Actor Ryan Moloney, who has played Toadie Rebecchi on Neighbours for nearly three decades, has announced he is stepping down from playing the much-loved character.
The 44-year-old joined the Australian series in 1995 as troublesome teen Jarrod – or Toadfish to his friends.
He has been a stalwart of Ramsay Street ever since, but now plans to leave Toadie behind to take on a new role on the series as a director.
As he is remaining with the show’s production team, Moloney hinted it was possible the character could return in the future.
In a statement, Moloney said: “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.”
He told fans: “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.”
“I’ve just started director training and have just finished filming my first episode as director – so I really hope that you enjoy that.”
Toadie was seen in the show’s early years attending Erinsborough High, and was often involved in get-rich-quick schemes and regularly got into trouble with teachers.
Much later, in 2003, he was involved in a major storyline which saw Toadie accidentally drive off a cliff on his wedding day, and his wife presumed dead for almost 15 years.
She then shocked everyone by turning up on Toadie’s doorstep with his teenage daughter, however a later twist revealed she was actually his ex-wife’s identical twin sister.
Neighbours launched in 1985 and ran until 2022, when it was cancelled after UK broadcaster Channel 5 decided to drop the show from its schedules.
Unable to find alternative funding, producers announced they had “no option but to rest the show”.
At that point, the series had run for 37 years and broadcast more than 9,000 episodes.
However, just four months after its finale was broadcast, Amazon announced it had picked up the show for its streaming service Freevee, and the show was relaunched in September 2023.
Neighbours enjoyed a golden era in the 1980s and 1990s, during which time it developed a cult following, particularly among students, as it was screened on BBC One twice a day (including a repeat of the previous day’s episode).
Margot Robbie, Russell Crowe, Kylie Minogue, Jason Donovan, Guy Pearce, Natalie Imbruglia and Holly Vallance are among the stars who appeared in Neighbours early in their careers.