Popular Australian Soap ‘Neighbours’ To Cease Production

The long-running Australian soap opera Neighbors has been dropped by its UK broadcaster, Channel 5, and will cease production indefinitely while show producers seek a new broadcaster to air the program.

“Neighbors will no longer air on Channel 5 beyond this summer,” a spokesperson for Channel 5 told Digital Spy, “It’s been a much-loved part of our schedule for more than a decade, and we’d like to thank the cast, Fremantle and all of the production team for their fantastic work on this iconic series.”

The spokesperson also included that this decision was reached because the channel will be focusing “on increasing our investment in original UK drama, which has strong appeal for our viewers.”

Neighbors’ Australian broadcaster, Channel 10, released a statement saying “It is our intention to continue our association with Neighbours if another broadcast partner comes forward. Channel 10 has an ongoing commitment to the show, the cast and crew, and is hopeful that Fremantle will find a new production partner.”

While the show began as an Australian production, Channel 5 has paid for the show’s production for many years since it began airing in the UK as well. A report by The Sun suggests that Channel 5 pulled its funding because supporting Neighbours financially was becoming “too expensive” for them.

Several actors from Neighbours would go on to have significant international success, including Margot Robbie, Liam Hemsworth, Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce.