Neighbours brought some heartbreaking scenes.

By Helen Daly

Published: Thursday, 01 February 2024 at 07:30 AM


There was an upsetting twist on the cards for fans of Neighbours when the beloved David Tanaka (played by Takaya Honda) sadly died.

It all started when David, Aaron (Matt Wilson), Nicolette (Hannah Monson), Leo (Tim Kano) and Krista (Majella Davis) went on a vacay, but things turned sour when Eden (Costa D’Angelo) arrived to cause trouble.

Throwing himself at Leo, Eden insisted he didn’t want to see another man raising his unborn child, which Krista’s currently carrying.

The duelling men got into a tussle, and as Eden raised a rock above Leo’s head, his brother came from nowhere to save him.

Takaya Honda as David Tanaka and Matt Wilson as Aaron Brennan in Neighbours standing side by side, smiling into camera
Takaya Honda as David Tanaka and Matt Wilson as Aaron Brennan in Neighbours.
Amazon Freevee

David grabbed a hold of Eden and the pair tumbled over the cliff together.

When Aaron and Leo raced down, they found an unconscious Eden with David hanging near him, begging to send Eden to hospital as he was in a worse condition.

However, as the villain was getting life-saving care, David remained in the same spot at the bottom of the cliff, dying.

As Aaron and Leo got to him, it was too late – David had died.

Speaking about his shock exit from Neighbours, Honda explained how knowing the storyline coming up helped him decide to return in the first place.

“It’s what brought me back, really,” Honda explained. “Right from when they started discussing the possibility of me coming back, I’d say to them, ‘It’s always about storyline for me.’”

He continued: “I didn’t want to come back and it be a really gimmicky thing or something horrible. So they pitched this storyline, and I thought it was really interesting, in a really cool way, and for a really great way to finish off David’s arc.

“Because he started off as this reserved, closeted man who didn’t have all this confidence in the world outside of when he was working – now, he’s in a place where he’s being a hero and saving his brother’s life.

“So I feel like of all the endings you could’ve predicted for David when he was first on screen, I don’t think this would’ve been one of them.

“I love that it’s in line with his growth on the show. The whole storyline brought me back and I think it’s a really great way to send the character off.”

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