Bitter finale for Hi-5 pair Nathan Foley and Kellie Hoggart

A FAREWELL party planned next Sunday for original Hi-5 team members Nathan Foley and Kellie Hoggart could be a strained affair, with sources close to the group claiming the performers feel they've been jilted by their production company.

Confidential has been informed the show's producers, Southern Star, dropped the two remaining original group members without consultation - opting to recruit younger, cheaper performers to the nationally renowned children's entertainment troupe.

Foley, 29, was reportedly the last to hear that his Hi-5 days were numbered. They both announced their "retirement" last month.

"He stopped for petrol on the North Coast and a guy at the petrol station says to him, 'Hey, my brother got your job yesterday'. It was the first he'd heard about being replaced," a source who wished to remain nameless said.

When asked if that was how he had learned he was being ditched, Foley refused to comment.

"Look, I don't really want to talk about it," he said.

"I've got a contract until Christmas and I intend to honour it."

The reason Foley and Hoggart, who were once engaged, still have contracts is because the producers want to include them in the line-up for a Carols By Candlelight program, which broadcasts on Christmas Eve. But come Christmas Day, the pair will be unemployed.

The new yet-to-be-announced cast members are believed to be almost a decade younger than Foley and Hoggart and infinitely cheaper to employ for concert tours.

"The performers in Hi-5 aren't wealthy like The Wiggles. They don't get a percentage of profits, they just get a salary," one source said.

"The original cast members were on high salaries - a problem for producers when they want to take the group on the road for extensive touring. Southern Star will save a lot of money replacing them with younger talent."

Of the other three original members - Tim Harding, Kathleen de Leon and Charli Robinson - only Robinson has successfully pursued a follow-up TV career.