Neighbours fans are delighted that the axed Australian soap will be revived only four months after its final episode but its return may not be as it seems.
Fans of the show were left devastated in July when it was confirmed that the soap would come to an end this summer.
This was due to Channel 5 was dropping the show from its line-up to "focus is on increasing our investment in original UK drama", despite the programme being the fourth-most watched soap in the UK.
That meant the Australian soap lost a large source of its funding and had "no option but to rest the show" after 8,891 episodes.
Neighbours has been a hugely popular show in the UK since its inception in 1985 but it will now be returning to our screens after streaming service Amazon Freevee bought the entire collection of its 37-year catalogue.
It will air on Amazon Freevee in the UK, meaning fans can watch without paying. In Australia, it will return to its home of Network 10, where it has aired for the past 36 years.
Amazon Freevee plan to revive the series new year, however, it is thought that it will not be a daily show like before.
An TV insider told The Sun : "Fans loved the fact that Neighbours was a soap which was served up on a constant, regular basis — they couldn’t get enough of it.
"And the fact that it was always aired each weekday during its 37-year run was one of the reasons it was special in the minds of devotees.
"So while they’ll rejoice at the news of the revival, they might yet be disappointed by what form it takes."
It has been confirmed Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson, Alan Fletcher as Karl Kennedy, Ryan Moloney as Toadie Rebecchi, and Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy will all return whilst Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ executive producer since 2013, will be back in his role, whilst Andrew Thompson will also make a return as a producer.
After the deal was confirmed, Amazon Studios AVOD content boss Lauren Anderson said: "Neighbours has captivated its audience for nearly 40 years, building a dedicated and loyal following for the lives and stories of the characters on Ramsay Street.
"With the power of streaming, we’re able to offer a catalogue of thousands of Neighbours episodes for new audiences to discover - we look forward to immersing the audience in new Ramsay Street experiences when we relaunch the show next year."
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