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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Saffron Otter

Neighbours legends missing from finale - mystery surrounding 10 snubbed stars

Neighbours helped launch the careers of a multitude of musical and acting stars throughout its 37-year run on screen.

The highly-anticipated finale on Channel 5 saw more than 30 big-name cast members return - including Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

Hollywood actress Margot Robbie, who played Donna Freedman and is arguably one of the biggest celebs to come out of the soap, even made time in her busy schedule to appear for a 14-second pre-recorded video message for the episode.

But there are some former cast members who've snubbed a cameo, along with one star who claims he was rejected by the show's producers.

Here, we take a look at some of the actors and actresses who starred in Neighbours but did not appear in the grand finale:

Liam, Chris and Luke Hemsworth

Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth starred in Neighbours as Jamie Kane (Getty Images)
The youngest Hemsworth brother Laim played Josh Taylor in Neighbours (AFP via Getty Images)

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The Hemsworth brothers all made an appearance on the Australian soap opera in the early days of their careers.

Youngest brother Liam, 32, was in the show from 2007 to 2008, playing Josh Taylor, who was left paralysed following a surfing accident.

Liam’s breakthrough role came with The Last Song and his role as Gale Hawthorne in the Hunger Games film series.

Chris, 38, featured in just one episode of Neighbours as Jamie Kane in 2002. When it comes to Aussie soaps, the actor is better remembered for his time in Home and Away with his role as Kim Hyde in 2004.

The Hemsworth brothers all had stints in Neighbours (Getty Images for Disney)

After starting out in the soap world, he went on to pick up the huge role of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now one of the highest-paid actors in the world

Meanwhile, eldest sibling Luke, 41, was the first to have a stint on Ramsay Street starring as Nathan Tyson from 2001 to 2002.

He is best known for playing Ashley Stubbs in the HBO sci-fi series Westworld.

Russell Crowe

Actor Russell Crowe with Jason Donovan in a scene from Neighbours (BBC)

Russell Crowe, 58, who has lived in Australia most of his life, starred in Neighbours back in the early days as Kenny Larkin.

The Gladiator actor played the former cellmate of Henry Ramsay.

He later gained recognition for his roles in the crime film LA and his name became synonymous with lead roles in action films like Robin Hood and Noah.

Alan Dale

Alan Dale played Jim Robinson (Mirrorpix)

Original Ramsay Street patriarch Alan Dale, 75, was one of the original 12 cast members who played Jim Robinson.

He first joined in 1985 and was killed off in 1993 - and reportedly left on 'bad terms', claiming the production company 'didn't put any value on any of the people appearing in the show'.

However he did return briefly for a special Christmas episode for a dream sequence in 2018.

Alan went on to star in the hit shows The OC, The West Wing, and Lost.

Eliza Taylor

Actress Eliza Taylor attends the "Thumper" Premiere during 2017 Tribeca Film Festival (Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival)
Character Janae Timmins (Fremantle Media)

Aussie actress Eliza Taylor, 32, arrived in Erinsborough as Janae Timmins in 2005.

She remained on the show for three years with a string of dramatic storylines to her name.

Teen Choice award nominee Eliza went on to play Clarke Griffin in the dystopian science fiction series The 100.

Craig McLachlan

Craig McLachlan has claimed 'cancel culture' has denied him appearing in Neighbours final episode (PA Images)

Craig McLachlan, 56, who played heartthrob Henry Ramsay between 1987 and 1989, had an integral part in one of the most-viewed weddings in soap history in walking his sister Charlene Mitchell - played by Kylie - down the aisle.

McLachlan says he was not invited to partake or have any mention of his character in the programme's final scenes due to "cancel culture" following sexual assault charges against him in 2020.

The father-of-one was cleared of the seven charges of assault and indecent assault on four women when he was in an Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.

A spokeswoman for McLachlan said: "Henry’s dead mother is being reincarnated for the final episode — but cancel culture won’t allow her son Henry to appear or even be acknowledged.

"What Craig and his partner have endured over the past four-and-a-half years — only to come out the other side and be confronted by, among other things, the attempted permanent erasing of his part in Neighbours history — is devastating.

"Craig was not invited to take part in the closing episode or indeed to contribute in any way to the end of Neighbours."

Ben Mendelsohn

Ben Mendelsohn appears proud of his time on the soap (AFP/Getty Images)

Ben Mendelsohn, 53, played Warren Murphy on Neighbours for a total of 19 episodes in 1986 when he was a fresh-faced 17-year-old.

Despite going on to Hollywood roles in Star Wars, The Dark Knight Rises, hit TV series Animal Kingdom and Netflix series Bloodline, Ben told Yahoo Be back in 2016 that Neighbours was still his 'most widely known' role.

He added: "I look at some things I've done over the past several years and I think 'Oh geez, how did I get through?' But I don’t look back shame-faced at any of it really."

Brett Tucker

Brett Tucker attends he 2017 Australian Emmy Nominee Sunset Reception (Getty Images North America)
Eloise Mignon and Brett Tucker attend the party for long running Australian soap Neighbours (Serge Thomann/WireImage.com)

TV star Brett Tucker, 50, first appeared in Neighbours as Daniel Fitzgerald in 1999 to 2000 before becoming a regular member of the cast in 2007 on his return to the soap.

Three years later he exited the show but made a one-off appearance a year later.

The 50-year-old actor is best known for his roles in The Saddle Club, McLeod's Daughters, and Mistresses, as well as Dynasty.

Dichen Lachman

Dichen Lachman won't be in the Neighbours finale (Getty Images)

The 40-year-old Aussie actress starred in Neighbours for two years from 2005 as the fiesty character of Katya Kinski.

After departing from the soap in 2007, she has since been in films Aquamarine and Jurassic World: Dominion along the TV shows Dollhouse and The 100, alongside Neighbours co-star Eliza Taylor.

Channel 5 announced it was axing the popular show, which began in 1985, to "focus on increasing investment in original UK drama", despite the programme being the fourth-most watched soap in the UK.

Avid fans of the soap have been in floods of tears over the broadcaster's move - with a petition to reverse the decision gaining thousands of signatures.

Neighbours: The Finale airs as a double episode special on Channel 5 on Friday 29th July at 9pm.

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