Neighbours boss explains decision to axe iconic Toadie Rebecchi
"Our long-term plans will become clearer in the fullness of time."
For almost three decades, Toadie Rebecchi has been one of the most popular characters on Neighbours – but now actor Ryan Moloney is ending his long stint on Ramsey Street.
Moloney – who will continue to be involved on the soap as a director – recently revealed that Toadie's departure wasn't down to him, and now executive producer Jason Herbison has explained why he felt the time was right to move on from the character.
"Ryan is a beloved cast member and Toadie is an iconic Neighbours character, so this decision has been a careful one," he explained during an interview with Australian outlet TV Tonight.
"It’s a little hard for me to talk about as we’re in the middle of a very big storyline involving Toadie, however our long-term plans will become clearer in the fullness of time. Both Ryan and Toadie are very important to the Neighbours universe, and this was uppermost in our minds as we look to the future."
Pressed on whether the decision was driven by storylines reasons or cost-cutting ones, Herbison expanded: "Like all long-running shows around the world, we want Neighbours to constantly evolve to best match what’s happening in the world and to keep the production model fresh and sustainable.
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"We want to keep viewers on their toes, while also progressing storylines in a natural way. We have a huge week coming up set in the outback where Toadie’s odyssey comes to a head. It’s big and bold but there’s an authentic character journey there too. Ryan has absolutely knocked it out of the park with his performance."
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Moloney recently told RadioTimes.com, that he was happy with how his exit plays out.
"I think, you know, we kind of took the character to the limits," he revealed. "And I think we kind of get a sense of completion about it."
He added: "He's kind of getting haunted by his past, quite a lot. And he's struggling a lot with it! But yeah, in terms of reflecting on Toadie's past – didn't really get much time to do that, [it was] incredibly busy. It was pretty full-on!"
Neighbours airs its big Death in the Outback week from Monday 19th August on Amazon Freevee.
Read more:
- Neighbours confirms surprise exit for Toadie Rebecchi – with a happy twist!
- Neighbours unveils "Death in the Outback" week ahead of Toadie’s exit
- Neighbours boss plans Lyn Scully tribute after Janet Andrewartha's death
- Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause joins Neighbours cast
Neighbours continues on Amazon Freevee every Monday to Thursday from 7am.
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