Exclusive: Neighbours star responds to shocking death in latest episode
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Major Neighbours spoilers follow from Thursday's episode (February 1), which is streaming now on Amazon Freevee.
Neighbours star Takaya Honda has spoken to Digital Spy about David Tanaka's shocking exit from the soap.
David made his final appearance in Thursday's episode (February 1) as he died following injuries he'd sustained in his dramatic cliff fall with Eden Shaw.
The show's horror holiday week saw both men fall from the side of an embankment after Eden sparked a violent fight. Following the incident, David insisted on Eden being rushed off for emergency treatment first.
When David's husband Aaron and twin brother Leo returned to the scene of the accident to help him next, they discovered that he'd been downplaying his own injuries and had sadly passed away.
Related: Neighbours star Takaya Honda responds to shock cliffhanger and shares behind-the-scenes secrets
Dr Karl Kennedy later confirmed that David's torso had been pierced by a sharp object following the fall, causing him to bleed out. David's selfless choice ultimately saved Eden's life, providing a contrast to the bombshell 2022 storyline which saw him let Gareth Bateman die at River Bend.
Speaking exclusively to Digital Spy about David's exit, Takaya explained: "When the show was announced as coming back, Neighbours basically asked me if I would be interested in returning.
"I said to them, like I had for the past eight years, that it would all depend on the story and I basically said: 'What have you got?'
"I wanted to come back and actually finish David off properly because obviously at the end of the last season in 2022, everything had to wrap up and they'd wanted David and Aaron to have a nice ending to finish it off that way.
Related: Neighbours stars feared David and Aaron's steamy scene would be censored
"For David's return, they pitched this storyline almost in its totality – at least in terms of what happens towards the death moment – and I loved it."
He continued: "I was able to put my two cents in. When they told me about the ending and David leaving a voice memo for Aaron to find, I begged for them to let me record it. I had to beg the whole way along, because while they said yes the whole way along, it wasn't put in the script and then it wasn't put into the schedule.
"I had a lot of chats with the director and she was really keen for it. She was wonderful and we ended up getting 10 minutes to shoot this thing. We did four takes, and the fourth one was it.
"It was a wonderful storyline that they'd come up with and I think it's a beautiful send-off for the character and everyone around me, including Majella [Davis, who plays Krista] and Hannah [Monson, who plays Nicolette]. They do an incredible job of supporting that storyline – not only up until the death, but beyond as well.
Related: Neighbours star Takaya Honda defends David over feud with Paul
"David dies a hero. He's very active in his death and it's definitely a choice where he chooses to save his brother, because that's more important to him than his own life.
"It was a wonderful thing to be a part of, and I'm really glad I've been able to finish off the character that way."
Takaya went on to discuss the likely fan reaction to his final scenes, which came just as David had been making some major plans for his future with Aaron.
He said: "I expect everyone to be bawling with tears and saying they are never going to watch the show again as it made them too sad! I am sure that they will keep watching though, and I hope they do.
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"Although the audience isn't liking David very much at the moment – they're calling him 'whiny David'. So maybe they'll be cheering, I don't know! But from what I've seen of the episodes, I think everyone's going to be pretty upset by it.
"It's a pretty shocking death. The two episodes that surrounded it are full-on. They're intense for what Neighbours normally is, so I think everyone's going to be quite shocked and blown away – not only by the storyline, but by the performances of everyone.
"I think for my mental health, it's probably good that David is killed off, just because it puts a line in the sand. I think for me there were only ever two ways that David would have left Aaron, Isla and Nicolette – which was that he would die or that he'd go to jail.
"I think going back to jail would have been a lame thing to have happened and so death it was. The way that the show has built this story, and also executed it at such a high level, means that it hopefully will go down as one of the major deaths in Neighbours history for good reasons and not bad ones."
Related: Neighbours confirms shocking new Eden Shaw scenes
Takaya also spoke about the possibility of Aaron eventually finding another "Boo" – David and Aaron's nickname for each other for many years.
He laughed: "Well, he better not call him 'Boo' as well, I feel like that would be too much! But look, David as a character would never want Aaron to be sad forever. I think he would expect that once Aaron got to heaven that David would still be 'the one', but he's too loving a person.
"David loves Aaron too much to want Aaron to live the rest of his life lonely and sad because David's died. David does make the choice here too, which is what part of that voicemail is about. He absolutely wants Aaron to move on. I don't know how quickly Aaron should move on, but it is Neighbours so it could be a week or two – I don't know!"
Discussing his next projects, Takaya added: "I've been filming the Australian Play School, and I had a film that premiered recently called The Gift That Gives, which was well received. It won the best film at the New York International Women's Film Festival, and I play the lead in this rom-com.
"It's a lot of fun, so I don't know if it'll come to the UK at any point, but if it does, everyone should check it out."
Neighbours releases new episodes from Mondays to Thursdays for free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. In Australia, the show airs from Mondays to Thursdays at 4pm on Channel 10, with a 6.30pm repeat screening on 10 Peach.
Read more Neighbours coverage on our dedicated homepage
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