Neighbours star Ryan Moloney jokes about axe: 'Maybe that's why we got fired'

Neighbours star Ryan Moloney has made light of the beloved soap coming to an end after almost 40 years, joking about why they were ‘fired’ from the programme.

Tonight, the final ever episode of the Australian show will air in the UK, as fans around the world bid farewell to Ramsay Street forever.

It’s already aired over in Australia, where it garnered its biggest audience in over 13 years, with 837,000 people tuning in across the country, peaking at 1.41million.

On Friday’s Good Morning Britain, Ryan – who’s played Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi since 1995, expressed how ‘emotional’ it was to shoot the final scenes six weeks ago, explaining that he’s ‘done nothing but press’ since’.

He announced that he would be joining his fellow castmates on the upcoming farewell tour coming to the UK, which will include three dates at London’s Palladium.

He then thanked everyone who’s supported Neighbours over the years… before sneaking in a cheeky jibe.

‘Thank you so much to everybody that has watched over the time,’ the 42-year-old said.

‘Your support has meant so much everyone that’s watched, and everyone that hasn’t watched… I guess maybe that’s why we got fired.’

Neighbours is coming to an end after Channel 5 decided to remove it from its schedules to make way for more UK-based dramas, and production company Fremantle Media were unable to find a new home for the soap.

The finale will see Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan return as Charlene and Scott, with other star cameos including Holly Valance, Natalie Imbruglia and Margot Robbie.

Ahead of the programme coming to an end, several of its cast members paid tribute to its legacy, with Susan Kennedy actor Jackie Woodburne saying: ‘I think it took quite a long time for everybody to get their head around the fact of it,’ she said. ‘It was always something that could happen one day. Maybe it will be this year, maybe it will be next year.

‘But for it to actually happen, I don’t know that you can ever kind of be completely prepared for that. It was just a shock initially.’

Paul Robinson actor Stefan Dennis added: ‘It’s quite cathartic for us,’ he said. ‘We’re getting to sign off by signing off with people we started with and that’s pretty nice. There have been instances where I haven’t seen people for many years. I was working with one particular person who I haven’t seen for a very long time.’

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