Neighbours airs David Tanaka’s final scenes after tragic death

Today’s Neighbours has seen the death of long-term favourite David Tanaka, as Takaya Honda’s final scenes air after nearly 7 1/2 years on the show.

Neighbours has been teasing an upcoming tragedy for a number of weeks, in which David (Takaya Honda), Aaron (Matt Wilson), Nicolette (Hannah Monson), Leo (Tim Kano) and Krista’s (Majella Davis) holiday was set to be interrupted by baddies Eden Shaw (Costa D’Angelo) and Veronica McLain (Ellen Grimshaw).

Spoilers and a recent promo kept the identity of the deceased secret, and it was unclear whether it would be Eden, Veronica, or both, who would cause the death of our favourite.

Now, the victim has been identified, with David Tanaka’s final scenes airing, resulting in spectacular performances from the entire Neighbours cast as their characters reacted to the news.

Yesterday’s episode saw Nicolette left alone in the holiday property, with no idea that Veronica was hiding on the roof.

The two found themselves in a dramatic confrontation, with Veronica keen to track down her estranged husband Sasha (Sunny S. Walia), who she believed was on the trip with Nicolette.

In the end, the two made peace as Veronica finally accepted that it was Sasha who had been persuing Nicolette, but that Nicolette and Sasha weren’t together.

That just left the small matter of Eden. As David, Aaron, Leo and Krista went on a bushwalk together, the newer of the two couples dropped hints about wanting some alone time, and David and Aaron eventually left them in peace.

Soon after, as they lay together on the forest floor, Leo and Krista were startled to hear a voice – Eden’s! He’s out of prison, and somehow knows that Krista is pregnant with his baby.

As Krista told him that she wanted nothing to do with him, Eden looked at Leo with an evil smirk – “You think he’s gonna raise my kid?”

After knocking Krista to the ground, Eden dived at Leo and the pair grappled together, inches away from a sheer drop. David and Aaron, upon hearing the shouting, rushed to help, as Eden picked up a rock and held it above Leo’s head, ready to strike.

David rushed over and dived at Eden, pulling him off Leo but causing both David and Eden to tumble down the side of the high embankment.

As we returned to the action in Thursday’s emotional episode, Aaron, Leo and Krista were trying to find a way down the embankment, with no idea whether David or Eden were dead or alive.

Thankfully, things were looking positive for David, who was conscious on the ground below, apparently not too badly harmed.

He dragged himself over to Eden and quickly realised he was suffering internal bleeding. David did his best to make him comfortable, before Aaron and Leo eventually arrived.

While Aaron was keen to get help for David, he insisted that he was fine – just a broken ankle and maybe a broken rib – and that it was Eden who needed to get to hospital right away.

David insisted to Aaron that he didn’t want a repeat of the Gareth Bateman (Jack Pearson) situation two years ago, where David chose not to help Gareth at River Bend, and instead let him die.

With no phone signal to call an ambulance, Aaron heeded to David’s wishes and transported a badly injured Eden to the hospital.

By the time he and Leo returned, David was unconscious and slumped against a tree. As Aaron rushed over to him, it soon became clear that David had died, having lost a significant amount of blood from his abdomen.

It seemed that David knew that he was at risk of bleeding out, but kept the development from Aaron and Leo to ensure that they look Eden to the hospital instead. He had chosen Eden over himself, with the guilt from his actions two years ago still haunting him.

What followed were some of the most powerful but harrowing scenes of Neighbours in recent years. With no phone signal, David’s husband and brother were left with no choice but to pick up his body and carry him back to the car. Aaron later sat in the back, barely able to process what had happened, as David’s head lay upon his lap.

Back in Erinsborough and it was on Jane (Annie Jones) to share the tragic news with the residents of Ramsay Street, as she paid a visit to No. 22 to let Toadie (Ryan Moloney) and Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou) know.

Terese’s first thought was of ex-husband Paul (Stefan Dennis), as she commented on how ‘this will kill Paul’, before heading off to Lassiters, wanting to be the one to break the news to him.

The tearjerking episodes produced a standout performance from Matt Wilson, with Aaron now facing life in Erinsborough without his beloved ‘boo’.

David’s death brings to an end Takaya Honda’s time on Neighbours, which began back in 2016, making him one of the show’s longest-serving characters of recent years. David arrived alongside twin brother Leo as they tried to find their biological father, who was eventually revealed to be Paul Robinson.

One of David’s first storylines also saw him struggle with his sexuality. David wasn’t yet open about being gay, and struggled with his growing feelings for new neighbour Aaron whilst grappling with the thought of coming out to his brother.

