Australian soap opera legend Ian Smith, best known as Neighbours’ Harold Bishop, has revealed he has terminal cancer.
Smith, 85, has played soap favorite Harold on and off for over five decades since joining the Amazon Freevee soap in 1987.
In a Monday, December 2, interview with Australia’s 10 News First, the actor said he has now filmed his final scenes after being diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer.
“I found out a few months back that I have cancer. I have a very aggressive, non-fixable cancer. They expect me to die,” Smith, who was diagnosed with pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, said.
“It isn’t just my last day in Neighbours, it’s my last day of work,” Smith said in an interview filmed on his final day on the set of the long-running soap.
In the footage, the actor told his castmates and crew that he had lived the “most privileged life” and “met the most beautiful people” during his stint on the show.
In a sitdown interview with 10 News First’s Angela Bishop, the actor said he has had chemotherapy and immunotherapy, explaining that he is happy to be a “guinea pig” for new treatments.
“I don’t want to die,” he said. “I want to stay alive with quality as long as I can. If they can do that, I’m very happy. But I wake up every morning hoping there’s no pain because I know that’s the beginning of the bad part.”
Smith also shared that losing his wife of 50 years, Gail, to cancer in 2019 has deeply affected him over the last five years.
“That really … I think if that hadn’t happened, I’d be a lot worse off now,” he said. “My life finished then.”
The actor said he still speaks to his wife. “She was the most wonderful, beautiful person,” he said.
Smith also shared his thoughts on his eventual death. “We’re all dying, but when you find out specifically when you’re going to die, you become a very different person,” he said. “I’ve seen so many deaths. At the age of 85, you see so many. I’ve seen some good ones, and I’ve seen bad ones. The bad have been few. Soon I’m going to be one of the few who die from pleomorphic [and] I’m hoping I’ll go the nice way.”
“Harold waves goodbye to Ramsay Street. We’re sharing the sad news that Ian Smith will soon be stepping away from the beloved role of Harold Bishop. Ian first played Harold in 1987 and it’s been a huge privilege to welcome him back to the show over the years,” the official Neighbours X account shared Monday.
Executive producer Jason Herbison said in a statement, “The way the residents of Ramsay Street feel about Harold is how we all feel about Ian — we couldn’t love him more than we do. Despite the challenges he was facing with his health, he wanted to give Harold a proper send-off. It was a very emotional moment on set as we paid tribute to him and the incredible contribution he has made to the show.”
