The final episode of Neighbours attracted an average audience of 2.5 million, Channel 5 has announced.
The double-episode special on Friday (29 July) was the last-ever offering of the Australian soap after it was cancelled earlier this year.
Having premiered 37 years ago, the soap had been a staple in the lives of many in the UK and Australia alike.
For its grand goodbye, Neighbours received more viewers than it had in over a decade, as people tuned in to see how the show would end.
According to overnight figures, the show also had a peak audience of three million – a figure that Channel 5 said was the highest outing for the soap on the channel since it moved over from ITV in 2008.
The closing episode featured several favourite characters returning to the cul-de-sac community of Ramsay Street to bid the programme farewell.
One of the most anticipated moments included the return of Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue, who starred as couple Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell in the 1980s. In a move that was surely pleasing to long-time fans, Minogue wore her character’s classic denim overalls.
Also among the cameo appearances were Oscar-nominated actor Margot Robbie, singers Delta Goodrem and Holly Valance, and actor Guy Pearce, who reprised his character Mike Young.
You can read a round-up of the critics’ thoughts on the final episode here, as well as The Independent’s one-star review in full here.
