Neighbours finale episode set to hit screens immediately – after the cleaning soap was AXED for the second time lower than two years after its revival

Neighbours will air its final episode on Thursday after being axed for a second time, this time by Amazon, less than two years after the iconic soap’s revival.

The Australian series, which first premiered on the BBC in 1985, became a worldwide hit and helped launch the careers of Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, and Guy Pearce. 

The soap previously came to an end in July 2022 after Channel 5 pulled out of its funding deal, prompting a star-studded finale featuring Kylie, Jason, Margot Robbie and a host of returning favourites. 

But just months later Amazon Prime stepped in to save the show, with new episodes beginning in September 2023. 

However, earlier this year, Amazon confirmed the soap would be axed for good, with its final ever episode now set to air on December 11, 2025. 

Stefan Dennis, 67, who played Paul Robinson for decades, voiced his frustration over the decision, adding that only Amazon knows why Neighbours is ending despite its loyal global audience. 

He told The Mirror: ‘Neighbours is a show that shouldn’t be ending. Everybody’s scratching their heads about why a show which has got an audience in the millions around the world each day, is being axed. 

He continued: ‘Only the folk at Amazon know why it’s no longer going on.’ 

Stefan added that it would now fall to rival soap Home and Away to carry the mantle as Australia’s longest-running drama. 

In February, Daily Mail revealed the soap had been cancelled again after the show reportedly struggled to secure the viewer numbers Amazon had hoped for. 

An Amazon spokesperson said at the time: ‘Neighbours has brought so much joy over the last 40 years to its fanbase globally and in the UK.

‘Forty years is an incredible milestone and we are proud that Amazon MGM Studios was able to have a small part of bringing further episodes to Freevee and Prime Video customers over the last two years, spanning over 400 episodes.’

Meanwhile, a source told The Sun: ‘Amazon gave Fremantle two years to see if it worked but sadly they just didn’t get the viewers.

‘It’s a really sad day especially for the cast and crew who work on the show in Melbourne.

‘This really is the end of Neighbours just as it’s celebrated it’s 40th birthday.’ 

Longtime fans of the soap opera were quick to take to X – formerly known as Twitter – to share their devastation over the show’s second axing.

They wrote: ‘Just heard that #Neighbours is being axed again. I am beyond gutted’;

‘Not sure I can go through this again’; ‘Neighbours axed again?! Wow’; ‘Now I have just read that Neighbours is being axed again??’;

‘I’ll never get how home and away is still vibing along when they’ve axed Neighbours twice. It’s always been the superior Australian soap’;

‘After a hellish personal 14 months I refuse point blank to accept that they will try to take from me AGAIN!!! It’s sometimes the only 20 minutes in the day I can escape. Absolutely blooming well not!!’

Others said they feared the show would not be able to recreate the ‘perfect ending’ viewers were given in 2022. 

That finale drew almost 3 million UK viewers and 873,000 metro viewers in Australia, boosted by cameos from Holly Valance, Natalie Imbruglia and Ian Smith as Harold Bishop. 

The rebooted show aired worldwide on Amazon Freevee, but the platform was folded into Prime Video late last year, and the soap did not survive the transition.