Australia – and soap fans across the world – rejoiced yesterday when it was announced that Neighbours was coming back from the dead.
The iconic Aussie soap has been revived thanks to a landmark deal between Amazon Prime Video and Network 10. It comes just months after the long-running show was axed when UK’s Channel 5 decided to stop co-funding it.
Neighbours all-star Ryan Moloney, who played the beloved Toadie, stopped by The Kyle and Jackie O Show this morning to discuss the happy news.
“We start shooting again next year, early in the year,” the actor told Kyle Sandilands and his new co-host Brittany Hockley.
“And then it’ll be on air on (Channel) 10 first, in Australia, at the end of the year. Then it’ll be on Amazon Freevee worldwide.”
Moloney added that he’s very excited to return to his old stomping ground. “I’m actually very much looking forward to coming back,” he said. “I mean, Neighbours itself is one of the best training grounds that Australia actually has… It’s absolutely huge.”
Elsewhere in the interfere, Moloney also opened up about his life post-Neighbours, revealing that he’d been doing a civil construction course.
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So far Neighbours stalwarts Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy), Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy), Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson) and, of course, Moloney have been confirmed to return next year, with more casting announcements to come.
Network 10 will retain first-run broadcast rights in Australia. U.K. and U.S. audiences will also be able to view the series free of charge on Amazon Freevee. The revitalised series will also be available on Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand seven days after the free-to-air viewing of the new series, and exclusively on Prime Video in Canada.
Neighbours ran for almost four decades, and consisted of nearly 9,000 episodes since its launch in 1985. Welcome back!
