I’m planning next year’s straight away, editing all the music clips and so forth.
‘But finally having the time to say I can book a dental appointment, I can book an osteo appointment, I can tidy my office, I can fix the garden… Just spend some time to be in control of your own destiny for a period of time is gold for us.’
‘It’s kind of a full-circle situation where the street goes back to its origins with the Robinsons and the Ramsays,’ revealed Alan.
‘It’s basically a hearts and minds story, trying to capture the hearts and minds of residents and so forth. Every individual residents’ personality and foibles are well explored. We get a clear picture of what people’s self-interests are and what motivates them.’
Jackie was quick to add that, although the show is ending, there is a ‘big sense of hope’ within its final narrative.
‘There are three pillars of possibility,’ she said of the characters’ future. ‘Ramsay Hills or Robinson Towers and the third option is to try and save Ramsay Street and keep the status quo.
‘I think the audience will be divided. Some will want one and some will want the other, but they’ll all have some semblance of hope that there’ll be some version of Neighbours in the future. Even if it’s not on screen, the characters they’ve enjoyed will continue on in their lives in some iteration down the track, anyway.’
Alan and Jackie have been the beating heart of Neighbours for three decades, helming countless storylines over the years – many of which are now considered iconic.
Karl’s affairs with both Sarah Beaumont and Izzy Hoyland, his and Susan’s penchant for looking after those in need, and more recently the killer Finn Kelly (Rob Mills) story all spring to mind.
‘Any storyline that can affect one character deeply, and infiltrate many other important characters is a great story,’ said Jackie. ‘You get the character driving the story but the effect that story has on the people around – that makes it so much more interesting. Finn was just a bomb that exploded the whole Street. It was a terrific story.’
Reminiscing about such stories, Alan added: ‘When you work on a show like Neighbours people say: “How come you can do the same show for 30 years? Because We didn’t. Every three months the whole cycle was moving into something completely different.’
The actor said that the scenes he and Jackie found most rewarding were the comedic ones, which would often see Karl and Susan doing something they shouldn’t be doing, such as ‘getting caught naked’.
‘I think the strength of our show was the comedy,’ admitted Jackie. ‘To see all the drama but have it interrupted by people’s individual senses of humour and jokey situations, it gave everybody a break from the drama but it also allowed the characters to show and develop other aspects of themselves.
‘Fletch and I got to play some deliciously silly, funny stories – we could do them right in the middle of high drama! What a gift, as an actor, to be able to do that.’
Neighbours’ conclusion will be a huge loss to the industry and of course for everyone who works on the show. But as Alan said, the fans will also be hit hard by its latest cancellation. Especially in the UK, where it maintains a huge following.
When the show was axed the first time around, a petition was launched in a bid to save it, which undoubtedly proved instrumental in Amazon’s decision to swoop in to the rescue.
‘The fans, particularly the UK fans, were our lifeline,’ said Jackie with a smile as she reflected on their support over the years. ‘They have nurtured us from day one and they were with us right until the very end. We have nothing but love and gratitude and huge thanks to all of them.’
Alan was in total agreement, saying that the show’s audience is ‘like family’ to him.
‘You get that sense when you go out and meet people at shows, everyone’s got a story about what Neighbours means to them and it’s a joy to hear those stories.’
Neighbours’ final episode streams Thursday December 11 from 7am on Amazon Prime Video.
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