It was the day no soap fan was looking forward to – the day one of the big ones fell. Neighbours, after 37 years on screens in the UK and Australia, finally came to an end with the residents of Ramsay Street coming together for one big celebration.

In the weeks leading up to the end, fans of the soap have been quite frankly astonished by the amount of talent from the past who announced they were returning to say goodbye. Guy Pearce (who plays Mike Young), Margot Robbie (Donna Freedman), Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson) and even queen of pop herself Kylie Minogue (Charlene Robinson) made their way back for the occasion. The wealth of talent this show has produced is on full force throughout the final week, but especially in the last episode.

The hour-long special centred around Toadie Rebecchi (played by Ryan Moloney) and Mel Pearson’s (Lucinda Cowden) wedding. The sweet, American-western inspired affair went without a hitch (quite unusual for Neighbours, and especially strange for a Rebecchi wedding), and became the catalyst for bringing people back to Erinsborough in one way or another.

It was also responsible for notorious bad boy Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) finally reigniting his love with the only woman to tame him, Terese Willis (Rebekah Elmaloglou). Fans from the recent years will have been pleased to finally see them seal the deal with a kiss and call off The Lassiters buy-out and move to New York. So they were staying put in Erinsborough.

One couple who were planning on leaving, though, were Toadie and Mel. With everyone but the Kennedys selling up on Ramsay Street, the soon-to-be-newlyweds are wondering about whether a new life away from Erinsborough will be best for them considering how many memories (and let’s be honest, failed marriages, ahem Toadie) surround them. Susan (Jackie Woodburne) and Karl Kennedy (Alan Fletcher) are in charge of collating memories for the Ramsay Street book and take it upon themselves as a good time to share their findings with Toadie and Mel.

A video montage plays, with former residents of Ramsay Street leaping at the chance to congratulate the happy couple, begging them to stay on Ramsay Street. Enter the how-the-hell-will-they-do-that cameo from Margot Robbie, who pops up on screen looking like the Hollywood star she is to share her congratulations. It’s not quite Donna-back-on-the-street, but it’s lovely nonetheless (and Margot’s probably a little too busy with Barbie for a flight across the world, anyway). We also reconnect with Steph Scully (Carla Bonner), Beth Brennan (Natalie Imbruglia) and Flick Scully (Holly Valance) to name but a few. Admittedly some returns were a little more seamless than others, but one must suspend belief when watching Neighbours.

How could Toadie and Mel leave after that? They, of course, decide to stay, and a reception’s held on Ramsay Street with plenty of faces from years gone by.

Enter, the elephant in the room: Kylie and Jason’s return. Big, and bold, their return to the sound of Especially For You is admittedly goosebump-inducing if not a moment of camp that the soap does so well. They are Neighbours, and it was lovely to see them back, even if it was a little bit forced and slightly disconnected from the main storyline.

It almost doesn’t matter if some of the reunions weren’t executed with exemplary flare. This was more about nostalgia, which the hour-long special delivered in bucket-loads. Could some of the returns been a bit more seamless? Yes. Did we all enjoy when we saw Margot Robbie back as Donna? Absolutely.

But really, this episode was Jackie Woodburne’s. If Scott and Charlene were the faces of Neighbours, Susan was the heart. Beloved Susan held all the values that Erinsborough put on a pedestal. She was kind, thoughtful… everything you’d want your own neighbour to be. If anyone could reflect on the history of the show, it’s Susan. Woodburne, who seemed to be on the verge of tears throughout the entire final week, was tasked with wrapping up 37 years of the show in a beautiful monologue which was helpfully Susan’s entry into the memory book.