Neighbours airs shock death during its special Outback Week

Neighbours has aired a shock and very grizzly death during its dramatic Death in the Outback Week, as it revealed who won’t return to Erinsborough.

The past few days have seen drama aplenty as a number of Erinsborough favourites faced peril in the Aussie outback.

Holly (Lucinda Armstrong Hall) headed on a trip away with her new lover Heath Royce (Ethan Panizza), with no idea of the danger he posed, prompting Mac (Georgie Stone) and Haz (Shiv Palekar) to jump on a plane to the outback in search of their friend.

Meanwhile, Toadie (Ryan Moloney) and Melanie (Lucinda Cowden) found themselves kidnapped and thrown onto a freight train by Tess’s (Anica Calida) henchman Justin (Richard Sutherland).

The pair had broken into Heath’s mansion and found evidence of his and Tess’s embezzlement plans, but had no idea that one of Tess’s heavies was in the house at the time.

While Holly’s week away with Heath started well, as she took in their beautiful surroundings, Heath began to act increasingly erratically after coming back from checking on Toadie and Melanie.

He stopped Holly from calling home to reassure her parents she was safe, and when Holly found a notebook providing evidence of his and Tess’s scheming, she realised that she could be in serious trouble.

He then flipped out when Holly planned to text her dad, before angrily asking why she even came with him (something we’ve all been asking!), pointing out that she barely knows him.

Toadie and Melanie woke up to find themselves in a remote building, hands and legs tied and with nobody around to help them.

In today’s episode, Toadie eventually managed to free them by rubbing the ropes against the metal of the flue they were tied to, but with the doors and windows locked, they were struggling to find a way out.

As Heath went to check on them, Holly stowed away in the back of his ute, and manged to reunite with her Ramsay Street friends who were frantically trying to break free.

Holly encouraged Toadie and Melanie to escape in search of help, while she stayed behind to handle Heath.

While Melanie stayed behind to ensure Holly was okay, Toadie went off in search of the train line.

Having overheard Holly talking to Toadie and Melanie, he knew his secret had been discovered. As Holly tried to escape in his ute, he cockily held up the keys.

In the dramatic final episode of Outback Week, Holly narrowly escaped death as Heath pushed her into a grain silo and. left her to drown.

She was moments from sinking into the crop when Melanie heard her screams, and was able to climb up and rescue her.

However, the danger was far from over. Mackenzie and Haz had also made their way to the remote location, after Haz hacked Holly’s phone and managed to pinpoint where she and Heath were staying.

An unhinged Heath caught up with Holly and Melanie again after Holly’s escape from the grain silo, circling the pair in his ute as he reminded Holly she had nowhere to run.

The two began to run, but as Heath got out of the ute, gun in hand, he began firing shot after shot in seemingly random directions, as our favourites ducked for cover.

As Heath then spotted Holly, he fired shots directly at her.

When Heath’s back was turned, Holly spotted an opportunity. Running up behind him, she pushed him into the creek he was standing in front of – and while she thought her actions would buy her some time to escape, she wasn’t prepared for what happened next…

Throughout the week, we’ve seen ominous shots of saltwater crocodiles swimming through the outback creeks.

Toadie had a near miss earlier in the episode as he stumbled his way through the water in search of help, and faced a panicked rush to the other side of the bank when he spotted the deadly croc swimming towards him.

Heath had no such luck. By the time he spotted the crocodile swimming his way, it was already too late. Screaming out for help, there was nothing he could do to stop himself from being dragged under the water, where he met a very grizzly death.

Holly and Haz could only scream out in shock, and Holly is sure to face a tough few weeks ahead as she comes to terms with the fact that her actions led to Heath’s demise.

While it appeared that none of the Heath’s earlier shots hit their target, Melanie then stumbled across Mackenzie, who was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to her chest.

As the week ended, it was unclear whether she would survive.

A newly released photo from Monday’s episode shows Melanie and Haz in a race against time to stem the bleeding and get Mackenzie to safety.

Toadie’s (Ryan Moloney) fate was unclear as the week drew to a close. Having spent hours searching for help, he collapsed semi-conscious on a freight track.

The previous episode showed a train thundering through the outback, suggesting that next Monday will see Toadie and the train on a collision course – will he wake up in time?

Yesterday’s episode saw Toadie confess to Melanie that not only was he questioning his marriage to Terese, but he was questioning his whole life.

In the final moments, as he drifted in and out of consciousness, Toadie experienced flashbacks to his many marriages – reliving his weddings to Dee (Madeleine West), Steph (Carla Bonner), Sonya (Eve Morey), Melanie and finally Terese (Rebekah Elmaloglou).

The haunting images then showed the moment his and Dee’s car plunged off a cliff as they drove off from their wedding, followed by the heartbreaking moment when Sonya died in his arms on the beach.

“Don’t go,” he called out, before closing his eyes. “Take me with you.”

Neighbours have successfully kept the outcome of Outback Week firmly under wraps, with fans still unsure whether any other characters will say goodbye next week.

The promo for next week’s episodes showed Terese struggling as Nell (Ayisha Salem-Towner) and Hugo (Tanner Ellis-Anderson) asked where their dad was.

We also saw one character in a hospital bed, their vital signs a cause for concern as their friends endure an anxious wait to see if they make it through.

While Toadie is set to bow out at some point soon, viewers will have to wait and see whether he does in fact die in the outback, or whether he’ll return to Erinsborough before finally saying goodbye in the weeks to come.

In a recent chat with Back to the Bay, Ryan cryptically revealed that “the Toad that went into the desert does not return. And that has life-altering repercussions for him and for his family and for everyone around him.”

While we may not know who else survives, one thing is for sure – Heath Royce is no more.

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

Here are the Neighbours spoilers for the next two weeks:

Monday 26th Aug (Episode 9100 / 197)

A Ramsay Street resident’s life hangs in the balance.

Paul’s haunted by his conscience.

A huge decision causes seismic shock.

Tuesday 27th Aug (Episode 9101 / 198)

A family is imploded by devastating news.

Nicolette scrambles in the wake of her errors.

A resident takes a critical turn.

Wednesday 28th Aug (Episode 9102 / 199)

A resident fights for their life.

JJ plans a surprise.

Wendy makes a big confession.

Thursday 29th Aug (Episode 9103 / 200)

Wendy’s admission leaves her on uncertain ground.

A resident’s concern sends them down the wrong path.

Cara’s forced out of her comfort zone.

JJ and Nell take the next step.

Monday 2nd September (Episode 9104 / 201)

Waves of change ripple through Ramsay Street.

The Share House is thrown into turmoil.

Wendy and Andrew reach a tentative understanding.

Tuesday 3rd September (Episode 9105 / 202)

A friendship group bands together in the wake of big news.

Terese takes on more than she can handle.

Wednesday 4th September (Episode 9106 / 203)

Cara’s disciplinary hearing takes a surprising turn.

Remi makes a shocking discovery.

A couple frantically tries to pull together their future.

A secret stash causes one resident to panic.

Thursday 5th September (Episode 9107 / 204)

A familiar face stirs up conflicted emotions.

Krista is surprised by Terese’s behaviour.

Andrew’s hard-line stance fuels Wendy’s betrayal.