The date for the final episode of Neighbours has been confirmed, just days after the Australian soap was the target of a cruel April Fool’s joke claiming it had been saved.
Last month, there was sadness around the world when it was revealed that broadcaster Fremantle’s efforts to find a new channel for the long-running show had failed, after Channel 5’s decision to stop airing it in the UK. Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, and Natalie Imbruglia are all enormous stars from the show Neighbours. It was initially shown in 1985 and first aired on the BBC, with millions tuning in every day at noon and then again at teatime.
Neighbours’ uncertain future was originally rumoured in February, and now it has been confirmed that the final episode will air on Monday, August 1 in both the United Kingdom and Australia. And the news arrived just as pranksters shattered viewers’ hopes with an April Fool’s joke that Neighbours’ future had been assured in a surprise reversal.
According to an item on an Australian TV website, the soap had been “thrown a lifeline” and would be moving to Channel 7, the same network that initially aired it 37 years ago. “Everyone needs good Neighbours,” said CEO James Warburton, “and 7Plus is the perfect friend for the much-loved drama.”
“We’re thrilled to be bringing the show back to the network where it all started.”” Dannii Minogue, who rose to stardom on rival series Home and Away, will make her Neighbours debut as a long-lost Robinson relative, according to the report.
‘Updated: Yup, yearly April Fool’s Day post,’ it finished, just as many fans suspected as they read more of the story.”
