Neighbours may have only been revived by Amazon in September 2023, but 2024 still saw a steady stream of departures throughout the year.
Some cast were sadly written out by producers as one-year contracts came to an end, while others chose to move on after only returning to give their characters some final closure.
Here’s our reminder of the most notable departures this year and the reasons the various cast bowed out.
Takaya Honda (David Tanaka)
Neighbours fans were thrilled when popular couple David Tanaka and Aaron Brennan returned to the soap in late 2023, but a happy ending for the pair was never on the cards.
David’s final scenes aired at the start of February, as he lost his life following injuries he’d sustained in a dramatic cliff fall alongside bad boy Eden Shaw.
This opened up a new chapter of drama for Aaron, who has stuck with the show as a permanent character once again.
Speaking after his final scenes had aired, actor Takaya Honda told Digital Spy that he was fully on board with the idea of David’s tragic ending.
He explained: “I wanted to come back and actually finish David off properly because obviously at the end of the last season in 2022, everything had to wrap up and they’d wanted David and Aaron to have a nice ending to finish it off that way.
“For David’s return, they pitched this storyline almost in its totality – at least in terms of what happens towards the death moment – and I loved it.”
Guy Pearce (Mike Young)
When Neighbours was granted its unexpected lifeline by Amazon, Guy Pearce generously agreed to return to continue his character Mike Young’s storyline with Jane Harris.
Mike and Jane’s heartwarming reunion had been one of the best-received elements of the star-studded Channel 5 finale in 2022, so Guy knew that the relationship couldn’t just be tossed aside.
Of course, the Hollywood star is rather busy, so he mostly appeared via video calls to keep the story going. Jane and Mike’s romance became long-distance due to Mike working in the UK and he extended his stay several times.
This situation couldn’t go on indefinitely, as much as we enjoyed Guy’s cameos, so producers eventually gave us a sensitively-written break-up scene for Jane and Mike earlier this year.
Georgie Stone (Mackenzie Hargreaves)
Neighbours aired Georgie Stone’s final scenes as Mackenzie Hargreaves in September, one year after the show had returned to screens.
Show bosses worked on a happy ending for Mackenzie, who married her new partner Haz Devkar before they both left Erinsborough to start a new life in Paris.
Georgie later confirmed that it was her choice to only return for a year-long stint.
Speaking in September, she told Hospital Radio Reading: “When they asked me, I thought I’d feel really weird seeing the show come back and not be a part of it. Especially with Mackenzie not having had a complete ending. We left her in a very dark place and I know there were a lot of people who weren’t happy with that.
“I thought it’d be a good chance to finish her story. So I suppose I came back with the knowledge that it was only going to be for a specific amount of time.
“I had a year and the option for another year, but I told the producers that I would probably only do one year. When it came time to renew, I said that I was ready to go. It was good to go in with the focus of ‘we’re giving Mackenzie a complete ending’ and I’m really glad I came back.”
Shiv Palekar (Haz Devkar)
Neighbours star Shiv Palekar also left the show this year, as his character Haz Devkar headed off to France with his new wife Mackenzie in September.
Shiv hasn’t yet clarified whether it was his choice to leave or whether Haz was written out to help facilitate Mackenzie’s happy ending.
Speaking in September, he explained: “I’ll miss everything – the wonderful cast, the incredible crew, the great storylines. The early starts, the late finishes, literally everything – I wouldn’t take anything back or change anything.
“It’s been such a wonderful experience and I’ll miss all of it. I’ll especially miss the share house gang – we really got close during filming, and it hurt to say goodbye.”
Ryan Moloney (Toadie Rebecchi)
Neighbours fans were shocked in June as Ryan Moloney announced that he’d be leaving his legendary role as Toadie Rebecchi after nearly 30 years.
The surprises kept on coming, as Ryan confirmed in subsequent interviews that it was the producers’ choice to write his character out.
Promising that there were no hard feelings, Ryan told Digital Spy: “I wanted to leave the show before Neighbours got axed from Channel 5. I thought it was going to finish at that point, so I wanted to stick around for the finale. Then when that finished, I thought: ‘Okay, cool. I’m moving on from that’.
“Then obviously when [executive producer] Jason Herbison asked me to come back for the revival, I just thought you don’t get that opportunity – shows don’t usually come back like this. So I came back, but I probably got the feeling this was part of the plan, because Jason knew that I’d been looking to leave anyway.
“Also, economics-wise, it helps to not have really expensive people there! If you want to have the longevity of the show, and if you want to have the show keep pumping along, it’s got to be affordable and you’ve got to balance the books.”
Toadie’s exit also led to the departure of his on-screen son Tanner Ellis-Anderson (Hugo Rebecchi), but Ayisha Salem-Towner has stuck around for further storylines as Toadie’s daughter Nell.
Lucinda Cowden (Melanie Pearson)
Neighbours fans faced further heartbreak in October when Lucinda Cowden announced that she’d been written out from the role of Melanie Pearson.
Lucinda’s departure came one year after her return to the show for the Amazon revival.
She later told Digital Spy: “It’s always a possibility once the contract’s up – I think all actors are aware of that – but I was not expecting it and it was a bit of a shock. It was hard to not tell anyone about it, because you can’t really say anything.
“I found out in December last year, so I’ve known for a long time. But this is the industry that we live in and that’s the way these things work. It’s all part of the rich tapestry of being an actor.”
Lucinda has confirmed that she’ll be back on screen briefly for the 40th anniversary episodes next year, but fans are already petitioning for a longer-term return.
