AUSTRALIAN soap Neighbours has revealed Toadie’s fate after fans thought he was going to be killed off after tragic scenes last week.
Star Ryan Moloney, who plays Jarrod “Toadfish” Rebecchi, announced that he would be ending his tenure on the soap after almost 30 years.
With that kind of legacy, Ryan’s departure from the soap was bound to be explosive – which is why fans thought he would be killed off after he got caught up in Tess (Anica Calida) and Heath’s (Ethan Panizza) embezzlement scheme.
Looking out for his protegee Mackenzie (Georgie Stone), Toadie and his ex-wife Mel (Lucinda Cowden) went digging into Heath’s background, only to be kidnapped and taken to the outback in North Queensland.
Meanwhile, Holly (Lucinda Armstrong Hall) unknowingly travelled to the same location with Heath for what she believed was a romantic getaway.
However, things soon went sideways when Holly realised the truth about villainous Heath.
In shocking scenes that aired on Prime Video last week, Toadie escaped death three times. Once when he got away from Heath after Holly helped him and Melanie escaped from the station, then again when he narrowly avoided being eaten by a crocodile (a fate that later befell Heath), and once more when a cop rescued him after he’d collapsed from dehydration and exhaustion on the middle of the train track.
Despite all that he had endured, Toadie couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still wrong, even when he returned to the safety of Ramsay Street during Monday’s (August 26) episode.
Neighbours viewers will recall that before he was kidnapped, Toadie was not in the best place with his current wife Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) as he’s been struggling with reminders of his past relationships everywhere he turns.
This came to a head last night when Toadie told her he wanted to end their relationship.
In a visibly emotional state, the lawyer couldn’t hold in his feelings any longer.
“I can’t do this,” he says to Terese.
He continues: “I’ve been trying to convince myself that everything’s gonna be okay, but it’s not.
“Terese, I can’t be with you anymore.”
In a shocking turn of events, it seems Toadie, who has been a regular fixture on Ramsay Street since 1995, will be leaving the street of his own accord.
While it’s not yet clear where he’ll go, it’s possible he’ll choose to move himself and his kids, Nell (Ayisha Salem-Towner) and Hugo (Tanner Ellis-Anderson), closer to his extended family in Colac.
SOAP viewers are frequently left heartbroken after watching some of their favourite characters bite the dust.
Here is a list of the most devastating deaths that have taken place in soapland over the years.
EASTENDERS
Barry Evans – Evil Janine (Charlie Brooks) lured her trusting fiance to Scotland for a quickie marriage after learning he was dying.
Her plan to inherit Barry’s fortune was thwarted when Barry told her that the doctors had mixed up his medical files.
Furious that she was no longer set for a windfall, she pushed Barry off a cliff after telling him their love was “fake”.
Bradley Branning – Bradley was accused of killing Stacey Slater’s rapist Archie Mitchell (Larry Lamb) after he punched him twice on the night he died.
He was spotted in the Square by a police woman who chased him up a fire escape.
Bradley lost his balance and tragically plunged to his death.
CORONATION STREET
Tina McIntyre – Tina was getting it on with Peter Barlow – despite him being married to Carla Connor.
When she threatened to reveal the truth, Carla’s brother Rob got into a physical altercation with her.
Tina lost her footing and fell off a balcony – then warned Rob she was going to tell the cops he pushed her.
In a panic, Rob brutally clobbered her over the head with a metal pipe.
EMMERDALE
Sarah Sugden – After the family got into financial problems, Sarah’s son Andy (Kelvin Fletcher) decided to make some quick cash from an insurance company by setting fire to the Sugden barn.
He didn’t realise his mum was inside the building, and she got trapped in the blaze.
Nine villagers – The shocking 1993 plane crash episode brought in 18 million viewers for Emmerdale.
Mark Hughes was killed by a falling wall, Archie Brooks was burned by jet fuel, Elizabeth Pollard was killed by debris and newcomer Leonard Kempinski died in a car crash caused by the crash.
Five other non-recurring characters from the village also died.
HOLLYOAKS
Carmel McQueen – The talented singer died in shocking scenes when a train crashed into a her family’s car.
Carmel managed to free her cousin Theresa from the rubble – but got stuck in it herself.
Moments later the train exploded and Carmel died in the arms of her family members, promising to be their guardian angel.
In a recent interview with the Australian soap opera website Back to the Bay, Ryan opened up about being written out of Neighbours after all these years.
“Well, it actually wasn’t my choice. It was their choice,” he revealed.
But he added that it feels like the right time to end Toadie’s time on the street.
“So, yeah, I’ve been wanting to leave for quite a long time, but Neighbours is one of those jobs that you work with awesome people. You get paid really well. And if you had a mate who had one of these jobs, you’d be saying, ‘oh, mate, what are you doing? You’ve got to stay there. See it out for as long as you can.’”
Ryan added that he may have felt pressure to “suck it up and stay” despite also feeling an urge to move on – so in the end, he was “quite grateful that they actually made that decision for me because I don’t think that I could ever say no to a contract.”
The soap legend will continue working on the soap in a behind-the-scenes capacity as a director, though.
It’s still unclear when Toadie will officially be leaving Neighbours as details are being kept under wraps by soap bosses, but after tying up a few loose ends, it seems his departure could be imminent. It certainly is the end of an era for the iconic soap character who has survived more than his fair share of drama.
