(Photo: Channel 5)

Today brings very sad news for fans of Neighbours. The long-running Australian soap opera has confirmed it will come to an end this summer after 37 years on-air.

Neighbours' future was cast into doubt in February when Channel 5, its home network in the U.K. since 2008, announced that it would no longer air the show beyond this summer. This left Neighbours with a significant shortfall in its production budget, one that it has apparently been unable to fill.

"We are so sorry to say that after nearly 37 years and almost 9000 episodes broadcast we have to confirm that Neighbours will cease production in June," the show tweeted Thursday. "Following the loss of our key broadcast partner in the U.K. and despite an extensive search for alternative funding, we simply have no option but to rest the show."

Set in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough, Neighbours launched on Australia's Seven Network in 1985 and was soon picked up by BBC One, which began airing it in the U.K. the following year. When the BBC decided not to keep the show as part of its schedules in 2008, it was swiftly picked up by Channel 5.

Over the years, Neighbours has served as a terrific breeding ground and launchpad for Australian acting talent. Among the actors to have put in stints on the show are Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, Margot Robbie, Chris Hemsworth, Liam Hemsworth, Jesse Spencer, and Alan Dale.

Before she launched her hugely successful music career, Kylie Minogue made her name on Neighbours by playing tomboy mechanic Charlene Robinson from 1986 to 1988. Replying to a tweet from the Neighbours account today, she referenced her time on the show causing trouble for Madge Bishop, a popular matriarch character played by Anne Charleston.

(Photo: Twitter)

Do you have fond memories of watching Neighbours?