Neighbours nominated for top US award for the first time ever

 One for the history books.

Neighbours has received an Emmy nomination, the soap's first one in its 39-year history.

The Australian show is up for Best Daytime Drama Series at the Daytime Emmy Awards, which take place on Friday, June 7.

The soap faces strong competition from five other nominees, including US dramas Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and The Bay.

Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison called it an "exciting moment" for the soap.

"Neighbours has been on an incredible journey these past few years and a Daytime Emmy Award nomination is the icing on the cake," he told TV Tonight.

"It’s a huge honour to be nominated alongside such iconic US daytime dramas. Today’s news is an exciting moment for our hard working cast and crew and a wonderful recognition of the new chapter of the show."

Scriptwriter Emma J Steele responded to the nomination news on X (formerly Twitter), posting: "Well, this is rather exciting! Congratulations to the entire team @Neighbours for our first ever Daytime Emmy nomination! #Neighbours."

Script producer Shane Isheev also tweeted, calling it an "exciting way to end the week" and branding it "wonderful recognition for the entire team".

Neighbours returned to screens last September following its Channel 5 cancellation in July 2022, with the current revival available to stream in the US via Amazon Freevee.

Mischa Barton, known for playing Marissa Cooper in The OC, joined the cast as new character Reece Sinclair last year, before bowing out of the role in November.