After 37 years of laughter, tears and drama, Neighbours was set to finish its mammoth run when Channel 5 broadcast the finale episode in July last year.

But three months later came the unexpected news that the iconic Australian soap was to be revived, with Amazon on board as new production partners.

The reboot was based on the response to the finale, which attracted three million UK viewers and 1.2 million in Australia.

Now, the latest news on Ramsay Street is that Guy Pearce will be joining a host of other beloved residents for the show’s second coming.

Pearce played Mike Young for more than 400 episodes following his first appearance in 1986. In the show’s July finale, Mike was reunited with love interest Jane Harris (Annie Jones) and the pair bought a house together on the soap’s famous street.

Speaking on the Good Weekend Talks podcast, Pearce said that, since his character was now living on Ramsay Street, he would appear in the new season.

“Annie and I called each other, ‘What do we do now, because we’re living in the street,’” Pearce said. “And she said, ‘Well I’m all right because I’m on the show anyway, but what are you going to do?’ I said, ‘I don’t know.’ So we’re in the process of working it out.

“Obviously, if I’m going to extricate myself from the show, I want to do it respectfully. I wasn’t just gonna go, ‘Well, bad luck. You had your chance, that was it,’ you know. So there may be a little appearance or two, shall we say.”

Another actor confirmed to appear in the reboot is The OC star Mischa Barton, who is set to play a “dynamic and unpredictable” character.

“I’m excited to be part of this iconic show’s next chapter, and I am really looking forward to being back in Australia a place I know and love! I think the character of Reece is going to be a great role for me to explore and play with,” she said.

Here is everything we know about the Neighbours’ reboot so far.

Who is returning to the Neighbours cast for the reboot?

The following cast members have been confirmed to be returning for the Neighbours revival.

• Stefan Dennis as Paul Robinson

• Jackie Woodburne as Susan Kennedy

• Alan Fletcher as Dr Karl Kennedy

• Ryan Moloney as Toadie Rebecchi

• Rebekah Elmaloglou as Terese Willis

• Annie Jones as Jane Harris

• Tim Kano as Leo Tanaka

• Georgie Stone as Mackenzie Hargreaves

• Melissa Bell as Lucy Robinson

• April Rose Pengilly as Chloe Brennan

• Ian Smith as Harold Bishop

• Lucinda Cowden as Melanie Pearson

• Lloyd Will as Andrew Rodwell

• Emerald Chan as Sadie Rodwell

• Candice Leask as Wendy Rodwell

When will the Neighbours reboot be broadcast?

It is not yet known when exactly the show will be broadcast.

Production on the soap officially began last month, with new episodes set to hit our screens in the second half of the year.

Will it still be a daily soap?

Digital Spy says the plan is to keep Neighbours’ daily format identical to its time on Channel 5.

“The plan is for Neighbours to keep its format as a high-volume daily soap opera, so it’ll still be the show that fans know and love”, a source told the publication.

“Plans are being made for two new seasons, which will run for 200 episodes each. It’s an incredible result for fans, who thought they’d seen the last of the show when the finale aired in July.

“The logic for Freevee is that daily episode drops will keep fans checking back on the streaming service and engage with other content available.”

The show has been commissioned for two seasons, with at least 200 episodes each.

How to watch the Neighbours reboot

The revitalised series will premiere free of charge exclusively on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. The site will also stream thousands of Neighbours episodes from previous series.

Freevee is available within the Prime Video app — you simply need a free Amazon account. When you are signed up, just look for the ‘Freevee – Popular Movies and TV – Free with Ads’.