Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis has expressed his disappointment over the show's cancellation, stating that the 40th anniversary celebrations have been overshadowed. Dennis, who has played Paul Robinson since the first episode, told TV Tonight: 'It’s really made the 40th anniversary a bit wishy-washy now. It’s a bit of a shame, because it’s an incredible accolade for an Australian show to say they’ve been going for 40 years.'
He added: 'But unfortunately, that’s now being completely and utterly overshadowed by the fact that the show is now on its way out. So the 40th anniversary means nothing now. It’s a bit of a shame.' The current run of Neighbours is set to end in 2025 after Amazon Freevee, which had revived the series in 2022, was shut down by Prime Video.
Dennis also revealed that he has left the soap five times, describing a 'bumpy ride' since its inception. 'I left the show when it was axed from Channel Seven in 1985, I left my own volition in 1992 when I was going to go out and sow my wild seeds, I came back in 2004,' he said. He noted that this is the third time the show has been axed, making it 'the only show in the world, as an ongoing serial, that’s been axed three times.'
Fellow cast member Rebekah Elmaloglou, who plays Terese Willis, told RadioTimes.com that she was 'grateful' for the extra two years but added: 'There is another side of me thinking we’ll definitely never get picked up again now. Last time, there were whispers going around about the Amazon deal. This time round it feels a little bit more real.'
