Rebekah Elmaloglou, who plays Rebekah on Neighbours, has stated that she found it difficult to accept the news that the show would be ending.
Following Channel 5’s departure as Neighbours’ UK broadcast partner in February, show executives announced plans to end production.
While there was a glimmer of optimism that another UK network would step in to fund new episodes, Neighbours was officially cancelled in March after 37 years.
“We kind of knew it was in the cards for a while, but it’s like anything – when it actually smacks you in the face, it was a massive shock,” Rebekah, who portrays fan favourite Terese Willis, told Digital Spy.
“There was a lot of ‘in denial’ – and I suppose there still is, in a way!” The emotions are all over the place, on and off.
“Everyone was astonished, unhappy, and stunned on that Monday morning when we were all summoned to the studios for the meeting. There was a wide range of emotions present.
“But we were all hopeful that someone would come along and save us.” “Yes, we did.”
Neighbours is still Channel 5’s most popular daytime show, with its midday screenings bringing in the station’s biggest audience share of the day.
However, negotiations over the show’s continuation stalled over cost, with Channel 5 deeming Neighbours’ annual fee too high.
“I assumed it was all a fake,” Rebekah continued. To be honest, I felt it was all a set-up! I honestly believed it was a prank.
“I thought to myself, ‘OK, they’re just doing this to grab some exposure.’ I thought it was a bit of a set-up at first, but it wasn’t!
“There’s still a part of me that hopes it will be picked up, but who knows?” This chapter, in my opinion, has to be closed.
“I believe that if someone turned around and said, ‘Let’s do something,’ it would not be the programme that it is now.” It’d be fantastic, but the format would be different.
“As performers and staff, we have to put the denial behind us and move on with our lives, seeking for new work.”
Kyle Canning, Roxy Willis, and Ned Willis are among the popular characters who have left Neighbours in recent weeks. Harlow Robinson will be leaving in the coming weeks as well, as Jemma Donovan has finished filming her final scenes and returned to the United Kingdom.
“Absolutely,” Rebekah said when asked if Terese would stay to the finish. I’m not sure if I’ll be in the final scene or not, but I’ll be there.
“It’s quite unfortunate that the cast members who have left in recent months have left at this time.” We have such an incredible ensemble right now, and I was hoping that some of them would be able to stay until the end.
“However, we’ve had so many amazing people back, it’s crazy.” They most likely didn’t have enough space for everyone! There will be a plethora of narratives.”
