Neighbours star Ryan Moloney has raised eyebrows with his TV comeback on SAS Australia vs England.
The actor, 46, has not appeared in front of the camera since leaving the Aussie soap opera in 2024, and fans were eager for his return to TV.
However, Ryan divided viewers with his conduct during SAS‘s launch show on April 29, after he began swearing at his co-stars.
He has joined 13 celebrities from Britain and Australia in the North African desert to be put through their paces in an SAS bootcamp.
It was clear from the beginning that Ryan was taking the show very seriously, revealing he intended to tell his co-stars if they weren’t trying hard enough.
And he was a man of his word, berating and swearing at his co-stars for not filling up their water bottles, and nearly reducing one celebrity to tears.
Viewers had plenty to say after watching the scenes, sharing their shock over his outburst during the episode.
“Toadie’s going to bust a boiler soon,” one fan remarked.
“Toadie needs to understand the smash session would happen regardless of whether they have water or not,” another added.
“How to win friends and influence people, by Toadfish,” a third joked.
“Ryan’s trying to establish himself as an alpha,” a fourth argued.
“I would describe myself as pretty full-on, I can lose my temper quickly, I can get quite frustrated,” he said in a voiceover.
“The thing I will struggle with the most is if people don’t take it seriously enough or go hard enough.”
The first task saw Ryan paired up with Love Island‘s Dani Dyer as they were submerged in water, and the actor quickly became frustrated with his co-star.
“F***ing dial in, do what you’re meant to do,” Ryan told Dani as she revealed she was “petrified” of water.
Ryan was told to “compose” himself by the instructors as he began swearing at Dani when she began to panic during the task.
“F***ing concentrate and switch on. Focus on what you’re doing, we are strong, and we are calm,” he told her, as she looked near tears.
Ryan continued to spark controversy later in the episode when he went on an expletive-laden rant at his co-stars for not filling up their water bottles for the tasks.
“Fill up your f***ing water bottles first! Use your cups to drink in here, so you’ve always got a full f***ing bottle,” he said.
“My name is f***king pissed off because I’ve got two things of wet clothes because people haven’t filled up their f***ing water bottle, when all day I’ve been saying to do it.”
His outburst came after the celebrities were sent back to camp dripping wet to refill their water bottles midway through a task, sending Ryan into a tailspin.
His co-star, Axle Whitehead, addressed Ryan’s demeanour during the launch show in an exclusive interview with New Idea.
“He had done a lot of preparation and gave his best, but sometimes I suppose you need to lead, and then you need to be led,” he said. “So, people had their different experiences and journeys with that.”
Best known for playing Jarrod ‘Toadfish’ Rebecchi, or ‘Toadie’, on Neighbours, it’s certainly a side of Ryan that viewers haven’t seen before!
What is Ryan Moloney doing now?
Ryan has made his return to television on SAS Australia vs England, joining a team of Australians to do head-to-head with British celebrities in the ultimate SAS training bootcamp.
Ryan has joined Olympians Mack Horton and Emily Seebohm, cricketer Brad Hodge, stage and screen star Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Neighbours star Ryan Moloney, reality TV star Jessika Power, and actor Axle Whitehead on the Aussie side.
Love Island‘s Dani Dyer and Gabby Allen, YouTuber Cole Anderson-James, rugby player Ben Cohen, social media star Jack Joseph, cricketer Graeme Swann, and Gladiator star Toby Olubi are making up the UK team.
Chief instructor Billy Billingham is putting the 14 celebrities through their paces alongside Jason Fox, Rudy Reyes, and Chris Oliver.
But before signing up for the brutal TV show, Ryan had stepped away from TV and was working as a beekeeper!
Speaking with Yahoo Lifestyle, Ryan said that leaving Neighbours gave him the chance to pursue new interests, including bees and sustainability.
“The bees started as a hobby and quickly turned into a small business,” he told the publication.
“I love how in tune you have to be when working with them, and the puzzles they give you on each inspection.”
Ryan also starred in the mini-series Good Neighbours, which followed him on a road trip around Australia to meet coal miners, farmers, and communities welcoming solar and wind energy to their neighbourhoods.
Why did Ryan Moloney leave Neighbours?
Fans were devastated after hearing of Ryan Moloney’s exit from Neighbours in September 2024 after almost three decades on the job.
“After 30 years of playing Toadie, I will be leaving Ramsay Street. I can’t tell you what is happening to the character – maybe I could be the next Jim Robinson. Or maybe I’ll be the next Harold Bishop and keep popping back over the years,” he shared.
“And although I won’t be bringing you our fantastic storylines from in front of the camera, I will be bringing them to you from the other side, behind the camera. I’ve just started director training and have just finished filming my first episode as director – so I really hope that you enjoy that.”
Fans of the show were very sad to hear the news. “Omg What?! Toadie is iconic. Won’t be the same. Hopefully, he comes back to Erinsborough for a visit,” one wrote.
“Oh no no no noooooooooo. Oh, Ryan, that’s so sad. We have watched you all these years. This can’t be true. This is sad news. What are we going to do without seeing our Toadie on our screens? Very sad indeed,” another said.
He did not leave the production entirely and continued to work behind the camera as a director on the show until its cancellation in December 2025.
