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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Scarlett O'Toole

Neighbours' most bonkers storylines as show reaches dramatic finale

Neighbours is coming to an end after spending almost 40 years on our screens, with the grand finale airing in the UK tomorrow (July 29).

The iconic Australian soap launched the careers of international stars such as Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

Bosses have promised a happy and emotional ending for the show, which first aired back in 1985 and has at times stretched credulity with its storylines.

However, they've managed to keep fans hooked over the last 37 years and as viewers get ready to say a final farewell to Ramsay Street, we've taken a look back at some of the most bonkers Neighbours storylines.

Susan Kennedy slips on some milk and gets amnesia

She forgot 30 years of her life (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

Amnesia has been used as a plot device numerous times on Neighbours, with Susan Kennedy experiencing it herself back in 2002.

The high school principal slipped on some milk on the kitchen floor and when she came round, she had forgotten the last 30 years of her life.

Susan believed it was still 1972 and the night before her 16th birthday. Further confusion was caused when she accidentally wandered into a 70s party.

She initially struggled to accept her life and the way she looked, but after months of therapy her memories came flooding back — only the first thing she remembered was her husband Karl kissing his secretary.

Harold Bishop returns from the dead

He returned five years after going missing (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

Susan wasn't the only character to suffer from amnesia, with the plot device famously being used to explain Harold Bishop's five-year absence.

In 1991, Harold was enjoying a walk by the sea with his wife Madge, before being swept away and leaving behind nothing but his iconic glasses.

But five years later, Helen Daniels found him working in a Salvation Army shop. He went by the name of Ted, a tuba player, after suffering from amnesia.

Madge nursed him back to health, his memory eventually returned and he became one of the longest-running characters in the show’s history.

Bouncer the dog's dream

Even the animals have a starring role in Neighbours (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

One of the most famous and surreal scenes from Neighbours involved the Mangel family's Labrador Bouncer dream of getting married to Rosie, the Border Collie who lived next door.

The barking mad dream sequence left the "whole cast mortified", according to Anne Charleston who played Madge Bishop.

During an interview about the storyline, Anne said: "It reduced it to a three-year-old’s programme. It was very strange."

Paul Robinson's teenager brain tumour

Paul's brain tumour manifested in a strange way (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

Paul Robinson is Ramsay Street's villain and a powerful businessman which has left him viewed as a money-grabbing control freak.

But his evil ways were explained in a shocking twist in 2007, when it was revealed he had a brain tumour which caused his bad behaviour.

For reasons unknown, Paul's tumour caused him to have visions of a teenage boy called Fox.

Upon having the tumour removed, Paul had a dramatic personality change and became much more mellow.

Audrey the dog returns

It would have been a very long walk (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)
Audrey belonged to Susan and Karl (Rex Features)

Audrey the dog joined the soap in 2001 when she was just eight weeks old and was instantly adored by viewers.

She was owned by Libby Kennedy who moved to Adelaide with her dog after her husband fell off a horse and died.

However, a homesick Audrey miraculously walked across Australia to return to Ramsay Street, but was then adopted and renamed Scruff by Jamie Clarke.

Audrey was accidentally run over by Libby's brother Mal, after which the mix-up was revealed and Audrey went back to the Kennedy family.

Steph and Toadie’s sham marriage

Steph and Toadie staged a fake relationship (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

Mechanics Steph Scully and Lucas Fitzgerald had been growing close for years, but when it looked like they were finally getting together in 2009, Steph caught her best friend Libby kissing him.

A hurt Steph sought revenge by having sex with Libby's estranged husband Dan, later discovering she was pregnant with his child.

She confessed the truth to best friend Toadie Rebecchi who agreed to help by faking a relationship with her and telling their friends the baby was his.

The pair even got married to protect the lie.

Dee Bliss' evil twin

Dee Bliss seemed to make a mysterious return (Grundy Television/ Fremantle Australia)

Every Neighbours fan will no doubt remember how doomed bride Dee Bliss met a tragic end on her wedding day in 2003 when her new husband Toadie accidentally drove their care off a cliff.

Her body was never found and she was presumed dead.

That was until she returned almost 14 years later, claiming to have suffered amnesia after the accident.

In a shocking twist, it was revealed that she was actually a lookalike called Andrea Somers, who was trying to con Toadie out of his life savings.

Her true identity was revealed after Toadie had given into his resurfaced feelings for Dee and slept with her in a London hotel, as his horrified wife Sonya watched on via Skype.

In yet another twist, Madeleine West ended up playing two characters at the same time in 2019 when Dee really did return from the dead.

She had been in hiding after witnessing a gang murder, setting the scene for a clifftop showdown with Andrea. It was later revealed that the pair were in fact identical twins, separated at birth by a nun.

*Neighbours: The Finale airs as a double episode special on Channel 5 on Friday July 29 at 9pm.

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