Alan Fletcher nearly died while filming Neighbours

Australian actress Margot Robbie played Donna Freedman on Neighbours between 2008 and 2011. Her breakout role came two years later in The Wolf of Wall Street alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. The 32-year-old has been cast in a series of blockbusters over the past decade such as Suicide Squad, I Tonya and Babylon. While Erinsborough has not been part of Margot’s life for some time, she still felt the need to send the Neighbours cast a generous gift after learning the show was coming to an end. 

Neighbours was initially cancelled when the producers were unable to find a new broadcaster after Channel 5 confirmed it was dropping the soap to “focus on original UK dramas”.

Fans were devastated to learn the Australian serial drama was being axed after 37 years on screens, with thousands signing a petition to save it from the chop. 

Stefan Dennis, who plays businessman Paul Robinson, and Annie Jones, who plays Jane Harris, recently spoke out about filming their final scenes. 

The pair starred in the soap for decades and the rest of the cast and crew were a huge part of their lives. 

Stefan opened up to Express.co.uk about how it felt filming the last ever episode of the Australian drama, months before the reboot was announced. 

“It was terribly emotional for us [filming the last scenes] because we were seeing a depletion in the complex of people who we knew and loved,” he explained. 

Stefan said the cast and crew kept decreasing in size as many did not need to return to set after their scenes had aired. 

Looking back at the final, Stefan said: “The very last scene was highly emotional.”

Annie had more positive memories about the final day of filming and thanked A-lister Margot for her generous gift to the team when she learned the show was over. 

She said: “Darling Margot Robbie sent us 37 bottles of really nice champagne, so that was gorgeous.”

Stefan interjected: “It was one bottle for each year of the show.”

Annie concluded: “So we all cried a little and drank really nice champagne, but we laughed as well!” 

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Thankfully, Neighbours has been revived by Amazon Freevee which made the announcement earlier this year. 

The streaming service currently has hundreds of classic episodes of the soap viewers can watch. 

Production is rumoured to be underway for a new season of Neighbours, with new episodes set to hit screens in the second half of 2023. 

Speaking about the reboot, Stefan said the new episodes should be available to watch “this Autumn”. 

He added: “There might be some new characters but that is all I can say. I am saying it’s a rumour. 

“It’s a soap and soaps are forever changing because actors leave and do other things or the characters don’t work – let’s be honest, that sometimes happens.”

Annie said of her return to the show: “For me, it was a no-brainer as I love playing Jane and I love being on the show and having the opportunity to grow as an actor with every storyline. I am thrilled, I am really happy to be back.”

Neighbours will land on Amazon Freevee later this year. 

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