“I’m not gonna lie to you, I think it happened very quickly. But quick is good!”
It’s a little less than a month until Neighbours will be back on our screens with the anticipated new series sure to pack plenty of drama.
But it has been a rollercoaster ride for fans of the Aussie soap, with the series initially drawing to a dramatic close in 2022 before being revived by Amazon Freevee in a move that was a welcome surprise for fans and Neighbours actors alike.
Now, beloved former Neighbours actor Jason Donovan has commented on the renewal news.
Speaking to Virgin Radio to mark his return to West End musical Grease, presenter Ricky Wilson asked Donovan whether he felt as though “the dirty” had been done to him following his guest appearance on what was thought to be the last ever Neighbours episode.
Donovan said: “I think you can look at it two ways. You can look at it that way… or you can look at it the way that we created such a storm that there was only one way for it to go, and that was to bow down to public pressure and Amazon’s Mr Bezos… is that his name? Bow down to The Bezos and bring it back.”
He added: “Look, I was surprised. I’m not gonna lie to you. I think it happened very quickly! But quick is good!”
Donovan had returned to the soap along with Kylie Minogue as Scott and Charlene Robinson for the final Neighbours episode last year. In total, Donovan had starred in the Neighbours role for over 400 episodes from 1986 to 1989.
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Similarly, commenting previously about the news of the Neighbours renewal, Minogue had said that she was “miffed” about the news.
She told Tay FM: “Yeah, ‘happy’ is probably not the emotion. You know, ‘miffed’ may have been the word. But I know with the producer, he’d said, like, it wasn’t [certain]. They didn’t know. So all the affection and love that went into the final episode was the truth.”
Minogue added: “I’m happy for them now and I’m interested to see how [Neighbours] is going to change.”
More recently, fans have been treated to a trailer for the reboot series, which gives a first look at other iconic returning character, Guy Pearce, who returned as Mike Young in the final three episodes of the show’s original run last year.
The reboot series is set to pick up two years after the finale, with a wedding on the cards and Mischa Barton’s new character Reece arriving on the street also.
Neighbours returns on Amazon Freevee on 18th September 2023. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on.
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