Neighbours' David Tanaka in death plot twist

Neighbours spoilers follow from Friday's episode in the UK (March 11), which some Australian viewers may prefer to avoid.

Neighbours has kicked off a shock new storyline for David Tanaka.

Friday's edition of the Aussie soap ended with a major twist, as David chose not to treat a dying Gareth Bateman (Jack Pearson) following the carnage at River Bend.

Following weeks of mystery, Neighbours' latest episode finally revealed the truth about Gareth following Freya Wozniak's desperate attempts to track him down.

After Gareth shot Levi Canning (Richie Morris) and took Freya (Phoebe Roberts) hostage, he confirmed that he was never in any danger from gangsters or corrupt police officers.

freya wozniak and gareth bateman in neighbours

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Gareth told Freya that he was actually in cahoots with the gangsters, who have since been protecting him.

Gareth recalled how he used his job at the courthouse to help the criminals, passing on jury notes to their lawyers so they knew what the jurors were thinking and could adjust their defence strategy accordingly.

After someone at the courthouse became suspicious, Gareth went into hiding and he made up the story of dodgy coppers so that Freya wouldn't do too much digging.

Continuing to follow orders, Gareth had now gatecrashed the River Bend trip to kill Levi before he discovered too much.

Fremantle//Channel 5

He seemingly planned to do the same to Freya after holding her at gunpoint and forcing her to drive off with him in the River Bend mini-bus.

Freya hoped that help was at hand when she spotted that Aaron Brennan (Matt Wilson) was hiding out in the back of the vehicle, having clearly found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Aaron tried to assist Freya but was quickly caught out by Gareth, who subjected him to a brutal beating and left him for dead.

gareth bateman attacks aaron brennan in neighbours

Fremantle//Channel 5

Just when it seemed like there was no stopping Gareth, an injured Levi appeared in the middle of the road. Levi was shot in the arm by Gareth yesterday, but appears to have avoided any serious harm.

Freya swerved to avoid Levi, crashing the vehicle and causing Gareth to go flying through the windscreen.

Meanwhile, with David feeling regretful over recent rows with Aaron, he teamed up with Amy Greenwood (Jacinta Stapleton) to make a surprise appearance at River Bend.

Amy had her own reasons for wanting to be there, hoping that she could finally reconcile with Ned Willis (Ben Hall).

david tanaka is shocked by aaron brennan's attack in neighbours

Fremantle//Channel 5

As they were nearing the retreat, David and Amy found Aaron unconscious in the road. After calling the emergency services and learning that an ambulance could take an hour to arrive, they decided to get him to hospital themselves.

Back in the car, David and Amy soon stumbled across another shocking scene as they found the crashed mini-bus and realised they'd have to stop.

With Gareth in a critical condition, it was agreed that Amy and Levi would get Aaron to the hospital. Freya and David promised to stay at the scene to help Gareth.

Once they were alone, Freya filled in David over recent events: "He was going to kill me. I thought he'd killed Levi – and Aaron."

Fremantle//Channel 5

A disgusted David asked: "He did that to Aaron?"

Freya confirmed: "He just kept hitting him."

After David acknowledged that Gareth was unlikely to survive his injuries anyway, he and Freya took a step back and chose not to treat him.

The Erinsborough Hospital colleagues watched on as Gareth became weaker, soon passing away.

Fremantle//Channel 5

Takaya Honda, who plays David, recently hinted at this storyline by telling Digital Spy: "David finds Aaron and from that point, David's life is about to change in a really big way.

"What that is, I can't say! But questions will be raised from this point of 'who is David'? I'm excited for the audience to discover that with David and go along with that ride."

Neighbours' story editor Shane Isheev also hinted at this storyline last year.

Fremantle//Channel 5

Writing on Twitter in September, Shane teased: "Just finished an epic day in the #Neighbours writers' room, plotting a moment I think will go down as one of the show's most shocking."

Following up today, Shane added: "UK peeps… 'THE MOMENT' is nearly upon us. It'll have ramifications right until the very end. Strap yourself in!"

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach and streams on 10 Play.