When Takaya Honda sat down for an apparent Neighbours interview on April Fool’s Day, he had no idea what he was getting himself into.
The David Tanaka actor appeared in a phony conversation (above) with co-stars Richie Morris (Levi Canning) and Phoebe Roberts (Freya Wozniak), but things quickly became unpleasant when his co-stars got into a furious fight.
Naturally, it was all a set-up by Richie and Phoebe, with the former saying ahead of time: “We’re going to tease Takaya a little bit. We’re going to do a fictitious interview to discuss storylines.”
Phoebe added: “We’re going to get him to come in, he’s going to be sandwiched in the middle, and we’re going to argue over the top of him about something he was actually present for, and see what happens…”.
When Takaya joined them, Richie got right to work, recalling an “intense incident,” which annoyed Phoebe, who insisted it was “not funny.”
“Your boy wasn’t going fast enough, and she just had a go at me!” he said.
“I didn’t have a go at you man! I didn’t have a go at you,” she declared.
Takaya, sensing the tension, tried to lighten the mood by joking around. Phoebe, on the other hand, maintained the joke by informing Richie that she had requested him “not to bring it up.”
Things went further when she accused him of being “disrespectful,” and Takaya laughed to himself that they were having a “lover’s tiff.” Another attempt to break it up was unsuccessful, as they continued to argue.
A diplomatic Takaya suggested that they were approaching the scene with “different energies”, though Phoebe eventually said: “I’m OK, but maybe you guys should just do this by yourselves,” before leaving the room.
Phoebe ultimately broke the joke to Takaya when she returned, proclaiming, “We’re fine!”
“It’s fine, it went for a long time though,” Takaya admitted, before jokingly storming out. “Who’s cool now! April Fool’s!” he quipped.
As fans are aware, Neighbours will be ending this summer, and Takaya sent out a crucial and heartfelt message to viewers when it was announced that Channel 5 will be canceling the show earlier this year.
