Strewth! Since the days of Kylie and Jason, has Neighbours ever gotten so much attention? Fans of the long-running serial are outraged after learning that filming would be halted in June due to a financial cut from Channel 5.
Neighbours need a UK broadcasting partner to continue production, so unless Channel 5 executives alter their minds or another British channel steps forward, the popular series will be cancelled.
A petition has been started, past stars have spoken out, live daytime shows have bemoaned the choice, and it has even gotten press coverage.
With fans still hoping for a miracle, we’ve decided to join the cause and list all the reasons why Neighbours deserves a second chance from the television gods.
1. The ratings
Normally, soaps are cancelled because their ratings have plummeted, but that is not the case with Neighbours.
While the show definitely doesn’t bring in 20 million people like in its ’80s heyday, its audience ratings are amazingly stable year in, year out — demonstrating the fanbase’s fierce commitment.
With a 13 percent audience share during noon, Neighbours does particularly well. This is frequently Channel 5’s most watched programme of the day. Each week, the show is included among Channel 5’s most-watched programmes, with ratings hovering around 1.4 million.
Since the premiere of the new season of Neighbours in 2022, ratings have been steadily increasing week after week, despite major storylines such as the storm tragedy at Kyle and Roxy’s wedding. The decision to move the evening broadcast to 6 p.m. appears to have paid off as well.
While it’s thought that Channel 5 is cancelling Neighbours due to “exorbitant” production expenses, the show’s absence raises concerns about how well the station’s daytime programming would fare without such a strong anchor.
2. Streaming success
On Channel 5’s streaming service My5, Neighbours is also a big hit. Episodes of Neighbours and Home and Away frequently appear in My5’s “most popular” section, possibly indicating that fans watch them on catch-up after work.
As we enter a new era of television, all channels are increasingly prioritising their on-demand apps, so Neighbours could still be a crown jewel for My5, bringing in new viewers and providing audience crossover to other shows.
3. It’s still in great shape
The axe normally falls on soap after a period of poor quality, yet most viewers are raving about Neighbours right now.
The plots are excellent, there’s a decent balance of drama and lighter content, stories are evenly distributed among the regular actors, and there’s a constant sense of respect for the show’s past.
Plain Jane Superbrain, Clive Gibbons, Melanie Pearson, and Amy Greenwood have all returned to entertain long-time fans in recent years.
Unsurprisingly, Scott and Charlene, Mrs Mangel, and Bouncer’s dream have received a lot of attention in the wake of Neighbours’ uncertain future. This depicts the amazing success of Neighbours in the ’80s.
Fans of the current era, on the other hand, are aware that there have been numerous high points recently, including the gripping David/Aaron/Nicolette baby saga, Kyle’s cancer, and the recent storm disaster.
4. The makeover
Neighbours have just recently received an on-screen makeover, with improved interior sets and more location filming in and around Melbourne.
The on-screen adjustments were made to give the show a new lease on life. During the tense negotiations over the show’s future, it’s probable that the producers were aiming to impress Channel 5 or capture the attention of rival broadcasters.
The response from spectators has been overwhelmingly favourable, with many applauding the improved production values. However, the new-look show was axed before it had a chance to settle in.
5. The schedule problem
Neighbours’ broadcasts in the UK ran behind those in Australia for the majority of 2020 and all of 2021. While some may claim that the move had little impact, it did divert some viewers away from Channel 5 and My5 (and their advertisements) as many fans began using “other ways” to keep up with Australia.
When Channel 5 missed opportunities to catch up, die-hard viewers were enraged, prompting an internet campaign.
Because we’re now airing episodes ahead of Australia, 2022 will be the first opportunity to determine if Channel 5’s broadcasts benefit from no longer being behind. Could the plug have been pulled too soon, with ratings on the rise?
6. Storylines with a variety of twists and turns
In recent years, Neighbours has sought to improve on-screen diversity. Despite the fact that there is always more to do, the show has been praised for its LGBTQ+-focused themes. Without no clear substitute or any similar commitments elsewhere in the schedule, Channel 5 will be losing this daily on-screen representation.
As actor Takaya Honda recently pointed out, David and Aaron had the first gay wedding on an Australian TV show, and they’re now one of the longest-running homosexual couples on television in terms of time and episode count.
Chloe, a bisexual character, is also a fan favourite, and her on-screen romance with Elly has garnered its own devoted following.
In 2019, Georgie Stone was cast in the role of Mackenzie, the show’s first regular trans character.
The debut of Gemma Bird Matheson as Kiri Hua Durant, a new regular character, has been revealed by Neighbours management even this week. Gemma expressed herself as follows: “I’m a big supporter of queer actors in queer roles. This role excites me for various reasons, one of which is that I get to play myself, a queer Papua New Guinean Christian. That’s a huge accomplishment.”
7. It’s a well-known brand
Recognizable brands are extremely vital these days, especially with linear television broadcasting to dwindling returns. Neighbours is well-known, and the show continues to be well-supported by the media.
Plain Jane Superbrain’s return in 2020 made it onto the main page of a national newspaper, and the cast appears on British daytime shows for interviews on a regular basis.
For the past 28 years, viewers have been watching popular characters like Karl and Susan, and this sense of familiarity is extremely significant in people’s lives. From a broadcaster’s perspective, it’s a one-of-a-kind connection with the audience that’s easy to lose but difficult to reclaim once it’s gone.
No show has a divine right to continue airing, and it’s natural that Channel 5’s top priority these days isn’t Neighbours. In recent years, the broadcaster has re-energized itself with intriguing new dramas and solid factual commissions, occasionally outperforming the larger networks in the 9 p.m. slot.
But isn’t there a place for a decent neighbour as well?
8. The COVID factor
During the early days of the epidemic in 2020, Neighbours was the first mainstream scripted show to resume filming. The soap’s producers came up with a new production approach in just a few weeks, dividing cast and crew into separate groups that didn’t cross over and introducing socially-distanced filming.
At a time when the rest of the business was in turmoil, Neighbours was able to keep supplying episodes to Channel 5 without interruption thanks to its ingenuity.
Neighbours was contacted by productions from all over the world, including our own Emmerdale, requesting advice before returning to filming.
In the brutal business of television, there isn’t much room for emotion, but Neighbours proved what it was made of and punched well above its weight in the most trying of times.
9. Channel 5 has been a “wonderful friend”
It’s easy to slam Channel 5 now that Neighbours has been unjustly axed, but don’t forget how the broadcaster’s involvement helped to extend the show’s run and generate some unforgettable on-screen moments.
If Neighbours had been cancelled in the late 2000s, there wouldn’t have been the same outcry that we’re seeing now. The show was going through a creative slump at the time, and viewers were fed up.
When Neighbours was moved to Australia’s digital network Channel 11 (now 10 Peach) in 2011, the UK collaboration became more crucial than ever, and Channel 5’s contribution grew.
As a result, major storylines connected to the UK broadcast schedule, late-night specials, on-screen competitions, and even episodes recorded in London were introduced.
Jason Herbison, a long-serving executive producer in Australia, is a lifelong Neighbours fan who knows the show inside and out.
There’s no doubting that the show has benefited greatly from the “perfect combination” of a dedicated production crew and a committed UK partner over the last five years. Perhaps it’s time to sit around the table at the Kennedy house with a cup of tea and sort it all out in classic Ramsay Street fashion.