Revitalised Neighbours series officially kicks off production

Production on the revitalised series of Neighbours has officially begun.

The show's Twitter account announced the news on Monday accompanied by a picture of cast members Alan Fletcher, Lucinda Cowden, Rebekah Elmaloglou, Stefan Dennis, and Annie Jones.

They beamed as they posed ceremoniously cutting a gold ribbon outside of the fictional Lassiters Hotel.

"Lights, camera, action, let's go! Brand new Neighbours is officially in production!" the tweet read.

The long-running Australian soap was initially dropped by Channel 5 following a failure to secure new funding, and the broadcaster had closed its 37-year onscreen run with a finale last July.

But last November, it was announced that the show would return in 2023 with a brand new series on Amazon Freevee.

The new series, produced by Fremantle, will premiere for free on the streaming service Amazon Freevee in the UK and US in Autumn 2023.Viewers will also be able to watch thousands of episodes from previous seasons.Alan Fletcher, aka Dr Karl Kennedy, previously told UTV Life the latest season will "still be the same show... but we will be able to make it even better".

He also gave his thoughts on what made the show that launched the careers of Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce and Jason Donovan so endearing.

"Neighbours has got a wonderful blend of comedy and drama," the 66-year-old said.

"A lot of shows now they are full on dramas, lets face it. They can be hard watching, there is so much going on.

"I think Neighbours has got an elegant blend of the two."

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