It was one of the biggest fan questions during Neighbours’ nostalgia-filled 90-minute finale special: why were celebrity guest stars Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan practically mute?
Fans were left baffled by the pair’s brief appearance and their lack of mingling with fellow co-stars in the final episode of the long-running soap last week.
They also had just a handful of lines, with Minogue – arguably Ramsay Street’s most successful export – uttering just five words: “Home, sweet home”, “Jane!” and “Harold!”
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Their brief return as beloved on-screen couple Charlene and Scott seemed even more flimsy when compared with Guy Pearce’s return to the soap, which became a major finale storyline.
neighbours’ executive producer Jason Herbison has finally responded to fans’ confusion, telling tv tonight that it all boiled down to timing – and that the pair’s top-secret filming was completed before the rest of the episode.
“Our discussions with Jason (Donovan) and Kylie were always about making a small appearance,” he told the website.
“They didn’t want to overshadow the current cast or make the finale about them. We also filmed their scenes before I’d written the episode, so whatever we filmed had to fit in with that. I hate to see Kylie coping with any criticism – she was nothing short of amazing on the day.”
Last week’s finale saw the original stars Minogue, Donovan and Pearce return alongside a host of other fan favourites, including Margot Robbie, Holly Valance and Natalie Imbruglia.
neighbors actress Christie Whelan revealed that while Robbie’s scenes had to be filmed in Los Angeles, she made a very sweet gesture to her fellow castmates to honor the occasion.
The actress sent 37 bottles of champagne to the Melbourne set so the entire cast and crew could toast the show when filming wrapped.
Almost 900,0000 Aussies tuned in to the tear-jerking final episode of Neighbors last week.
After 37 years on our screens, the soap came to a close as 873,000 watched on across the five metro capital cities, according to ratings published on tv tonight.
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