Channel 5 has confirmed the air date for Neighbours' final episode as the long-running programme ends after 37 years on our screens and a total of 8903 episodes. The much-loved Australian soap will draw to a close with a double-episode special.
For long-time fans of the soap, it's sure to be an emotional viewing after more than 68k viewers signed a petition in the hopes of stopping the show from being axed. The hour-long "history-making" finale will be broadcast in a primetime slot on Friday, July 29, from 9pm.
Neighbours first aired back in 1985 and in the years since has followed the lives of the character's living and working in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough. On June 10, the soap shared an image of the cast on their final day of filming on set with Dr Karl and Susan Kennedy, played by Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne, holding the final clapperboard.
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It has already been confirmed that many fan favourite characters will be making a return to mark the soap's final episode and Channel 5 have promised a "gripping and emotional finale" with "a send-off that will have something for everyone". The final episode was scheduled to air on August 1 but has been moved forward to the Friday primetime slot.
It was announced back in May that pop singer Kylie Minogue and actor Jason Donovan, who starred as power couple Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell in episodes during the 1980s, will be making a return to Ramsay Street. They'll be joined by Memento star Guy Pearce, who started his career playing Mike Young in the soap, is also reprising his role.
Peter O'Brien, who starred in the show's first episode as Shane Ramsay, will be amongst the returning cast including Ian Smith, who played the iconic character Harold Bishop; Mark Little, who played Joe Mangel and Paul Keane, who played Des Clarke.
Talking about the last day of filming, Executive Producer Jason Herbison said: "We all knew this day was coming but until we were here in this moment when the very last scene was filmed, it was hard to express how we would all feel. Of course, it is sad and tears were shed, but we’re also enormously proud. 37 years is an incredible achievement and that should be celebrated.
"We’ve also been incredibly touched by the response from our viewers all over the world. Neighbours is more than a TV show to many people. They see us as part of the family and we feel privileged to have been invited into their homes, and I know the legacy of Neighbours will live on for many years.”
Channel 5 have also revealed that further announcements will be made in the weeks leading up the finale, which will include "additional surprises to send off the iconic soap in style".
The antepenultimate episode will air on July 29 at the show's usual time slots of 1.45pm and 6pm. Neighbours: The Finale will air on Friday, July 29 from 9pm on Channel 5.
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