Neighbours star Ryan Moloney says he was just as surprised as fans to discover the much-loved soap has been brought back to life.
Viewers were gutted when the legendary Australian drama was axed back in July after an incredible 36 years on the air.
Yesterday it was announced the show is returning to screens in 2023 and will be available to watch in the UK on Amazon Freevee.
Fan favourite Ryan, who will reprise his iconic role as Toadie Rebecchi, appeared on BBC Breakfast this morning where he told host Charlie Stayt he was "absolutely pumped" to be coming back.
And he revealed he had no idea of the good news until a producer turned up at his house this week to share it.
Ryan said: "It's such good news, everyone is just absolutely pumped!
"We didn't know, they kept it quiet the whole time and I didn't know until a producer turned up at my house last week."
Producers say the programme will be back in production within months and that old episodes will also be uploaded to the streaming site for people in the UK and US.
In Australia, it will return to its home of Network 10, where it has aired for the past 36 years.
Favourites Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson, Alan Fletcher as Karl Kennedy, Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy and Ryan will be returning.
And thought the actor revealed that although they are the only stars who have signed up so far, he hopes to see the return of some familiar faces.
Viewers were over the moon when old cast members Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan returned to Ramsay Street for the finale.
Ryan added: "Neighbours has a strong history of ex cast members coming back and we have so many new cast members so the sky is the limit but we don't know what is happening, they'll need to find the writers and see what they're doing! We don't even know if it picks up from the day it finished or a couple of years down the track."
Ryan says it's all thanks to fans that the programme is coming back, especially those here in the UK.
He said: "Obviously the outpouring of support, especially from the UK audiences, got the attention of Amazon Freevee and they're now using it to launch in the UK, so that shows how much they think of it.
"It was that outpouring and support that got us over the line so, thank you everyone for all this love and support, it is greatly appreciated and it hasn't stopped since we came off air so good on you guys, you did it.
As well as new episodes, the deal will include streaming rights for thousands of classic shows from across the past four decades.
Amazon Studios AVOD content boss Lauren Anderson said: “Neighbours has captivated its audience for nearly 40 years, building a dedicated and loyal following for the lives and stories of the characters on Ramsay Street.
“With the power of streaming, we’re able to offer a catalogue of thousands of Neighbours episodes for new audiences to discover - we look forward to immersing the audience in new Ramsay Street experiences when we relaunch the show next year.”
Jason Herbison, Neighbours’ executive producer since 2013, will maintain his position along with Andrew Thompson, who returns as producer.
Amazon Freevee is a complimentary service to Prime Video, offering thousands of premium movies and TV shows available for free.
Neighbours launched in 1985 and ran for 23 years on BBC1, before switching to Channel 5 from 2008. Over the years it notched up nearly 9000 episodes and was shown in over 60 countries.
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