Neighbours star Ryan Moloney shares how plans for Toadie Rebecchi changed

 "Toadie was only going be there for one scene."

Neighbours star Ryan Moloney has reflected on his time on the soap, revealing how original plans for his character Toadie Rebecchi changed.

The actor has been a mainstay of the soap since 1995, though will be bowing out later this month along with the rest of the cast when the show comes to an end.

Reflecting on the recent cancellation news, Moloney admitted: "It's incredibly sad because it's just an amazing stormwater of the industry that has taught so many people. So, it's sad that kind of schooling is going to go.

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"There's gratitude in there and just kind of trying to soak up every moment that you've got with these people. There's definitely the vibe of: 'Come on, let's make this really good. Let's finish it really well.'"

The star praised the "amazing" fan reaction, noting: "I think a lot of people have obviously grown up with it just being part of their lives and just part of the furniture, really. And in the same breath, that's television.

"Most shows don't run for this long, they kind of start and they finish after a couple of seasons if they're lucky. So, we've just been incredibly blessed to be still going for this amount of time. I think we're very lucky to have been part of people's lives for so long."

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Asked what Neighbours means to him, Moloney reflected: "I'm going to say family security is probably the number one thing to me. I mean, I grew up on the show, so it's kind of shaped me into the person that I am now."

The star went on to recall his first day – or rather two – as he originally played a different role, and was only meant to do one scene as Toadie.

"I had a first day playing a character called Cyborg, I was a guest, he came in and trashed Doug Well's house that he was building," he said. "And then they rang me up after and said: 'Is your hair still the same? We want you to come in and play Toadie.'

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"But Toadie was only going be there for one scene. So, I very clearly remember that one scene and hanging out kind of off set, ready to go in and do him a bit, and then it was over really quickly.

"So, it was like: 'Eh, great. Thanks for coming in. All right. Great. Well, there you go. There you go, that's your moment. See you later. Thanks.' So, it's pretty wild, and lucky, that I'm still here! For some reason people want to watch what I do, so happy days."

The star said he loves the fact that he is "allowed to be so ridiculously stupid at times", which "is probably [his] favourite thing".

"I'm allowed to be incredibly dramatic and take him into really dark places, into despair, and angst, and then a couple of scenes later I can do the most ridiculous stuff and just kind of see what I can get away with.

"So, I'm really, really lucky that pretty much the producers and the directors kind of let me do what I want to do, which is great."

Ryan revealed that his favourite storyline is former on-screen wife Sonya Rebecchi's death in 2020, recalling: "We were so lucky to be able to go and do that. It's the first time that Neighbours did just a two hander in the whole history of the show.

"So, I think that kind of speaks volumes about how much effort everybody put into that episode. I got to do it with Eve, and we got to create an amazingly special time, we were really, really lucky."

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Recalling moments from filming those scenes, he added: "We actually shot kind of around where I live and so when I'm driving around there, it's like: 'Oh, we shot that there. We did that there.'

"There was one scene after she tells him that she's going to die and that was at the end of the day, and essentially, we did our bit, and it was absolutely horrible. After we just stood their kind of hugging and looking out at the view.

"One of the sound recorders said: 'I don't think you realise, but everybody was absolutely still, and nobody moved until you guys stopped hugging.' Everyone was just in shock, and in awe, and just taking a moment to just kind of go: 'Whoa. That was something.'"

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. The series finale will air in the UK on July 29 at 9pm on Channel 5. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach and streams on 10 Play. The series finale will air in Australia on July 28 at 7.30pm, simulcast on 10 and 10 Peach.