Olympia Valance and April Rose Pengilly join co-stars for Neighbours finale event

The last ever episode of Neighbours will air in the UK and Australia on August 1 after 37 years of production.

And on Wednesday, the cast of the show reunited on set in Melbourne for a special finale event.

Olympia Valance, April Rose Pengilly, Tim Robards and Melissa Bell all cuddled up for happy snaps as they said goodbye to the iconic soap after it was axed in March.

Olympia and April were both pretty in pink for the special gathering.

Olympia, 29, who is the younger sister for former Neighbours star Holly Candy, looked chic in a pair of billowing rainbow trousers and a matching top.

April, 34, who is the daughter of INXS rocker Kirk Pengilly, was gorgeous in a bright pink minidress which highlighted her trim pins.

Melissa Bell, 49, who played the role of Lucy Robinson on the show, opted for a lilac minidress that amplified her bust and trim pins.

Also at the event was Stefan Davis, who portrays villainous Paul Robinson, and Ian Smith, who played beloved Harold Bishop.

Neighbours was axed after the UK’s Channel 5 decided in March not to renew its contract with production company Fremantle to finance and broadcast the series.

Earlier this month, the TV Week Logie Awards attracted widespread criticism for failing to properly acknowledge the cancellation of Neighbours during the ceremony.

But it seems Australia’s longest-running soap will receive the send-off it deserves at the next AACTA Awards ceremony.

The AACTA Awards, sponsored by Foxtel, is set to invite the cast of Neighbours on-stage and ‘make a point’ of saying goodbye, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Drama Brian Walsh told MediaWeek.

‘It was a major disappointment for me particularly because we had the cast of Neighbours in the room. What would it have taken to let them come up on stage and have their moment?’ said Walsh, who worked as a publicist for Neighbours in the 1980s.

Walsh described the Logies send-off as ‘dismissive’, adding: ‘If we’re going to celebrate success on a night like the Logies then for goodness sake, please let a show that’s entertained audiences for 37 years have its moment and take a bow.’

During the Logies’ tribute, a highlight reel aired of Neighbours’ most memorable moments, including fan favourites Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan.

Neighbours alumni Dan MacPherson, 42, and Natalie Bassingthwaighte, 46, then appeared on stage to present the award for Most Popular New Talent.

Both actors had started their careers on the 10 Peach soap opera.

Ryan Moloney, one of Neighbours’ longest-serving cast members, subsequently slammed the organisers of the Logie Awards for failing to give the Aussie soap a proper send-off.

Moloney, who plays Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi, said he was ‘incredibly disappointed’ by the lacklustre tribute put together for the ceremony.

He told 2Day FM’s Hughesy, Ed and Erin the Neighbours cast members who were invited to the Logies all had bad seats with cameras obstructing their view of the stage.

The Ramsay Street veteran, 42, also said it was unfair that two former Neighbours stars, Natalie Bassingthwaighte and MacPherson, were invited on stage to share their memories of the soap, instead of an actor currently on the series.

Moloney said the entire 2022 cast should have been invited on stage to say one final goodbye to their peers after the show was cancelled in March.

‘Daniel and Nat are just absolutely gorgeous people and absolutely nothing against them, but we’ve got people who have been on TV for nearly 30 years each, and I think probably the least they could do is get us to say something,’ he said.

‘I mean we’re in the bloody [Logies] Hall of Fame. That’s not how you treat people and a show that’s in the Hall of Fame. I mean, good luck to the Logies, really.’

The last episode of Neighbours will air in Australia and the UK on August 1.