NEIGHBOURS fans were left stunned as a show legend appeared on a local news bulletin – do you remember him?
Viewers tuning in to 10 News were surprised to see a familiar face on a report about a shark attack.
The incident saw a woman sustain serious injuries, with a paramedic appearing on-screen to discuss the incident.
That paramedic was none other than former Neighbours actor Andrew Bibby.
Andrew, 44, played Lance Wilkinson across multiple stints spanning from 1995 to 2023.
It includes a return – alongside other Neighbours alums – for the show’s then-finale in 2022.
A year later, Andrew again reprised the role of Lance for a flashback sequence.
Between Neighbours stints, he left the limelight in favour of another path.
Andrew previously opened up about how his acting past helps in his new career – as a paramedic.
Joking he is known as “Ambo-Lance”, he told The Telegraph: “Being able to act like I know what is going on, like I’ve seen it all before and that everything is OK, actually comes in quite handy.
“I do know what’s going on, by the way.
“As paramedics we improvise a lot, like in acting.”
[bc_video account_id=”5067014667001″ application_id=”” aspect_ratio=”16:9″ autoplay=”” caption=”Neighbours star has barely aged a day as he appears on This Morning 23 years after he quit the Aussie soap” embed=”in-page” experience_id=”” height=”100%” language_detection=”” max_height=”360px” max_width=”640px” min_width=”0px” mute=”” padding_top=”56%” picture_in_picture=”” player_id=”default” playlist_id=”” playsinline=”” sizing=”responsive” video_id=”6368757026112″ video_ids=”” width=”640px”]Continuing, Andrew also revealed how he is still recognised by English-speaking tourists – even while on the job.
He explained: “They will get quite excited when they realise who I am and sometimes look around for the cameras, thinking it is a hoax.
“I like to think that if a patient can recognise me and want to talk about Neighbours and my former career, then they are not on death’s door and things aren’t too bad.”
It comes as the beloved Aussie soap has once again been axed – after production company Fremantle failed to agree a new deal with Amazon.
Amazon brought the soap back to life after it was axed by Channel 5 after 37 years.
Amazon announced at the end of 2022 that it was bringing the iconic programme back in a multi-year deal.
The soap’s final episode saw the return of the likes of Margot Robbie, Kylie Minogue and Guy Pearce in the emotional goodbye.
But months later, Amazon offered the show a lifeline and brought it back to life with a revamped production.
The Sun exclusively revealed that Amazon have told Fremantle that their venture into soaps hasn’t worked and they are pulling funding.
A source said: “Amazon gave Fremantle two years to see if it worked but sadly they just didn’t get the viewers.
“It’s a really sad day especially for the cast and crew who work on the show in Melbourne.
“This really is the end of Neighbours just as it’s celebrated its 40th birthday.”