When it was announced that Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan would be reprising their roles as Charlene and Scott in the final ever epsiode of Neighbours, it's fair to say fans were excited. But when the episode was aired on Channel 5 on Friday, July 29 they weren't too happy to discover that pop icon Kylie actually said very little.
Now bosses from the axed Australian soap, which ran for 37 years, have set the record straight on why the Spinning Around singer had such limited dialogue during her return to the show that made her a household name.
Neighbours boss Jason Herbison has spoken out following the finale of the much-loved soap, after the internet went wild with theories pondering why Kylie hardly spoke during her cameo - including one that suggested she was paid per word, reports MirrorOnline.
Read more: Fans love Neighbours final's sweet nod to Lou Carpenter absence
Kylie, 54, played Charlene Robinson between 1986 and 1988 and was the main character in one of the most-viewed weddings in soap history. A staggering 19.8 million UK viewers tuned in to watch Charlene tie the knot with Scott Robinson in November 1988.
Fans had been eagerly awaiting their return to the soap, but were stunned to watch Kylie utter less than five audible words in her final outing as mechanic Charlene.
After the finale aired, one person wrote on Twitter: "Was Kylie's fee per word too high or did she not have much time to rehearse? She barely spoke!"
Many agreed and shared similar sentiments - with some suggesting Kylie is "far too famous to learn lines".
However, Neighbours boss Jason has revealed Kylie's lack of lines was actually due to the fact the singer and her co-star Jason only planned to make a "small appearance" on the show, as they didn’t want to "overshadow" the current cast members.
"We also filmed their scenes before I’d written the episode, so whatever we filmed had to fit in with that," he explained. "I hate to see Kylie copping any criticism – she was nothing short of amazing on the day."
Kylie and Jason's cameo on Ramsay Street may have been short and sweet, but fans still loved the trip down memory lane.
As the two comeback stars arrived on the street in the final episode, Especially for You - their duet as Kylie and Jason - was heard playing on the radio. And when they stopped and pulled up, they remarked on all the for sale signs on the houses.
Declaring they're home, Scott leaned in to kiss Charlene on the head in a sweet moment. "Wow wow wow," Scott said as they stepped out of the car, "This is crazy. We made it eh?"
Charlene then declared: "Home sweet home." Charlene's only other audible word in the cameo appearance was when she exclaimed "Harold!" after seeing fan favourite Harold Bishop.
Neighbours has been a hugely popular show in the UK since its inception in 1985 but it was confirmed earlier this year that the soap would come to an end this summer.
This was due to Channel 5 was dropping the show from its line-up to "focus is on increasing our investment in original UK drama", despite the programme being the fourth-most watched soap in the UK.
Kylie and Jason weren't the only former stars who had a cameo during the final episode - among the other big names who returned were Margot Robbie and Holly Valance.
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