Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan have shared the first pictures of themselves together on the set of Neighbours – check them out below.
In February, the Australian show’s UK broadcaster Channel 5 announced that it will no longer air the series beyond the summer, leading to the cancellation of the show.
A statement on the show’s official Twitter read: “We are so sorry to say that after nearly 37 years and almost 9,000 episodes broadcast we have to confirm that Neighbours will cease production in June. From here on, we are celebrating Neighbours.”
It was later confirmed that “ultimate Neighbours couple” Minogue and Donovan would be returning to Ramsay Street for the finale of the long-running soap. The pair shared a photo of a script earlier this year.
Minogue played Charlene Mitchell in the show, with Donovan playing Scott Robinson. Both characters were introduced to the show in 1986 with Minogue leaving in 1988 to focus on her music career. Donovan departed the following year.
This morning (July 11), Minogue shared a picture of her and Donovan on set with the caption, “Now we’re back together”, referring to lyrics from the pair’s hit song, ‘Especially For You’.
In the pictures, which you can see below, Minogue can be seen hugging Donovan and in the background, there’s a green mini – a reference to the car Minogue’s character drove in the show originally.
‘Now we’re back together’ @neighbours pic.twitter.com/fFoo2ndIfx
— Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue) July 11, 2022
The pair became firm fan favourites during their time on the show. Their wedding episode was watched by more than 2 million Australian viewers when it first aired in 1987, and later pulled in an audience of almost 20 million when it was shown in the UK in 1988, becoming one of the most-watched TV moments of the decade.
Talking about their return Jason Herbison, executive producer of the Australian soap, said the pair were “the ultimate Neighbours couple and it would not feel right to end the show without them”.
“We are thrilled that Jason and Kylie have come home to play a very special part in our series finale. It has been an emotional experience for them, for us, and I’m sure it will be for our viewers.”
Speaking about the cancellation, Donovan said: “I think it’s time to celebrate Neighbours. It has kept my family employed for a long time, to be honest. My daughter is currently in it, my dad was in it. I think we should be grateful for what it’s given Australia, it’s given actors, producers, writers, directors.”
In an interview on Late Night With Seth Meyers last month (June 8), Minogue said:
“I got this role in Neighbours in 1986… There was quite a bit of pressure for me to come back, so I shot my scenes back in Australia,” Minogue revealed.
Elsewhere in the interview, Minogue credited the show with her later success as a musician, saying that its popularity “exploded” during her tenure and comprised “a large part of how [she] entered the music industry.”
“England just went crazy about [Neighbours], so it’s been with me ever since…You know, you’re in people’s households [and] the show was played twice a day,” she recalled.
The finale episode of Neighbours will be broadcast on August 1.
It remains Australia’s longest-running soap opera, and also helped to launch the careers of actors Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth and Russell Crowe, among others.
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