After more than three decades of beaming into our homes, the residents of Erinsborough’s Ramsay Street will close their doors to the outside world for good today.
Despite being responsible for launching the careers of Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe and Liam Hemsworth since it first launched in 1985, when the news of the show coming to end was announced, it shocked Neighbours fans across the globe.
Following a desperate battle by production company Fremantle to find our Aussie friends a new home after it was axed by Channel 5 earlier this year, even a petition that garnered more than 60,000 signatures – including Ramsay Street alumni Natalie Imbruglia – couldn’t save it.
But what is it about this soap that first hit our UK screens in 1986 and transformed a generation of British kids’ accents, that has left so many people devastated by its demise?
One fan, who wants only to be referred to as Adam, tells Metro.co.uk that he ‘struggled’ when he first heard the news, as the show was instrumental in saving his life.
Adam explains that after a period of online harassment by an anonymous bully and feeling unable to come to terms with his sexuality, he attempted suicide.
Rescued by paramedics and admitted to a psychiatric unit, Adam says that he was given so many drugs he couldn’t read or operate his phone. The only entertainment that brought him comfort during those dark days was Neighbours, a programme he’d loved his whole life.
‘Neighbours became like my therapist,’ he recalls. ‘After a very long year I am back at work and in a small way I can say I’m a proud gay man. Neighbours has meaning that many people don’t see, and it helped me in a way no other show could.’
Adam’s powerful story is just one of the many ways in which the upbeat and progressive show helped people through Covid, cancer, isolation and grief.
Here, Metro.co.uk speaks to five superfans about the end of an Aussie era.
I helped get the Neighbours theme tune to No.1
Ben Bone, 39, is a university tutor from Middlesbrough.
‘I have been watching Neighbours my whole life. It provides a daily dose of sunshine and escapism, and it got a lot of us through the pandemic by helping us forget our worries.
And despite what non-Neighbours viewers might think, it’s not all ‘Bouncer’ either – the show has also run some powerful storylines, such as testicular cancer, surrogacy, and grief.
Currently, they have a main character who is a trans actress and carried storylines about her transition and her first sexual experience as a trans person. So it is really relevant.
As a self-confessed Neighbours goon, I’ve got all the merchandise; the old VHSs, DVDs, sticker books and annuals from over the years.
Nine years ago, for my 30th birthday, I went over to Australia to the set and met the cast. I met Steph Scully who I’m a massive fan of. (Lynn Scully is my icon.) I also caught up with Malcom and Karl Kennedy as well – all the greats!
They were all so lovely and welcoming and I think they really appreciate the UK fans so it was just everything I could have asked for.
Taking the show off air will devastate me. I feel gutted. The reasons are financial, not about the storyline or the viewing figures, so it just doesn’t seem fair. Especially since Neighbours was the first production to start filming again during the pandemic.
It led the way, and all the other dramas around the world had their eyes on how Neighbours were doing things in the pandemic. The show provided them with a model they could use, so it was really ahead of itself.
But the great thing about Neighbours was that it didn’t address the pandemic. So for half an hour a day you could watch something that had nothing to do with Covid – it was pure escapism.
The pandemic coincided with their 35th anniversary so there was plenty of nostalgia with lots of old characters coming back, so to watch something with no masks and no Covid, it was lovely. It gave you that chance to imagine normal life again.
With some other fans, I’ve been working really hard to save the show. Along with my friend Ben Fenlon, we set up the @Neighbens account on Twitter, and managed to not only get the Neighbours theme tune to number one on Spotify, but also Especially For You in the top 10.
I prefer the storylines when they are really ridiculous. My sister and I never stop being surprised by how far fetched the storylines get. The image of Toadie and Dee driving off the cliff will never leave me.
There was a big storm recently and a pylon came down causing so much destruction – it was ridiculous. And then we had Terese, with her alcohol problem, who had an argument on a rooftop, slipped and ended up dangling from the side of a building. No one has the strength to dangle the way she did. Classic Neighbours.
