Neighbours star Rebekah Elmaloglou responds to show ending news

 "It's been difficult."

Neighbours is known for its outlandish storylines, but one plot we could never have predicted for the show's 40th anniversary was Paul and Terese ending up with a baby!

Yet that's exactly what happens next week when Chelsea arrives with her newborn son, Thomas, and a DNA test reveals that Paul's the dad.

It's certainly a shock for Terese, who wasn't expecting Paul's ex to come back to haunt them so soon into their rekindled relationship.

But as Inside Soap sits down to chat to Neighbours star Rebekah Elmaloglou, she tells us that the idea of Terese and Paul adding to their family has been on the cards for quite some time…

"One of the show's producers keeps saying to me, 'Terese should have a baby!'" laughs the actor as we catch up with her. "And I have to keep saying to him, 'Mate, I've just gone through the menopause, it's not even possible!

"But the baby who plays Thomas was an absolute angel," she continues. "He was a premature baby, so he was tiny, but he was adorable. On screen Terese is not supposed to like him, but in between takes we'd all be cooing over him. I loved every minute of it."

Read on for more from our chat...

"Look, I think at this stage, as long as she's with Paul, she's happy. She takes her bucking bronco framed photo with her!

"I think her only concern about moving into the penthouse is Nell. Nell's still a huge priority, and she does get put aside a little bit with all the drama with Chelsea and the baby, that does come up at some stage.

"So they have to kind of go 'Right, we need to reprioritise Nell'. But will Terese stay in the penthouse? We'll have to wait and see…"

The show turns 40 next week – what is your own personal highlight of your time on the show?

"Terese falling off the roof of Lassiters! I just love the fact that Paul sees her up there, she's still holding on for dear life, and he manages to run into the foyer, press the lift button and get up there to save her.

I also loved when Terese was drunk and fell into the little pool in the Lassiters complex. But I could give you a list of hundreds of highlights, I guess every character would have their favourite."

How do you feel about the sad news that Neighbours will be ending again this year?

"Unfortunately, we came back from the UK tour to the news that the show was being cancelled again. It was quite the blow after being on such a high with the tour.

"Though I feel very grateful that we got another two years of our beloved show, it's been difficult to jump right back into work… but who knows what the future holds.

"At this stage I'm just going to enjoy the remaining few months of filming and look forward to the next chapter. I'm so excited for everyone to see the incredible storylines we have coming up for the 40th anniversary.

"It's such a huge milestone that I'm proud to be a part of. And who knows, I could pop up on one of UK's favourite soaps!"

For much more from Rebekah on Terese's big story next week, favourite memories and dream returnees, pick up the latest copy of Inside Soap for the full extended interview – out now.