The end of Neighbours has been sad news for the show's cast, its fans, and basically everyone in the whole world as far as we can see.
The show's finale will screen on Friday 29 July with a feature-length special featuring the return of many old faces.
Among those who have been recalling their time on the show in the run up to the final episode is 1980's star Lisa Armytage, who played Dr Beverly Marshall, wife of Jim Robinson and stepmum to Paul, Lucy and Scott.
Lisa spoke about her time on the show just as she herself is about to make her move back into soap, leading the cast in Riverside, a new audio soap that launches on several platforms this week.
And as someone who quit the soap at the height of its success in Oz and Down Under, she has advice for the cast just signing off.
"It's a huge thing to lose all your security, your structure," she sympathised. "But the only way to take it, is to grab the opportunity of doing other things. Things you haven't had a chance to do in however many years you've been with Neighbours.”
The actress starred in Neighbours from 1987-1989, when it was at the height of its fame. And she revealed that Neighbours fever was quite overwhelming back them.
"I went to a friend's daughter's school play with my husband and two children, and we were mobbed by primary school age children – we had to escape!” she recalls. "When I went shopping for clothes I had dark glasses with me. Have you ever tried buying coloured clothes with dark glasses on?"
After Lisa quit the show, the character of Beverly was recast with new actress, Shaunna O'Grady: "It's strange, isn't it? Your wife goes off to a medical conference and comes back looking completely different, and you don't even notice!” laughs Lisa about the changeover.
Shauna made several reappearances as Beverly in recent years, while Lisa has gone on to play many roles in TV. However, her latest acting gig in audio drama Riverside one she feel is not too far away from a certain Aussie drama.
"Riverside has that optimistic Neighbours feeling. A sense of community at a time when we all really need it," she says. "It's so good to be part of a soap again."
The 14-part drama is based on the weekly magazine serial of the same name, which has been running successfully since 2016. The cast also features actors from The Archers among others.
Riverside will be available from Audible, Amazon and iTunes from Wednesday 27 July.
For more on the Neighbours finale, check out our dedicated Neighbours spoilers section.
