Neighbours Star Harold Bishop’s Shocking Comments About Leaving Soap

By Penny LaneOn Apr 20, 2018

Lovable Neighbour Harold first hit our screens in 1987, when he was contracted for a five-week story arc. However, producers loved his character so much that he was invited to sign a full-time cast members contract – much to fans delight! Harold first left Ramsay Street in 1991, but Ian decided that he loved the Australian soap so much that came back in 1996 for 13 years.

Harold has been back and forth from the show but hasn’t been seen since the 30th anniversary special in 2015 when he decided to move to Port Douglas and live with his granddaughter Sky.

Playing such an iconic character in a popular soap for so many years had its effect on Ian, who believes that it left him typecast and was consequently turned down from many other roles.

Speaking on Australian comedy panel show ‘Hughesy, We Have a Problem,’ Smith joked that when he was excited about other roles he always was turned down, being told, “Oh you were in Neighbours, you were Harold, you couldn’t possibly be a murdering pedophile.”

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He later went on to talk to Studio Ten, revealing in an interview that during his time on the show he didn’t realize that he was becoming known only as ‘Harold from Neighbours’. It was only afterward when he was trying out for other jobs that he felt trapped by his previous role.

He revealed, “One day, I realized I didn’t want to do it anymore and I always promised myself that if that day happened, I wouldn’t be fair to Harold if I did keep doing it because it would become false,” Smith explained. “I shocked myself as well as [producers] because I would have been in danger of thinking, ‘Gee, I’m creating something here that… I’m digging a hole that I’ll never get out of’. It turned out that yes, that’s what happened, but I just didn’t wake up to it.”

We do love Harold, but it seems like he won’t be coming back to Ramsay Street – at least not any time soon!

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