Neighbours recently screened Lucinda Cowden’s final scenes as Melanie Pearson as she headed out of Erinsborough for a fresh start.
Cowden, who will appear briefly in 40th anniversary episodes, told Digital Spy, “It’s always a possibility once the contract’s up – I think all actors are aware of that – but I was not expecting it and it was a bit of a shock. It was hard to not tell anyone about it, because you can’t really say anything.
“The weirdest thing was that I knew about Ryan [Moloney] leaving as well, and that was a much more important secret to keep! That was hard, because not a lot of people knew that.
I was quite open about what had happened, but everyone deals with these things in their own way and their own time.
“I found out in December last year, so I’ve known for a long time. But this is the industry that we live in and that’s the way these things work. It’s all part of the rich tapestry of being an actor.”
She also confirmed cast and crew are still awaiting a renewal despite often being #1 on Prime Video in the UK.
“It’s amazing that it’s done so well. So you think: ‘Why is everyone still in this area of not knowing what’s going on?’ That’s really difficult, as you can imagine, for writers, all of our actors, all of the crew and everyone working on the show,” she said.
“So it’s tricky – nobody knows whether they’ve got a job, so hopefully somebody confirms something soon in the positive direction!
“We always say at work that Neighbours is like Hotel California – you can check out any time you like, but you can’t ever leave.”
