The lights went out for the last time on Ramsay Street yesterday, as the very final scene of Australian soap Neighbours was put in the can.
Former stars of the show, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce had all returned to join in the final scenes of the show which had made them household names in Australia and beyond, but was calling it a ‘G’day’ after 37 years.
Stefan Dennis, the only actor in Neighbours to be with the show from the beginning (bar a few breaks along the way), told Australian breakfast programme Studio 10 the experience of filming the last scenes had been “melancholy.”
He said: “I sort of closed the studio door behind me on my very last scene, my very last dialogue scene and… I suddenly surprised myself by getting incredibly emotional.
“I just kept to myself and went to my dressing room… so I’m keeping a very low profile today. I think I’ll just be an absolute mess if I sort of hang around too long.”
As well as Minogue, Donovan and Pearce, the show launched the careers of several internationally successful Australian actors, including Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe.
The show’s executive producer Jason Herbison told the BBC about signing off the show with a bang, not a whimper, revealing: “I was really keen to have an ending that would be fulfilling, joyous and would be very Neighbours – it would feel satisfying in terms of where the characters and the storylines are.”
The decision to finish making the soap came after Channel 5, the broadcaster airing the show in the UK, confirmed it would no longer be acquiring the show from Fremantle Media in Australia, and this left too large a gap in the show’s funding. The scenes filmed this week will be broadcast on August 1.
