10 Neighbours stories that were axed after soap's cancellation
Things could have been so different.
Most fans agreed that Neighbours had a fitting ending when the heartwarming final episode aired last month, but getting to that point wasn't easy for the show's writers and storyliners.
Channel 5 announced its decision to cancel the show in February, leaving the soap's team with just four months to map out and film the finale.
As you'd expect with any long-running continuing drama, there were plans for huge storylines beyond that point which sadly had to be scrapped – as we've heard in recent interviews from some of our Neighbours favourites.
Here, we're rounding up 10 storylines that fell by the wayside or were axed altogether.
1. Karl and Susan's money worries
The beginning of the year featured a devastating setback for the Kennedys when Karl foolishly invested their life savings into Montana Marcel's new start-up company. The money was lost when Montana was arrested, leaving Susan furious with Karl.
At the time, many fans suspected that this storyline had been specially written to set up the final weeks of Neighbours and a possible departure for Karl and Susan.
The opposite turned out to be true, as the storyline – which would have run for longer – was largely forgotten about once the nostalgia of the final months kicked in.
2. David's shock departure
Before the axe fell on Neighbours, Takaya Honda had decided that 2022 would be his final year in the role of David Tanaka. This wasn't announced to fans, and plans for him to be written out were ultimately scrapped when the show was cancelled.
David's dramatic final months in Erinsborough, which included Gareth Bateman's death and being sent to prison, were all originally intended to lead up to his departure from the show.
In a recent chat with , Takaya explained: "The story would have gone on for longer and it would have been different. They've had to change things to shorten it, but hopefully it's still had the same impact.
"Even though it's shortened – and I only have a vague idea of what they had planned if it kept going – I don't think the audience will feel robbed of that story having closure.
"There was still so much room, within the on-screen time we had, to tell the story fully and in an enjoyable way. It wasn't any less of an exciting rollercoaster ride."
3. Mackenzie's happy ending
Georgie Stone, who played Mackenzie Hargreaves, also told that 2022 was likely to have been her final year on the show regardless of whether it continued or not.
Reflecting on how the Neighbours axing news leaked before cast were told, Georgie explained: "It's not fun to find out that you're losing your job via social media.
"I think I was going to leave at some point this year anyway, but I was sad that there wouldn't be future generations of young actors who get to have this experience on the show."
The show's team had tentative plans to give Mackenzie a hopeful new chapter after the tragic death of her husband Hendrix Greyson. With Hendrix dying just a few weeks before Neighbours ended, there wasn't time to explore this on screen.
Script producer Shane Isheev tweeted in June: "[Hendrix's death] was planned before we knew the show was ending because we were losing the actor. And the beautiful Georgie also wanted Mack to have the FULL soap experience.
"Trust me, had we continued, we had plans for Mack to find love again and have her happily ever after."
4. Byron as a regular
Jane Harris's son Byron Stone arrived on screen in early July, but left again before the finale. Neighbours was axed after Joe Klocek had been cast in the role, so he would have played the character either way.
The original plan would have seen Byron move onto Ramsay Street as a regular character, with some big storylines planned for him.
Shane Isheev told : "He is a character that we would have got a lot of mileage out of, and he would have stuck around long-term."
5. Victor's arrival shakes up life for Jane
It would have been a busy year all round for Jane's family, as Isheev also confirmed that plans were in the works for Nicolette and Byron's father Victor to join Erinsborough.
There wasn't time to explore this storyline before Neighbours ended, so the plot had to be scrapped.
Charlotte Chimes, who played Nicolette Stone, later told: "It's a shame that a few things that I knew were coming up for [Nicolette] aren't happening now, as I would have loved to have been able to enjoy those stories.
"Nicolette's dad was going to be coming and we didn't have time for that. That was one thing I was really looking forward to – exploring the Jane and Nicolette dynamic and how the dad would affect that."
In a separate chat with Chatterbox Radio, Isheev explained: "We even know who we wanted to play that role. Vic would have come in and been a bit of a charmer. I think, if Clive and Jane had stayed together, he probably would have tempted Jane away from Clive. Maybe putting the moves on Wendy and charming Vera.
"Karl and Susan lost all that money with the Montana storyline. He would have hooked into that and maybe even made things worse for them."
6. The slow road to Paul and Terese's reuni
Let's face it, the Neighbours team were always going to reunite Paul and Terese before the show ended. However, some fans questioned the execution of the plot, coming so soon after Paul had cruelly schemed to destroy Terese's professional reputation following their split.
In his post-finale chat with , executive producer Jason Herbison confirmed that there would have been a much slower build-up to the 'Praise' reunion if the show had continued.
Herbison explained: "In a perfect world we would have taken longer to reunite them. But with Paul, I think it's a case of better the devil you know.
"Terese hasn't always walked a straight line and they are each other's equal. I'm glad I reunited them and I don't think Paul will ever change. But as Terese wrote on her note, she accepts that. That doesn't mean she won't end up ripping up the note!"
7. An extra Rodwell
Neighbours bosses had plans for at least one extra member of the Rodwells when they first devised the family.
However, with limited screen time available to give the clan when Neighbours was axed, this character was removed from scripts and the team chose to introduce just one child of Andrew and Wendy.
Candice Leask, who played Wendy, recently told Digital Spy: "Initially there was meant to be a younger son. Then when we had an end date, they decided they were just going to have Sadie as the daughter."
8. Wendy's past revealed
Wendy caused a stir with her eager-to-please ways when she first moved to Ramsay Street. However, there were reasons in Wendy's backstory to explain this attitude, which viewers never got to find out about.
Candice Leask told us: "Wendy's storyline was going to develop and unravel. They were going to explore why she was the way she was. It would have been cool to find out why she wanted everyone to like her. I think she was full of anxiety when she went to talk to people."
9. More drama for Terese and Estelle
Terese's mother Estelle was another character introduced at the eleventh hour for a limited run, but original plans for the show's future would have seen her feature in a different storyline.
Shane Isheev told : "We didn't want to miss out on seeing some of those faces show up, so that's why we still have Byron, and we still have Estelle – just so we can see them.
"We had another really big story for Terese and Estelle that we sadly can't tell now."
10. Erinsborough earthquake
Shane Isheev has also confirmed that David's prison storyline was originally supposed to feature some familiar faces from the show's past, including 2016 villain Jacka Hills and fan favourite Darcy Tyler.
He told Chatterbox Radio: "One of the original ideas I had for sending David to prison was him meeting some of the past villains of the show.
"We were working to potentially doing an earthquake, which would have resulted in a big mass breakout in the prison. That was also an opportunity to spruce up some of the sets in Erinsborough.
"I wanted to do a mass prison breakout, where iconic villains from Neighbours past team up and wreak havoc on the show."
Neighbours has now come to an end, but catch-up episodes are available via My 5 (UK) and 10 Play (Australia).
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