Guy Pearce addresses Neighbours' big new dilemma over Mike

 Were Mike and Jane not together forever after all?

Soap fans got some incredible news last week when it was revealed that Neighbours will be returning to our screens on Amazon Freevie late next Summer.

While fans are now speculating about what cast members will be there when the show returns, other than the big four we already know about, questions marks are being raised over what the future holds for Annie Jones’ Jane Harris.

Jane reunited with her old love Mike Young, played by Hollywood star Guy Pearce, in the then final episode, with Mike announcing his intentions to buy 24 Ramsay Street and move in with Jane and his daughter, Sam.

It was the sort of happy ending that fans had dreamed about for decades, but the soap coming back creates a Mike problem as the chances of getting Guy back again are slim, especially full-time.

Guy has been chatting to The Project in Australia about the conundrum the writers now find themselves in.

“I’ve just inadvertently committed myself to another four years,” Guy joked when he was reminded of where Mike’s story ended when the show originally drew to a close. “I’ll just call my American agent and tell him to forget about all that other work."

Guy went on to say the storyline is something that needs to be figured out, while adding (in a non-serious way, we hope!) that the events surrounding Mike’s return could merely have been a dream.

However Mike is written out though, and we have to assume he probably won’t be back, Guy made a point of saying that anything would be better than his original 1989 departure which saw him low-key disappear to Perth after four years on the show.

“For 37 years I’ve been hanging out for some real closure,” he said.

So far, only Stefan Dennis, Jackie Woodburne, Alan Fletcher, and Ryan Moloney have been announced as returning to Ramsay Street in 2023.

The situation with every other character, including Jane, remains up in the air at the moment, with there being every chance that lots of new characters will be brought in to give the show a fresh start.

Neighbours returns in the second half of 2023 with new episodes streaming free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the new series.