Neighbours resurrection described as a ‘Titanic achievement’

Less than a year after being axed, Neighbours is back in production and it was the full gamut of emotions as cast and crew returned to the studio.

One of the most recognised stars of TV soap Neighbours has described the resurrection of the drama as a “Titanic achievement”.

The lights are back on in the Melbourne studio and cameras have begun rolling on the new look, revamped format with much loved actors including Alan Fletcher, Jackie Woodburne, Ryan Moloney and Stefan Denis returning to fictional Ramsay Street after Amazon Freevee and Prime Video provided the show a lifeline as international broadcast partners.

“To be honest, I never thought it would come back,” Fletcher, 66, told The Daily Telegraph. “Once a show ends, the metaphor I use for this show is that it is like a huge cruise liner and when you decommission a ship like this and put it into dry dock, it is an immense exercise to get it up and going again. So the very fact they’ve been able to do it is a Titanic achievement.”

Alan Fletcher and Rebekah Elmaloglou Neighbours’ first day of filming.

Fletcher played Karl Kennedy on Neighbours from 1994 until the show was axed in 2022 after an incredible 37-year run.

The full gamut of emotions were felt as cast and crew returned to the Nunnawading Melbourne set as cameras began rolling again on the Australian set of the iconic show today.

Ian Smith, playing Harold Bishop, also returns, as does April Rose Pengilly, Melissa Bell, Tim Kano, Georgie Stone and Rebekah Elmaloglou.

Channel 10 is back as local broadcast partner with executive producer Jason Herbison returning to the production.

The finale episode of Neighbours drew a national audience of more than 1.48 million viewers when it aired in July. It saw the return of much-loved former cast members, including Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Margot Robbie and Natalie Imbruglia.

A brand new chapter of Neighbours has begun.

The show was axed when Channel 5 in the UK did not renew its production deal with Fremantle Australia. It had previously aired for decades on the BBC.

“From the first moment I came through the boom gate, just seeing the security guys again for the first time in however many months, they are smiling from ear to ear,” Fletcher said. “Everyone around the building is turning the corner bumping into each other and discovering who is back, who is new. Getting to know the new people is as important as seeing the people returning.”

Elmaloglou returns as Terese Willis and said fans should expect a few changes.

“The essence of the show will most certainly be the same,” Elmaloglou said.

“You can’t change it too much, but Amazon are taking this very seriously and we want to up it. We want it to be a great show. It is definitely going to be different to what it was and the storylines are going to be bigger and better. It will be a different show but it will still have the essence of what the show is all about.”

Fletcher said he didn’t expect the show to change dramatically.

“The most important thing with Neighbours is we will make sure it is the Neighbours people know and love,” he said. “There is absolutely no point in turning it on its head in some way because the fans rely on it being the Neighbours they know. What we can do of course is get into some spectacular exciting stories.”