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When long-running soap Neighbours came to an albeit short-lived conclusion in 2022, fans ran a full gamut of emotions - nostalgia at the end of an era, joy at the reappearance of old characters, gratitude for the show's 37 year-run. But for some more heavily-invested devotees, the overwhelming feeling associated with farewelling the residents of Ramsay Street was a sadness akin to grief, a researcher from the Queensland's CQ University has found. Those feelings of loss were experienced by those who "felt a stronger fan connection to the series and who formed stronger parasocial empathic relationships with their favourite character", according to senior psychology lecturer Adam Gerace.

"Fan reactions to the conclusion of Neighbours suggested they were processing both the end of the television series and their relationships with its characters," Dr Gerace said. Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion. "In doing so, they were demonstrating grief reactions similar to those involved in the end of real-life relationships, including negative emotions and cognitions, attempts at closure and gratitude for what they had experienced through these relationships.



" Neighbours first aired in 1985 and featured nearly 9000 episodes, fostering Australian talent like Kylie Minogue, Margot Robbie and Liam Hemsworth. The show announced its cancellation in March 2022 following the loss of its main UK broadcast partner, Channel 5, and aired its final epi.

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