However, when it comes to handling sensitive storylines, they do it really well.
The way they dealt with Sonya’s ovarian cancer story was incredible and I felt so invested. As someone who was diagnosed with stage 4, incurable breast cancer at the age of 23., I have always been good at talking about death and dying with people that are close to me, but I think it would have helped other people.
It was shown in a really realistic, heartfelt and beautiful way. I am very pleased that they respond to those things. I really connected because of the heartbreak that Toadie was experiencing at the time and seeing the mark Sonya was leaving on people and her kids.
In a way our stories are very different, but the way death and dying was represented helped me because I am not one to shy away from those conversations or stories. If anything, I want more of it. Because it is so normal for people to die, if anything it should be discussed more.
Because Neighbours turned 30 the same year Maren and I turned 30, we decided it was a great theme for our party so we got people to dress up as people from Neighbours.
I turned up as Kylie’s character Charlene, in the wedding dress, and Maren was Dee Bliss. My friend Sinead even dressed as the carton of milk that was spilt, which Susan Kennedy slipped up on when she ended up with amnesia!
There were also four Harolds and everyone had interpreted him differently. Giovanna Fletcher came as one of them – and as she was pregnant at the time she had a belly and looked brilliant.
Other guests came as Bouncer the dog and there was even a galah. It was a funny night, full of laughter. I love fancy dress at the best of times and we really nailed it.
It’s something we’re hoping to capture again today, as my sister and I are having a special Neighbours celebration. We’ll be working in our coffee truck and serving Lamington cakes and even a ‘Neighbours’ beer.
We’ll also set up the laptop so customers can watch the last episodes, while Maren will dress as Madge and I’m still not sure whether to be Charlene again – or Toadie. Either way, I’ve got the most amazing Ramsay Street earrings to wear.
It will be our way to once again celebrate what a brilliant show it was.’
My sister made a promise to my grandma on her deathbed
Hayley Charlesworth, 32, is a PhD student from Greater Manchester.
‘When my mum was pregnant with me, I would kick when the Neighbours theme song came on. So you could say I was a fan before I was born!
I watched it all my life but I really got into it in the 2000s, when it became part of my daily routine. I would go and see my grandma after school and we would watch it together eating takeaways from the chippie.
We did that all the way through school, sixth form and then, when I went away to uni, I would ring her up and talk about what had happened in Neighbours.
My grandma passed away in 2013 and on her deathbed my sister Toni made a promise to her that she would start watching Neighbours every day so that she would have something to talk about with me.
She has kept that up every day and now she’s a huge fan, as well. It is very important to me personally because of those memories of my grandmother.
Toni now has a two-year-old son, who, when she was pregnant, would not only kick at the Neighbours theme tune, but any time he heard an Australian accent – for instance when he heard Hugh Jackman on screen.
His name is Hugh, but had he been a girl they would have named him Nell, after Mrs Mangel and Toadie and Sonya’s daughter.
There is a very large and warm community of Neighbours fans in the UK and over in Australia. And the show is especially important for LGBT+ representation.
I am bisexual and the queer representation on Neighbours, especially in recent years has been incredible – better than I have seen on most TV programmes.
I am a big fan of Chloe Brennan, who is bisexual and wholly portrayed as a very positive character. That is very meaningful to someone who identifies with that label, especially when you’ve seen so many negative or stereotypical representations on screen, so I think it’s going to be a huge loss to the LGBT+ community.
I was devastated by the news that it was ending, but I am also in denial. I am not giving up hope of it coming back in some form in the future.’
Neighbours was an escape after hard shifts as an NHS nurse
Alison Tinlin, 48, is a wedding blogger from Glasgow.
‘I have an affinity with Australia as I have family living there, and having visited the country six times since the 1990s, it feels like a second home.
