After 37 wonderful years of soap shenanigans, Neighbours finally came to an end last week. The finale was a star-studded affair as Ramsay Street residents down the years reunited to say farewell to the show.
The main storyline followed the iconic Jarrod “Toadie” Rebecchi finally finding his happily ever after with Melanie Pearson, but fans were also blessed by seeing some of the show’s biggest stars, including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia, Holly Valance, Margot Robbie, Delta Goodrem and many more.
And while viewers mostly expressed their happiness at the finale on social media, there seemed to be one major issue: why did Kylie basically say nothing at all?
The pop icon had just a few lines, saying “Home, sweet home” upon returning to Ramsay Street, and also exclaiming “Jane!” and “Harold!” Considering Kylie was probably the biggest star to come back for the finale – sorry Margot – it was a paltry amount of things to say. Guy Pearce, for comparison, had a huge part in the finale’s storyline.
It turns out, however, that there was a simple reason for Kylie’s lack of lines. In an interview with TV Tonight, Neighbours‘ executive producer Jason Herbison said that it was a timing issue, with Kylie and Jason filming their scenes before the rest of the episode. “Our discussions with Jason (Donovan) and Kylie were always about making a small appearance,” he explained.
“They didn’t want to overshadow the current cast or make the finale about them. We also filmed their scenes before I’d written the episode, so whatever we filmed had to fit in with that. I hate to see Kylie copping any criticism – she was nothing short of amazing on the day.”
Well that’s fair. Everyone apologise to Kylie and Neighbours now, please.
Love Film & TV?
Get your daily dose of everything happening in music, film and TV in Australia and abroad.
For more on this topic, follow the Film & TV Observer.
