Longtime Neighbours fans will remember Sonya Mitchell was a dog trainer for Toadie Rebecchi who went on to become his second wife.
Sonya was introduced as a guest character in 2009, but actress Eve Morey was later promoted to the main cast and became Toadie’s long-term love, with her past of substance misuse and gambling addiction being explored.
The arrival of Sonya’s sister Jade Mitchell (Gemma Pranita) led to the revelation that Sonya was the biological mother of Callum Rebecchi (Morgan Baker), Toadie’s adopted son.
Toadie and Sonya went on to marry in 2013 and establish a family together, even having a daughter named Nell.
The pair faced numerous difficulties, however, including stalkers and the spectre of Toadie’s presumed dead wife Dee Bliss and her con artist evil twin Andrea Somers, both played by Madeleine West.
However, what brought Sonya Mitchell’s time on Neighbours to an end?
What happened to Sonya Mitchell in Neighbours? Toadie Rebecchi’s wife explained
Sonya Mitchell was killed off when the character discovered she had terminal ovarian cancer.
The character discovered her precarious health situation after she and Toadie faced their marriage imploding at the hands of Andrea Somers.
Sonya underwent chemotherapy but it failed to reduce her tumours, prompting her to spend time with Toadie, Callum, Jade and Nell.
A trip to the beach saw the character pass away in Toadie’s arms.
In real-life, Neighbours producers had decided to write out the character in 2019.
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2019/01/Neighbours_8027_1-9100c6a.jpg?quality=90&crop=10px%2C0px%2C1981px%2C1319px&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
Explaining what happened to RadioTimes.com, actress Eve Morey confirmed it was not her decision to leave the soap behind.
She said: “At the end of 2017 Neighbours was at a point where it was negotiating its future (following Australian broadcaster Network Ten going into administration), and there had to be changes budget-wise for it to move forward in every department, and I was part of that. It’s what happens in the industry, it made sense, it’s a business, and it’s all good – once I knew the character was going I wanted to know what would happen to Sonya and Toadie, we had to preserve the integrity of these characters.
“So with almost a year to go, I said ‘I have to die,’ which started the trajectory of the exit storyline.”
![""]("https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2019/02/Neighbours_8043_1-335ccf5.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413" "\"\"")
On her desire for Sonya to die rather than leave Toadie, Morey noted: “Sonya would never leave Toadie or her kids, or take Nell and not let him see her. They both have too much respect for each other to do that.
“I didn’t want her to go off the rails again, if you make someone unlikable because they’re leaving you to end up not caring they’re going! I feel death was the only option in order to be true to them.
“In the end, everyone did everything they could to make this whole process as wonderful as it could be for the end of the character.”
Thankfully, Toadie looks poised for a new happy marriage as he prepares to marry Melanie Pearson (Lucinda Cowden).
Looking for Neighbours’ merch? Look no further than TruffleShuffle.com!
Read more:
Neighbours’ final episode premieres on Friday 29th July at 9pm, followed by Neighbours: What Happened Next? at 10:05pm and Neighbours: The Stars’ Greatest Hits at 11:30pm on Channel 5. Check out more of our Soaps coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
The latest issue of Radio Times magazine is on sale now – subscribe now and get the next 12 issues for only £1. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to the Radio Times podcast with Jane Garvey.