Everybody’s got good Neighbours – but maybe not for much longer | Maya Hattenstone

Is Channel 5 really thinking of axing Neighbours? Reading the news broke my heart. I have watched Neighbours religiously since I can remember, and it just would not seem right if it were no longer aired in the UK. After 31 years (22 of them on BBC1) the Australian soap is one of the staples of British life.

Neighbours is not just a TV programme, it is a tradition that stretches across four decades and all the world’s continents – 7,563 episodes, watched in more than 60 countries, viewing figures of 19.1m in the UK for Scott and Charlene’s wedding (surely, the wedding of the 20th century), and the creator of too many stars to mention (Kylie, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce, Delta Goodrem, Jesse Spencer and Natalie Imbruglia, for starters).

In recent years, it has maintained its astonishing success rate for launching household names – from Margot Robbie (now reckoned to be the highest paid actress in the world) to Liam Hemsworth (star of the mega franchise The Hunger Games) and Eliza Taylor (now best known for post-apocalyptic drama The 100).

It might not have the viewing figures of old, but which show has? Times have moved on. But I don’t hear the TV bigwigs talking about dropping Coronation Street or EastEnders. Even since moving to Channel 5, Neighbours is still pulling in, on average, a million viewers per episode. How can it be right to pull a show that has shown other soaps the way since 1986? It doesn’t make sense. It’s downright Aussie-phobic.

Neighbours offers a unique perspective on the world. For me, it represents true happiness. I am autistic, forever anxious, and the one time I truly forget myself is in the bliss of Ramsay Street. (By the way, did you know Erinsborough, the Australian suburb where it is set, is an anagram of Or Neighbours?) My brain races at 100 miles an hour – except for when I watch Neighbours. Somehow the show mellows it out. My endless worries melt away with Neighbours.

What makes the show unique is its sunny disposition – in every sense. Yes, it has its share of tragedy (from Kate Ramsay being gunned down to Josh Willis being crushed to death in the Lassiter’s explosion) but it doesn’t pile on misery for the sake of it. It doesn’t send a busload of long-loved characters over the cliff, just because the producers are sick of them, or let a psycho killer on the loose purely to boost ratings. The world of Neighbours is more calm and honest than that of most soaps – kindness is often rewarded, friendships embraced, and love returned. The world of Ramsay Street is an optimistic one – and we all need more hope in our life.

There are so many highlights – from the marriage of Charlene and Scott all those years ago, to “Who pushed Paul Robinson?”, last year’s balloon crash week and this year’s return of Dee Bliss (or, in reality, her fake double!). But I don’t watch Neighbours purely because of the drama, I am glued to it because I’ve invested in the families. Their successes are my successes; their disappointments, also mine.

Last year saw the show’s 30th anniversary. It never crossed my mind it might be taken off air in a year’s time. It’s funny (though, to be honest, I’m not laughing) that this Neighbours scandal has coincided with the airing of a week of special London episodes (concluding the Toadie and fake Dee storyline); a week celebrating Britain and the millions of British fans. So how does Channel 5 show its gratitude? By threatening to chop it off at the knees.

Surely it’s time for the channel to listen to all us fans (a petition has, of course, been launched), show the soap the respect it deserves, and reprieve it. There is too little sunshine in the world – particularly at the moment. There has never been a time when we’ve needed the light and love of Neighbours quite like now.