Neighbours finale ratings revealed as the soap goes out on a high

 A mighty final farewell.

Neighbours aired its last ever episode on UK screens yesterday (July 29), closing out an incredible 37 year run.

The finale was an emotional one, leaving fans in tears, as the show pulled out all the stops to go out on a high, including bringing back old characters to give them the send off they deserved.

And now it has been revealed that over 2.5 million people (17% audience share) tuned in to Channel 5 to watch the finale as it aired in the UK, making it the show's highest rated episode since 2008 in the UK. It was also the show's third highest rated episode ever since it made a home for itself on Channel 5.

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The final half hour, which saw the highly anticipated return of Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan ended up being the terrestrial slot winner, beating every other channel.

The daytime episode that built up to the finale also performed very well, with 0.8m (16.1%) at 1.45pm and 0.7m (6.6%) at 6pm.

Meanwhile, Neighbours said goodbye to its Australian fans a day earlier on July 28, and that too, resulted in the show receiving its highest rating in 13 years.

The finale blew through all expectations there with 1.2 million viewers nationally (usually the average is 100,000), becoming the biggest episode of the show since 2009.

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Earlier this year, it was announced that Neighbours would come to an end after almost four decades on air. And even though fans ran an intense campaign to save the show, it bore no fruit.

Still, the finale was a celebration of nostalgia and an incredible legacy, leaving fans satisfied with the way Ramsey Street residents finally closed their doors.

Neighbours aired on Channel 5 and is available to stream on My5 in the UK, while in Australia, the show aired on 10 Peach and can be streamed on 10 Play.