He was a Neighbours fan favourite for three decades.
And now it has been revealed that actor Ryan Moloney, who played the character of Toadie on the long-running soap, won’t be returning for the show’s final episodes next week.
According to the show’s executive producer, Jason Herbison, Moloney, 46, who left the series in 2024, was asked to return to Ramsay Street along with other past cast members.
But Herbison revealed to TV Week that Moloney was ‘unfortunately unavailable’.Â
Herbison did say that fans can expect a finale featuring ‘returning faces’, featuring characters from the soap’s last three years.
‘There are also a few Easter eggs for the fans,’ he said.
Neighbours actor Ryan Moloney (pictured), who played the character of Toadie on the long-running soap, won’t be returning for the show’s final episodes next week
‘It was also worth mentioning that we asked Ryan Moloney to return as Toadie. He was unavailable sadly, but he does, of course, get a mention.’
The final storyline for the finale says Herbison will focus on the neighbours of Ramsay Street deciding to stay and fight a freeway development or relocate to two new developments created by Shane Ramsay (played by Peter O’Brien) and Stefan Dennis’ character Paul Robinson.
Herbison says that the plot allows the chance for the show to be revived once more, even though the Neighbours Nunawading studios and backlot are now no more.
Neighbours nearly ended forever two years ago when Channel 5, who part-funded the soap for UK viewers, pulled out of their deal.
Despite a dramatic rescue by Amazon Freevee, the soap was axed for a second time earlier this year.
It comes after reports surfaced earlier this year that attempts to bring back some of the A-Listers who got their start on the show, including Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia and Russell Crowe have fallen flat.
The original grand finale from 2022 was a ratings smash, with fan favourites like Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Guy Pearce, Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan reprising their famed roles.
‘The cast of the current season will need to rely on the storylines that involve their characters because breaking out the cheque book won’t cover it,’ an insider told Daily Mail.
Executive producer Jason Herbison said that Moloney was ‘unavailable’ for what promises to be a tear-filled finale for Ramsay Street. Pictured:Â The original grand finale from 2022 was a ratings smash, with fan favourites like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan returning
They added Margot and Kylie were not paid for their appearance in the 2022 finale, which made them even less thrilled about returning.
‘The mega stars waived their usual million dollar fees and felt like they were waving goodbye to the show that launched them. It was very classy,’ they said of the 2022 finale.
‘The fact that Alan Fletcher, Jackie Woodburn and Ryan Moloney were tipped off as the show was saved during Neighbours’ “farewell tour” was pretty awkward in retrospect.
‘However, it was a little too late to call everyone who bought into the farewell episodes. Longtime fans will probably choose to remember the excellent tribute Network Ten pulled off in 2022.
‘The only thing left to make any noise at this point would be to kill off legacy characters and the decision makers know that would not be fair to the remaining fans who returned to the show for these encore seasons.’
Neighbours’ final double episode airs on Thursday, December 11, on Channel 10.
