Craig McLachlan: who is ex-Neighbours star, is he in the finale, what did he say about soap’s last episode?

A former Neighbours actor who played one of the soap’s most well-known characters said it is “devastating” he hasn’t been invited to be part of the final ever episode.

Craig McLachlan played heartthrob Henry Ramsay, who was the sister of Kylie Minogue’s character Charlene Mitchell - and he walked her down the aisle in the famous scene where she married Scott Robinson, played by Jason Donovan.

Minogue and Donovan will reprise their roles in the show finale, but McLachlan will not.

He has blamed ‘cancel culture’ for the fact he won’t be appearing in the last episode, which is called Neighbours: The Finale and airs in the UK on Friday 29 July at 9pm on Channel 5.

So, what exactly has McLachlan said, who is he and what is cancel culture?

Here’s what you need to know.

Why won’t Craig Lachlan be in the last episode of Neighbours?

McLachlan says he was not invited to partake or have any mention of his character in the programme’s final scenes due to "cancel culture" because of to sexual assault charges which were brought against him in 2020.

The actor was cleared of the seven charges of assault and indecent assault on four women when he was in an Australian production of The Rocky Horror Show in 2014.

What has Craig McLachlan said?

McLachlan has not spoken out publicly about the decision to exclude his character from the final episode of Neighbours, but a spokesperson said he was “devastated”.

The spokesperson said: "Henry’s dead mother is being reincarnated for the final episode but cancel culture won’t allow her son Henry to appear or even be acknowledged.

"What Craig and his partner have endured over the past four-and-a-half years - only to come out the other side and be confronted by, among other things, the attempted permanent erasing of his part in Neighbours history - is devastating.

"Craig was not invited to take part in the closing episode or indeed to contribute in any way to the end of Neighbours."

What is cancel culture?

Merriam-Webster dictionary defines cancel culture as “the practice or tendency of engaging in a mass cancelling as a way of expressing disapproval and exerting social pressure”.

It usually refers to when a person or business is called out publicly - often on Twitter or other social media platforms - for something they have said or done that exhibits racism, sexism, or misogyny.

Generally, cancellation refers specifically to celebrities rather than regular people.

It wasn’t until 2014 that the term became widespread in mainstream discourse.

Who is Craig McLachlan?

Craig McLachlan is a 65-year-old Australian actor, musician, singer and composer.

He has a career in film, television, the music industry and music theatre that has lasted for over 30 years.

McLachlan played Henry Ramsay between 1987 and 1989 and appeared in more than 800 episodes before jumping ship to rival show Home and Away.

McLachlan’s partner is opera conductor, Vanessa Scammell, who he met in 2009.

He has a child from his relationship with actress and voice artist Charlotte Avery.