After 40 years on our screens, Neighbours has been canceled, but executives are hoping to persuade Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan to return to the program in order to end the Australian soap’s run ‘on a high.’
Neighbours bosses are hoping to go out in style later this year.
The canceled Australian serial is planning an emotional goodbye episode with previous Ramsay Street actors Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.
Jason, who portrayed Scott Robinson, has told producers that he’s open to a final cameo, but he wants pop princess Kylie Jenner, 53, to join him.
It was reported earlier this month that the beloved soap will be ending in August of this year, only a few weeks before it would have celebrated its 40th anniversary.
According to reports, Fremantle Australia has been in talks with Channel 5 for weeks in an attempt to keep the show on the air, but no agreement has been reached, leaving fans fearful that the show may be cancelled.
Jason, 53, of Neighbours, has reportedly informed show executives that he will be traveling to Melbourne in April to record an emotional return to Ramsay Street.
It’s unclear whether Kylie, who portrayed Charlene Robinson on the show, would reunite with her on-screen beau, but bosses are certain they can pull it off.
The Sun reports that the Neighbours crew is eager to wrap things out “on a genuine high,” and that executives have spoken with Jason, who “has agreed in theory to return.”
“Kylie has always been a huge supporter of the show — they’re just waiting to hear back,” the source added when discussing the potential reunion with the publication.
Nearly 20 million viewers in the United Kingdom tuned in to watch Scott marry Charlene on the Australian serial in 1988.
The plot propelled Kylie and Jason to international fame, with the performers – who briefly dated off-screen as well – going on to have a No. 1 hit song with Especially For You.
Spinning Around singer Kylie last played Charlene in a three-minute commercial for the Australian tourist board in 2019. She slipped back into her dungarees and picked up a wrench.
As the commercial aired, old pal Jason talked about the possibility of them both returning to the soap that made them famous.
“It doesn’t feel like something I need to do. I have absolute respect for the show and what it’s given me, but the problem with going back would be that the publicity becomes bigger than the moment,” he told the Radio Times in December 2019.
“However, he went on: “If Guy [Pearce], Kylie [Minogue] and me agreed we’d all do three episodes, that’d be different because we’d be sharing it.”
Following the cancellation of the show earlier this month, it’s been rumoured that Guy, who portrayed Mike Young on the show, has been approached by Neighbours executives about a possible goodbye appearance.
Ian Smith, 83, has also supposedly agreed to reprise his classic role as Harold Bishop and will start filming next month.
In addition to Kylie and Jason, Neighbours has seen some of the world’s biggest performers launch their careers, including Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe, and Liam Hemsworth, since its premiere on March 18, 1985.
