Natalie Imbruglia has said she is ‘devastated’ that Neighbors will no longer be aired in the UK.
The singer, 47, who once starred on the the Australian soap, said it’s ‘really sad’ that the show is dropped by Channel 5 and now faces a permanent axe. as she backed fans’ petitions to save the programme.
Speaking on Monday’s Heart FM with Kelly Brook and JK, Natalie – who was recently unveiled as Panda on The Masked Singer – joked about the fate of her on screen son.
So sad! Natalie Imbruglia, 47, has said that she is ‘devastated’ over the axing of Neighbours as she backed petitions to save the soap on Heart FM with Kelly Brook and JK on Monday
Natalie began her acting career aged 16 as she arrived on Ramsey Street as Beth Brennan in 1992, before leaving two years later to pursue her music career.
Despite her relatively short lived time on the show her character gave birth to a son Ned Willis, who returned to screens in 2016 with actor Ben Hall.
Natalie said: ‘Well, there’s a character on the show who’s my son! I mean, I think it’d be devastating. What’s going to happen to my son?’
Throwback! Natalie began her acting career aged 16 as she arrived on Ramsey Street as Beth Brennan in 1992, before leaving two years later to pursue her music career
Channel 5 confirmed the end of its 14-year deal with Neighbours last week, with a spokesperson telling MailOnline that the decision to axe the soap comes as the channel’s ‘current focus is on increasing our investment in original UK drama.’
The Australian soap has been on the air in Oz since 1985 but is facing the chop altogether, three years before its 40th anniversary.
The shock announcement last week sent the show into a tailspin, with network bosses Down Under scrambling to find a new international broadcasting deal to cover production costs or face the closure of Ramsay Street for good.
Natalie said: ‘I think at this point we just thought it was gonna go on forever so, I, you know, people are petitioning. Here’s hoping they pull it off’
Presenter JK explained that the long standing soap had become a fixture in the lives of many UK residents and he often tuned in with a ‘bowl of cereal’ after school.
Natalie agreed as she added: ‘I think at this point we just thought it was gonna go on forever so, I, you know, people are petitioning. Here’s hoping they pull it off.’
Later in the day, Natalie appeared on This Morning, where she said she will ‘happily sign’ the petition to save the show that was ‘life changing’ for her.
She said: ‘I have a lot to thank Neighbours for. Long live Neighbours.’
Life changing: Elsewhere on This Morning, Natalie added that she will ‘happily sign’ the petition to save the show that was ‘life changing’ for her
Natalie said of the show: ‘I have a lot to thank Neighbours for. Long live Neighbours’
Blue-tiful! Natalie looked radiant for her appearance on This Morning as she slipped into a baby blue semi-sheer midi dress with lace sleeves
Recently, the Torn singer, was crowned as the winner on The Masked Singer as she was revealed to be Panda and beat Charlotte Church who was unmasked as Mushroom in second place.
Natalie impressed judges Rita Ora, Mo Gilligan, Davina, Jonathan Ross and Joss Stone on the night when she sang Taylor Swift’s hit Blank Space, before performing a duet with comedian Jason Manford, who was Hedgehog in series one.
This year’s final saw Panda, Mushroom and Robobunny battle it out to be crowned the 2022 champion after beating off competition from nine other quirky characters.
She exclaimed: ‘I was gobsmacked. I was not expecting to win. Rita knows me and she didn’t know me either – well recognise my voice.’
Amazing! Natalie was crowned the winner of The Masked Singer 2022 after being revealed as Panda after singing Taylor Swift song Blank Space
Yay! She exclaimed: ‘I was gobsmacked. I was not expecting to win. Rita knows me and she didn’t know me either – well recognise my voice’
Natalie who recently released her sixth album Firebird, explained her reasons for taking part in the contest after overcoming ‘five years of writer block’ were actually for her son.
She detailed: ‘I actually did it for my son. How fun to do this for him, he loves pandas.’
But added that the experience was still nerve-racking: ‘You get there, you have this mask on you can’t breathe. I was so nervous, I don’t remember the first two performances.’
Tune into Heart Breakfast with JK and Kelly Brook (in for Jamie Theakston and Amanda Holden), weekdays from 6:30am – 10am
Thrilled: The five judges were all equally as shocked to see that it was singer Natalie behind the mask, after none of them guessed her identity correctly
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