The last time I went was before the pandemic in 2019, when I did a tour of the Neighbours set.
It was one of the highlights of my trip. I was lucky to meet the gorgeous Zima Anderson who plays the fiery but fabulous Roxy Willis who graciously answered all our questions. After the meet-up I walked around the exterior and was able to take pictures of all the well-known spots like Lassiters, Lassiters Lake, the 182 Tram, Grease Monkeys, The Waterhole, the Garage, the Backpackers, the backyards and Sonya’s nursery.
The interior sets are all closed but I was lucky to see some far off garden shooting with Matt Wilson and Takaya Honda who play Aaron Brennan and David Tanaka.
I then went to Pin Oak Court, which is the real life Ramsay Street. It’s so amazing to see all these incredible houses that you see every day on TV, and walk where the stars have. It was a very worthwhile experience overall and one which I will always remember.
Why do I love Neighbours so much? It is the perfect blend of drama, warmth, sunshine and diversity. It is full of moments that make you smile and it has been a huge part of people’s lives for 37 years, including mine.
I’ve watched Neighbours for most of my life. It was a staple as a teenager and it was an escape after hard shifts when I worked for the NHS as a staff nurse, and when my kids were little. I feel like the characters have become part of my extended family.
There is a real depth of feeling about the show ending and I must admit I have found all the Neighbours finale talk and who’s coming back for the final episode – with a huge focus on Kylie, Jason and Bouncer – intensely frustrating.
Those characters and actors – however wonderful, and who were an asset to the show when they were on it – have not been there for 30 years and I find that extremely disrespectful to the present cast who are knocking it out of the park.
Nostalgia is great and there have been incredible times in the past but the evolution of the soap has been immense and the Neighbours cast now, the writing now, the production now is top notch and should be equally if not more celebrated.
I feel sad for all the fans, but also for all those involved in the show who will lose their jobs. After two years of the pandemic it seems especially cruel.
As a blogger, I’m a pretty busy person, but my lunchtimes will never be the same without checking in with Neighbours.’
I came out to my mum after we watched the show together
Ben Fenlon, 42, a news reporter from Melksham, in Wiltshire.
‘I’ve been watching Neighbours since I was a little boy. It’s been a constant in my life and has provided me with real emotional support.
When I was a teenager I was quite lonely and isolated, and didn’t have many friends. Neighbours was my escapism and helped me forget about those troubles.
I would dream up my own plots and write storylines for the show. In the mid-90s I even contacted one of the script writers for advice on how to get into the business. He told me I needed more life experience, and it is still a dream of mine to write for soaps. I’m really disappointed that I will never write on Neighbours.
I connect the show to so many important times in my life. Visiting Ramsay Street in 2003 and then again in 2005 were really great moments for me.
I remember being at university and all of us getting together to watch Susan Kennedy confront Karl about his affair. However, the most important episode to me was in 2008, where we saw character Rosie Cammeniti struggling with her sexuality.
I hadn’t come out to my family at the time, and I watched it with my mum. As it ended and the theme tune started to play, Mum started asking me about my sexuality and that’s when I came out.
I’m grateful to that episode as it opened up that conversation and got us talking – which is what all soaps do; they bring issues into the living room that you wouldn’t normally necessarily talk about.
Three years ago I interviewed Jason Donavan for the paper where I work, and I got to speak to him over the phone. I was so nervous but he was such a lovely person. He was really funny and would talk about anything.
Then, just last year I was on BBC Radio 2 on Scott Mills and I went head to head with Stefan Dennis (who plays Paul Robinson) on a Neighbours quiz – and I beat him. It was surreal and a real honour to meet him online (but there was some satisfaction in knowing more than him!).
It is so sad that Neighbours is finishing and to think of all that history coming to an end.
It might seem a bit silly for Neighbours fans to get upset, but everyone has some sort of emotional crutch that we rely on, and Neighbours is that for a lot of people.’
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