In a revelation that has left fans and fellow cast members in shock, Australian actress Lucinda Cowden has announced her departure from the iconic soap opera Neighbours after an impressive 37 years.
The actress is best known for her role as Melanie Pearson in the beloved series. She first appeared on the soap from 1987 to 1991. She then returned in 2005 to reprise her role before returning again in 2021.
Lucinda also reprised her role in the 2023 reboot on Amazon Freevee.
She shared the sad news of her exit during an emotional segment on the NeighBens podcast.
Lucinda Cowden leaves Neighbours
In December 2023, Lucinda discovered her time on the soap was coming to an end. She described the moment as part of a “year of a lot of goodbyes”.
The news is not only devastating to Lucinda but to Neighbours fans.
“How am I? I’m unemployed!” Lucinda revealed to the podcast hosts. “I’m off, it’s true, I’m sorry.
“I can’t do anything about it; it wasn’t my decision. Mel’s off in her truck and doesn’t have any plans to return, immediately.”
Sadly, Lucinda wasn’t the only long-time cast member to receive bad news. Ryan Moloney – who played Jarrod “Toadfish” Rebecchi – was also notified of his departure.
This double exit has shocked the Neighbours family and its worldwide audience.
“So I rang Ryan [Maloney] to say, ‘Sorry babe, I’m off’ and got the shock of my life when he said, ‘Me too!'” Lucinda recounted.
“It kind of made a little bit of sense to me rather than if it was just me.”
Fans react
Speculating on the reason behind her and Ryan’s exits, Lucinda suggested: “I don’t think they knew what to do with Mel without Toad really, or without the family and all that stuff.”
The actress also revealed he had an unfortunate incident during her final scenes – she broke her nose.
“It’s a going away party for Mel and she’s giving out the cocktails, which she’s known so well for the little showgirl. And I tripped over and hit [my nose] on a concrete step,” she revealed.
The news of Lucinda’s axing has led to a flurry of support from fans, many of whom have taken to social media to express their disappointment.
“I am watching this and BLOODY fuming. There are so many storylines they could have done for Mel. Stupid decision,” one fan fumed.
“Oh no! Gutted. Mel has been one of my faves for years and years and definitely a fave of the reboot. Rubbish,” another complained.
“Gutted Mel is one of the best. There is other people they could get rid of before Mel,” a third fan agreed while others called for a petition to get Lucinda back on the show.
Some fans even claimed this was enough to get them to give up the soap. “I’m done now. She was the only reason I was still watching,” a fan declared.
ED! has contacted a rep for Neighbours for comment.
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