After the Austalian soap’s previous false ending, it’s almost impossible to imagine it getting a second starry finale – or it finding a new home. This time, its farewell needs to stick

It’s always sad to write an obituary, especially so when it’s for the second time. Neighbours, the Australian soap opera that made stars of everyone from Kylie Minogue to a man who will forever be known as Toadfish, is five months away from death. Again.

Yesterday, the show announced that Amazon, the company that resuscitated Neighbours two years ago after its dramatic 2022 finale, would be bringing production to an end. In July, filming will cease. In December, the final episode will be shown. True, there is the possibility that another buyer will leap in and save it, but that is looking more and more unlikely. After all, as the saying goes, you can’t make a zombie out of a zombie.