In the end, David accepted his sexuality and had nothing but positive reactions from his friends and family. He and Aaron went on to marry in 2018, in what was the first same-sex marriage on Australian television.

After getting married, the pair decided to begin fostering, and a long story arc saw them take in 13-year old Emmett (Ezra Justin), and later Emmett’s troubled brother Brent (Texas Watterston).

One of David’s biggest storylines saw him and Aaron decide to have a baby of their own with their housemate Nicolette, in a co-parenting arrangement where all three would be the baby’s parents.

A night of cocktails saw the trio make a spur-of-the-moment decision to employ a turkey baster as their method of conception, and all three were stunned when Nicolette discovered she was pregnant shortly after.

David’s dad Paul was never a fan of Nicolette, and his comments on how she would never be part of their family pushed her over the edge, causing her to skip town with David and Aaron’s unborn baby in tow.

Paul was forced to head to Canberra to track Nicolette down, where he found that she had recently given birth.

Paul offered to buy the baby back for $1million, but Nicolette secretly handed over a different baby, who, in a complicated and convoluted turn of events, turned out to be the daughter of Leo and his ex-girlfriend Britney (Montana Cox), whom he was dating while living in New York.

Nicolette eventually returned to Erinsborough, and while the trust issues ensued for many months, David, Aaron and Nicolette did eventually settle into shared parenthood with their new daughter, Isla.

Shortly before Neighbours‘ cancellation in 2022, David was struck off from working as a doctor, after failing to provide treatment to Gareth Bateman, who was left severely injured after crashing though his van windscreen.

Gareth had attacked Aaron and left him for dead, causing a distraught David to make the decision to refuse treatment. The discovery led to him losing his medical licence and spending a short stint in prison, resulting in somewhat of an identity crisis for the career-focused doctor.

In the year we were away from Erinsborough after the show’s cancellation, David went on to run the Drinks Divas van with Melanie, before departing Erinsborough with Aaron, Nicolette and daughter Isla after a dramatic turn of events saw Paul cover up Krista’s death-not-death.

More recently, since returning to Erinsborough, we’ve seen David and Aaron plan to re-buy No. 32 from Leo, and in the past few days the pair agreed to have another child, once again enlisting Nicolette to be the baby’s biological mum.

David even began slowly reconnecting with Paul, calling him ‘dad’ for the first time since Paul’s actions on the rooftop of Lassiters a year ago caused the two to become estranged.

Of course, Neighbours being Neighbours, the recent joy that David and Aaron have been experiencing over the past few weeks was too good to be true, setting the couple up for the tragic episode and David’s untimely death.

While the departure of David and actor Takaya Honda will be a great loss to Neighbours, they produced some of the most powerful episodes of the renewed show, proving that Amazon made the right decision in renewing the series.

Next week will see the fallout of the tragic event, as Aaron, Leo, Paul and Nicolette come to terms with David’s death, and a shocking secret is revealed that will send one character’s guilt into overdrive.

New episodes of Neighbours air Monday–Thursday on Network 10 and 10 Peach in Australia, and on Amazon Freevee in the UK.

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Here are the Neighbours spoilers for the next two weeks:

Monday 5th February (Episode 8984 / 81)

The residents of Ramsay Street come to grips with their loss.

Terese tries to comfort an inconsolable Erinsborough resident.

The threat of Eden continues to loom large.

Tuesday 6th February (Episode 8985 / 82)

Eden’s reign of terror continues as a hostage situation brings Ramsay Street to a standstill.

Paul battles his demons.

Toadie takes charge.

Wednesday 7th February (Episode 8986 / 83)

Terese chooses confrontation.

Chelsea makes her next move.

Haz goes above and beyond as he learns how to support Mackenzie.

Thursday 8th February (Episode 8987 / 84)

Chelsea involves herself with the grieving family.

Paul projects onto Krista as his anger finds a new home.

Toadie and Terese work through their ‘ex’ issues… for now.

Monday 12th February (Episode 8988 / 85)

Sadie uncovers a devastating secret.

Chelsea continues to get her way, but offers an olive branch.

Krista finds refuge where she least expects.

Tuesday 13th February (Episode 8989 / 86)

Ramsay Street mourns a beloved neighbour.

Paul and Sadie carry a terrible secret.

Chelsea’s plans are thwarted.

Krista’s kind act has devastating consequences.

Wednesday 14th February (Episode 8990 / 87)

The neighbours reel from a shock confession.

Will Terese betray Toadie about Paul?

Chelsea sees an opportunity and makes a move.

Thursday 15th February (Episode 8991 / 88)

Toadie discovers Terese’s betrayal.

Chelsea worms her way into Paul’s life.

Paul is at rock bottom.

Melanie makes a huge confession.