'Neighbours' boss denies cast crisis

Neighbours' executive producer Susan Bower has insisted that there is no link between the soap's forthcoming channel change and a recent batch of cast departures.

Jane Hall (Rebecca Robinson), Matthew Werkmeister (Zeke Kinski), Erin Mullally (Declan Napier), Sam Clark (Ringo Brown), Margot Robbie (Donna Freedman) and Carla Bonner (Steph Scully) have all quit the long-running show this year ahead of its shift from Channel Ten to digital station Eleven.

However, in an interview with TV Soap, Bower dismissed talk of poor morale on set and pointed out that cast departures are nothing new.

She explained: "When I first arrived here, there were four people who all left at the same time and there was all this negative press. It happens all the time. It's unfortunate that everybody's decided to leave at once. We wish everyone well. We only want the best for our people who have served us so well.

"None of these people are leaving because of Eleven or anything like that."

Bower also refuted speculation that Neighbours will be sexed up once it moves to Eleven next year.

She said: "There's this bloody rumour going around that because we're on Eleven it's going to be raunchy. I'm not going to do that. Why would I do that? England loves us the way we are. Australia loves us the way we are. Yes, we've taken a hit in the ratings, but so has everybody else."

Neighbours is currently struggling to attract an audience above the 600,000 mark in Australia.