Shock as HUGE Neighbours star leaves the soap opera

By Kate Dennett For Daily Mail Australia

07:57 27 Jun 2024, updated 08:39 27 Jun 2024

Neighbours legend Ryan Moloney has shocked fans by confirming he is leaving the soap opera after three decades.

The Aussie actor, 44, announced he and his beloved character Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi will be bidding farewell to the long-running drama series.

He shared the devastating news with fans in a video shared to the Neighbours Instagram page as he detailed his next steps in his career.

Ryan remained coy on what will happen to Toadie and whether the beloved character will meet a grizzly end or not, leaving fans in suspense.

He announced: ‘After 30 years playing Toadie, I will be leaving Ramsay Street. I can’t tell you what is happening to the character — maybe I could be the next Jim Robinson. 

‘Or maybe I’ll be the next Harold Bishop and keep popping back over the years.’

Ryan said he is not stepping away from TV altogether and will continue to work behind the camera after recently completing a director training course.

‘Although I won’t be bringing you our fantastic storylines from in front of the camera, I will be bringing them to you from the other side, behind the camera,’ he went on.

‘I’ve just started director training and have just finished filming my first episode as director so I really hope that you enjoy that.

He concluded: ‘Thank you all for the love that you have shown me and Toadie over the years. I’m going to miss you, and I’m going to miss him and I’m going to miss Erinsborough.’

Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison insisted Ramsay Street ‘won’t be the same’ without Ryan’s beloved presence and teased it won’t be the end for Toadie.

‘The street won’t be the same without seeing him every week, however there’s every chance he will pop back in the future,’ he told the Herald Sun.

‘In the meantime, we’re thrilled to support his directing ambitions and can’t wait for viewers to see how Toadie’s season-long story arc plays out. 

‘Ryan’s been instrumental in the journey and has blown us away with his performance.’

His shock exit comes one year after Neighbours returned to screens on Amazon Freevee, not long after the show was cancelled and the finale aired on Network 10 in July 2022.

Ryan has become one of the most recognisable faces on Neighbours since first appearing on Ramsay Street as Toadie back in 1995.

He has been at the centre of a string of dramatic and heartbreaking storylines, including his tragic love story with Dee Bliss (Madeleine West).

Dee became a fan-favourite and tied the knot with Toadie in a romantic ceremony, but he accidentally drove the pair off a cliff after their nuptials.

In a tragic twist, Dee was presumed dead and her body never found, but she returned to the soap opera in a guest role 16 years later in a shocking survival twist.

Her separated twin Andrea Somers, also played by Madeleine, first returned and claimed to be Dee to con Toadie, and the pair welcomed a son Hugo together.

It was later revealed that gangs from Andrea’s past had driven Toadie and Dee’s car off a cliff, hoping to kill her, with Dee then hiding to remain safe, before the truth was finally revealed years later.

Toadie went on to have a second love story with Sonya (Eve Morey) and the pair welcomed a daughter Nell together.

But Sonya tragically died in a heartbreaking storyline in 2019 after losing her battle with ovarian cancer.

In 2022, Toadie then went on to marry his personal assistant Melanie Pearson (Lucinda Cowden) before she realised that being a step-mother wasn’t for her.

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