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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Erin Santillo

Thousands of Neighbours fans petition Channel 5 to save show

A petition urging Channel 5 to save Neighbours from being axed has attracted more than 20,000 signatures.

The long-running Australian soap is under threat after the UK network announced it would stop broadcasting the show later this year.

Set on the fictional Ramsey Street cul-de-sac in Melbourne, Neighbours has helped launch the careers of stars including Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan and Guy Pearce.

It has long drawn in bigger audiences in the UK than in Australia, with a funding deal between Channel 5 and home broadcaster Network 10 keeping the programme on air since it left the BBC in 2008.

Channel 5 said dropping the soap meant more investment could be made in its original UK dramas.

Petition organiser Edward Skylover said Neighbours "is more than just a TV show".

Neighbours has featured on UK TV schedules for more than 35 years (Getty Images)

Posting on change.org, he said: "It is a source of comfort and entertainment for generations of fans who have watched it for decades – it is one of the most loved TV shows in the UK and brings lots of viewers from all backgrounds to Channel 5's catalogue of channels."

Petition signatory Victoria Waters commented: "Neighbours is one of the few soaps that transports me to a happy place! The brightness, the sun, the characters, the street, the nostalgia. It simply cannot go!"

Another supporter, Amanda Deans, said: "I love this programme. I remember my nan and my mum watching this when I was growing up. And now I watch it with my daughters and my 9-year-old granddaughter who loves it to. Please don't scrap it."

Neighbours launched on Australia's Seven Network in 1985 but was soon dropped by the channel after limited domestic success.

It was picked up by rival Network 10 and broadcast to British audiences on BBC One from 1986.

Channel 5 claimed the UK broadcasting rights in 2008 after production company Fremantle hiked costs threefold, according to the BBC.

The show has featured on UK TV schedules for more than 35 years.

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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