Hope for Neighbours as soap has been cancelled and renewed before in doomed run

Fans of iconic Australian soap Neighbours were left devastated earlier this year, when Channel 5 announced that the show would come to an end after nearly four decades on air.

The show began way back in March 1985, and will miss its 40th birthday by just three years.

The Ramsay Street-based soap simply costs too much to film compared to the advertising revenue it brings in during breaks, with Channel 5 dishing out millions to Australian network Fremantle to keep the show going.

READ MORE: Neighbours fans 'in tears' at surprise flashback scenes as soap begins final week

But a deficit in figures means it’s finally the end for Neighbours, much to the devastation of fans everywhere.

Channel 5’s resident head of programming Ben Frow told the Radio Times that its axe was a “business decision”, insisting that while he could have spent more money on keeping it going, he could “spend the money on other things, which is what I decided to do. I can better spend the Neighbours money on UK shows.”

Keen fans of the show, however, will know that it isn’t the first time Neighbours has been cancelled in its 37 year run, as original network Seven initially ditched it after just four months.

The soap, created by TV executive Reg Watson, was commissioned based on the success of his earlier show Sons and Daughters, and proved popular with audiences in Melbourne.

Audiences in Sydney, meanwhile, weren’t overly impressed by the residents of Erinsborough, and declining viewership figures meant the programme was axed completely in September that year.

It had aired just 170 episodes at the time.

However, Neighbours made television history in Australia when its production company Grundy Television instead approached Network Ten to discuss airing a second series, and they agreed.

It was the first time in Australian TV history that a drama programme had successfully changed networks mid-run.

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The show also had a rough start, being offered to rival channel Nine Network in 1982, who declined the pitch. And if not for Seven, fans might have never got to know the Robinsons or the Ramsays.

Eventually, with the draw of stars including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, Neighbours was successful enough to be taken to an international audience, and secured a spot on the BBC for UK viewers in 1986.

In 2008 it would change networks yet again, ending up with Channel 5, while its Australian network Ten left fans fuming when it was shifted from its primary channel to its digital only service, Eleven.

The show lost a huge chunk of its Australian fanbase when the decision was made in 2011 – perhaps leading to its eventual demise.

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