Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan return to Neighbours

Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan will return to long-running Australian TV soap opera Neighbours for its finale after more than 30 years away.

They will resume their roles as much-loved characters Scott Robinson and Charlene Mitchell in the fictional Melbourne suburb of Erinsborough.

The pair were a favourite with viewers before their departure in the 1980s.

Sharing a message on the show's official Twitter account, executive producer Jason Herbison said the pair would play "a very special part" in the show's finale.

"Scott and Charlene are the ultimate Neighbours couple and it would not feel right to end the show without them," he added.

Minogue and Donovan also posted a photo of what appeared to be a glimpse of a Neighbours script on their Instagram accounts.

Neighbours was first aired in 1985 and the pair played Scott and Charlene until their departures in 1989 and 1988 respectively.

Their wedding episode was watched by more than two million Australian viewers when it first aired in 1987 and it later attracted almost 20 million people when it was shown in the UK in 1988.

Both Minogue and Donovan shot to fame after appearing in the soap opera.

Minogue - who has then had a successful pop career with hits including Love At First Sight, Slow and Spinning Around - said she would be "forever grateful" for her time on the show.

Donovan also moved to a career in music. He appeared in musicals, including taking the lead role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat in the 1990s.

Neighbours aired on Channel 5 for more than a decade, and was previously broadcast on the BBC.

Earlier this year Channel 5 announced it was dropping the show from its schedules.

That decision left producers with a funding gap, as the British network was a key broadcast partner in the series.

Producers of the show later said they were "so sorry" but had "no option but to rest the show".