Last weekend The Sun newspaper in the UK revealed Britain’s channel 5 television station was not renewing its relationship with the long-running Australian series Neighbours.

The relationship with the UK was something of a lifeline for the show – with the millions of pounds invested by Channel 5 shoring up the show’s budget after its Australian broadcaster, Network 10, moved it from its lucrative slot after the news to the multichannel.

Now, the show’s future is in doubt and if an alternative UK broadcaster isn’t found, visits to Ramsay Street may be no more.

Today on Please Explain, culture editor-at-large Michael Idato, who has been covering Neighbours for nearly as long as the show has existed, joins Nathanael Cooper to look at its history, impact, and its future.