HAROLD'S BACK I ON THE STREET

Neighbours favourite lan Smith returns to Erinsborough to reunite with old friends and feel close to his beloved Madge

- ALICE PENWILL

Ian Smith rose to fame on Neighbours in 1987 and he loves his character, Harold Bishop, so much that he is coming out of retirement to play him again. The actor has portrayed the bumbling, loveable resident of Ramsay Street on and off for more than 30 years – in fact, he has made such a mark that the Erinsborough café still bears his name.

Ian’s last guest appearance was in the finale of Neighbours in 2022, but he has now decided to return, this time as a regular – and he’s back in the opening credits too.

“I turned 85 last June and retired,” says Ian. “I thought I had prepared myself for it. Well, I hadn’t. I got a fly fishing rod, a metal detector and an electric bike. But life needs more than those things and I was finding myself almost stranded – I even tried to cook! Then I got a phone call asking if I would come back to the show. I wanted to kiss them. I just said, ‘Yes!’