Neighbours Finally Says Goodbye to Ramsay Street
The iconic Australian soap that launched the careers of Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce and the Hemsworth brothers has wrapped up its long, legendary stint. On Friday, June 10, the final episode aired, ending a 40‑year run that made it the world’s longest‑running television drama.
Why the Curtains Fell on the Street
Neighbours was a fixture on the small screen in Australia since 1985 and in Britain the very next year. But Channel 5 – the UK’s free‑to‑air broadcaster that had been the main financial backer – pulled the plug to make room for locally produced content.
The show’s ratings, once sky‑high in the late 1980s, had steadily slipped as Home and Away stole the soap‑lover audience and reality programmes + streaming services flooded the market.
Emotional Farewell from the Last Villain
Stefan Dennis, the only original cast member still on the show, got the first taste of the real end as he closed the studio door behind his last line. He described the experience as “incredibly emotional” and kept it to himself, heading straight to his dressing room.
“It’s a melancholy day for me,” Dennis said in a Channel 10 interview, with Neighbours having been relegated to the network’s youth channel since 2011.
Neighbours: The Cultural Launchpad
- Once dominated Aussie and British pop culture.
- Actors graced magazine covers, topped the charts, and even performed at Britain’s Royal Variety Performance – a charity event attended by the royal family.
- Future stars like Russell Crowe, Jason Donovan, and many others got their start on Ramsay Street.
Russell Crowe’s brief stint in 1987—just five years before his breakout in Romper Stomp—not only wowed the local audience but also caught Hollywood’s eye.
Jason Donovan, who sang at Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee concert earlier this month, was featured in the soap’s highest‑rating episode when he married Kylie Minogue’s character. That single romantic moment drew nearly 20 million viewers in the UK alone, one of the 60 wedding specials across Neighbours’ nearly 9,000 episodes.
Remembering the Legacy
The soap’s grand finale sparked waves of nostalgia across the globe. Fans travelled back in time, reminiscing about the quirky characters, the dramatic twists, and the seemingly endless storylines that made Ramsay Street unforgettable.
As the lights dimmed, everyone could agree: that’s the end of an era that shaped so many careers and forever left a mark on both Australian and British television history.
