Farewell (again) to Neighbours, Australia's longest running soap opera

The show often reflected for audiences formative parts of their lives too – first loves, first heartbreaks, births, deaths and marriages. In one episode you'd be doing "outrageously stupid", "slapstick" story lines, and the next you'd be sobbing over the coffin of your dead stepchild, Woodburne says.

In recent years those behind the soap have been proud to show more diverse characters and storylines, amid questions over how well it represented modern Australia. Neighbours featured the first same-sex marriage on Australian TV.

"There's a legacy for its audience, but there's also a legacy for our culture… It certainly is leaving a void," Herbison says.

While audience numbers have dwindled, true fans are mourning this like they did the death of Madge Bishop, Sonya Rebecchi or Bouncer the golden labrador retriever, who died in real life only a few months after filming his final scenes.

"I'm devastated," says Gemma Clement, a Brit who moved to Melbourne inspired by the "sunshine and the sound of the birds" on the soap. "I don't think there is any coming back. It feels final this time."

As goes the cliché, Woodburne hadn't realised what they had until the show was gone (the first time). Touring the UK on a farewell-turned-celebration tour, meeting hundreds of fans a day, was one of the most moving experiences of her life.

"I knew that people watched it and enjoyed it and appreciated it, but I don't think I fully understood," she said.

"Times are tough for a lot of people and our show gave them half an hour a day of pure escapism and fun… And to hear them tell us how meaningful that was to them… how much they look forward to it every day was very humbling."

That a show so iconic, and so beloved, could be cancelled is a worrying reflection on the state of the industry, Herbison says.

With it, goes 200 odd jobs – in a sector where work is already scarce.

Viewership has dramatically changed, and budgets are getting thinner and thinner. Unapologetically Australian content is getting harder to make. Woodburne wonders if Neighbours would have even got off the ground in today's world.

Herbison acknowledges the criticism that they should have let the show die a more dignified and star-studded death in 2022 – but says continuing to build its legacy, on and off screen, even for a few more years was profoundly worthwhile.

This finale will be different. Herbison says he knew there was no way it could compete with the last one.

"It still has all the heart and all the warmth, but the street is under a bit of threat this time. And it's left kind of a bit of a question of what will happen and what will become of everyone."

So is it possible the soap's ghosts return to haunt TV screens yet again?

Herbison won't rule out another twist: "The door is open. You never know what could happen."