It has been a sunny presence on our screens for over three decades, but Aussie soap Home And Away might be ‘closer each day’ to being cancelled.
Reports suggest that the soap is on its last legs in its native Australia and could be for the chop.
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The soap, which airs on Channel 5 in the UK and Channel Seven in Australia, first came onto our screens in 1988 and introduced an unforgettable theme tune and countless loveable characters who lived in Summer Bay.
Alf and Ailsa Stewart, Marylin Palmer (Emily Symons), Donald Fisher, Kim Hyde (who was played by Chris Hemsworth) and Emma Jackson (Dannii Minogue) all became household names in the UK as well as Down Under.
But now The Mirror reports that the show could be axed because of an unfavourable timeslot and the rise in popularity of reality shows.
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Home And Away’s home channel Channel Seven is said to be “under pressure” to make changes to its scheduling but could cancel the soap completely, the report says.
Airing at 7pm in Australia, the soap is up against popular reality show Married At First Sight.
ED! contacted Channel 5, but the channel declined to comment on the speculation.
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Not surprisingly, fans took to Twitter to voice their horror at the story.
“Help me get this trending, 7 must know we want #HomeandAway #SaveHomeandAway #KeepHomeandAway,” one exclaimed.
Another wrote: “Channel 7 you can’t get rid of #HomeandAway now what will watch?? #SaveHomeandAway #KeepHomeandAway.”
A third was more realistic and made a suggestion: “It would be a shame to see a long running show like #homeandaway to be canned but the writing and characters need a HUGE improvement in all honesty.”
Read more: Dannii Minogue reveals she would love to return to Home And Away
Home And Away hasn’t been the only popular soap that has reportedly been under threat.
Recently, Channel 4 spoke out in defence of hit soap Hollyoaks after a report claimed they were “battling to save” the show.
According to The Sun, ratings had dipped so low that the channel is injecting more money and demanding new storylines to turn fortunes around.
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