Strewth! Has Neighbours ever had so much attention since the Kylie and Jason days? Fans of the long-running soap are in uproar following the news that filming will stop in June due to Channel 5 pulling its funding.
Neighbours is reliant on a UK broadcasting partner to stay in production, so unless Channel 5 bosses miraculously change their minds or another British channel comes forward, it's curtains for the iconic series.
In recent days, a petition has been launched, former stars have spoken out, live daytime shows have lamented the decision and it's even warranted coverage on the news.
With fans still hoping for a miracle, we're adding our voice to the campaign with all the reasons Neighbours deserves a lifeline from the TV gods.
1. The ratings
Soaps are usually axed because their ratings have fallen off a cliff, but that's not the case with Neighbours.
While the show clearly doesn't bring in 20 million viewers like in its '80s heyday, its audience figures are remarkably consistent year in, year out – reflecting the fanbase's fierce loyalty.
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Neighbours performs particularly well at lunchtime with an audience share of around 13%. This is often Channel 5's highest audience share of the entire day. The show also appears in the list of Channel 5's most-watched programmes each week, with figures around the 1.4 million mark.
Since Neighbours returned for its new season in 2022, figures have been rising week-on-week amid big storylines like the storm disaster at Kyle and Roxy's wedding. Shifting the evening airing to 6pm also appears to have paid off.
While it's understood that Channel 5 is axing Neighbours because its production costs are "too expensive", the loss of the show does raise questions over how well the station's daytime schedule will hold up without such a strong anchor.
2. Streaming success
Neighbours is also a strong performer on Channel 5's streaming service My5. The "most popular" section of My5 regularly features episodes of Neighbours and Home and Away, perhaps indicating that fans watch on catch-up after coming home from work.
With all channels increasingly prioritising their on-demand apps as we head into a new era of television, Neighbours could still be a jewel in the crown for My5 – getting eyeballs on the service and providing audience crossover to other shows.
3. It's still on top form
The axe usually falls on a soap after a downturn in quality, but most fans are full of praise for Neighbours' current output.
Storylines are strong, there's a good mix of drama and more light-hearted material, plots are shared out among the regular cast in a balanced way, and there's an ongoing sense of respect for the show's history.
Long-time fans have also been treated with returns from the likes of Plain Jane Superbrain, Clive Gibbons, Melanie Pearson and Amy Greenwood in recent years.
Unsurprisingly, much of the recent press around Neighbours' uncertain future has focused on Scott and Charlene, Mrs Mangel and Bouncer's dream. This reflects the phenomenal success of Neighbours in the '80s.
However, fans of the current era know that there have been plenty of highlights in recent times, including the gripping David/Aaron/Nicolette baby saga, Kyle's cancer and the recent storm tragedy.
4. The revamp
Neighbours has only just unveiled an on-screen revamp, with improvements to the show's interior sets and an increase in location filming in and around Melbourne.
The on-screen changes were designed to give the show a refresh. It's possible that the producers were attempting to impress Channel 5 or catch the eye of other broadcasters, amid the gloomy negotiations over the show's future.
The reaction from viewers has certainly been positive, with fans praising the increase in production values. But the axe has now fallen without the new-look show getting a chance to bed in.
5. The scheduling drama
For most of 2020 and all of 2021, Neighbours' broadcasts in the UK aired behind those in Australia. While some would argue that the impact was negligible, the decision did take some eyeballs away from Channel 5 and My5 (and their adverts) as many fans started using "other means" to sneakily keep at pace with Australia.
Die-hard viewers were also frustrated when Channel 5 missed opportunities to catch up, leading to an online campaign.
2022 has been a first chance to see whether Channel 5's broadcasts benefit from no longer being behind, as we're now airing episodes ahead of Australia. With ratings on the rise, could the plug have been pulled too soon?
6. Diverse storylines
Neighbours has worked to improve on-screen diversity in recent years. While there's still always more to do, the show has received acclaim for its LGBTQ+ focused storylines. Channel 5 will now be losing this daily on-screen representation without an obvious replacement, or any similar commitments elsewhere in the schedule.
David and Aaron had the first gay wedding on an Australian TV show – and as actor Takaya Honda recently pointed out, they're now one of the longest-running gay couples on television in terms of timespan and episode count.
Chloe, a bisexual character, is also a firm favourite with fans and her on-screen relationship with Elly developed a devoted following of its own.
The show also introduced its first regular trans character in 2019, when Georgie Stone landed the role of Mackenzie.
Even this week, Neighbours bosses have announced the arrival of Gemma Bird Matheson as Kiri Hua Durant, a new regular character. Gemma said: "I'm a big advocate for queer people playing queer roles. I'm excited about this representation for several reasons – I get to play myself, a queer Papua New Guinean Christian. That's pretty monumental."
7. It's a big brand
With linear television airing to diminishing returns these days, recognisable brands are incredibly important. Everybody knows Neighbours and the show still enjoys plenty of support from the media.
The cast regularly appear on British daytime shows for interviews, while the return of Plain Jane Superbrain in 2020 even made it onto the front page of a national newspaper.
Viewers have watched popular characters like Karl and Susan for 28 years and this sense of familiarity is incredibly important to people's lives. From a broadcaster's point of view, it's a unique connection to the viewer that's easily extinguished, but hard to win back once it's gone.
No show has a divine right to continue running and it's understandable that Neighbours isn't Channel 5's main priority these days. The broadcaster has rejuvenated itself in the past couple of years with exciting new dramas and strong factual commissions – sometimes beating the bigger channels in the 9pm slot.
But surely there's room for a good neighbour too?
8. The COVID factor
Neighbours was the first mainstream scripted show to resume filming during the early days of the pandemic in 2020. The soap's team took just a couple of weeks to come up with a new production model, splitting cast and crew into different groups which didn't cross over and introducing socially-distanced filming.
This creativity meant that Neighbours was able to continue delivering episodes to Channel 5 without interruption, at a point when the rest of the industry was in crisis.
Productions from all over the world, including our very own Emmerdale, got in touch with Neighbours to pick up tips before returning to filming themselves.
There's not often much room for sentimentality in the ruthless world of TV, but in the most difficult of times, Neighbours proved what it was made of and punched well above its weight.
9. Channel 5 has been a "good friend"
It's easy to bash Channel 5 now the bosses have cruelly pulled the plug on Neighbours, but let's not forget how the broadcaster's involvement has extended the show's lifespan and created some memorable on-screen moments.
If Neighbours had been axed in the late '00s, we probably wouldn't have seen the same outcry that's dominating the headlines now. Back then, the show had been going through a rough patch creatively and fans were fed up.
When Neighbours was shunted to digital network Channel 11 (now 10 Peach) in Australia in 2011, the UK partnership became more important than ever and Channel 5's input increased.
This led to the introduction of big storylines tied in with the UK broadcast schedule, late-night specials, on-screen competitions and even episodes filmed in London.
On the Australian side, long-serving executive producer Jason Herbison is a life-long Neighbours fan and knows the show inside-out.
There's no denying that the "perfect blend" of a dedicated production team and committed UK partner has served the show incredibly well over the past few years. Maybe it's time to sit round the table at the Kennedy house over a cuppa and sort it all out, in true Ramsay Street style.
Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 (UK) and Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach (Australia).
