Neighbours confirms seven fan-favourite characters returning to rebooted soap

Neighbours has confirmed seven fan-favourite characters are set to appear in the rebooted Australian soap when it returns later this year.

Jane Harris actress Annie Jones has signed up as a regular cast member alongside returning castmates Rebekah Elmaloglou as Terese Willis, Georgie Stone as Mackenzie Hargreaves, and Tim Kano as Leo Tanaka.

Meanwhile soap legends Ian Smith and Melissa Bell will make guest appearances as Harold Bishop and Lucy Robinson respectively, along with April Rose Pengilly as Chloe Brennan.

They will join previously confirmed stars Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson, Alan Fletcher as Karl Kennedy, Ryan Moloney as Toadie, and Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy, when the show begins filming in spring.

There was a global outcry when Neighbours, which had run for more than three decades, was cancelled last year after being dropped from Channel 5’s schedules.

The final episode aired in summer 2022 and saw some of the show’s biggest names return such as Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Natalie Imbruglia and Margot Robbie.

Then, four months later, streaming platform Amazon Freevee confirmed that they had picked the show up and would soon begin filming new episodes.

As well as creating a new series of the soap, Amazon announced that it will be hosting the show’s back catalogue, giving viewers access to 37 years’ worth of classic episodes.