Neighbours legend Ian Smith revealed that his cancer is ‘so rare, drastic, severe and awful that doctors don’t know what will happen’ in a heartbreaking Good Morning Britain interview on Friday.
The actor, 86 – who played Harold Bishop in the Australian soap on/off between 1985 and 2025 – shared that he was diagnosed with terminal and rare lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma in December last year.
The soap star was told that he would die in March, but after being put on a revolutionary treatment plan, he has defied the odds.
Despite being in the best place that he can be right now, the doctors aren’t sure what would happen if he decided to come off the immunotherapy.
Ian opened up about his illness on the ITV show saying: ‘It’s a cruel, ugly, brutal place, and I don’t know how, but it looks like I’m having the best luck in the world with defeating this cancer.
‘Although the oncologist can’t tell me that, they said because, this cancer is so rare, so drastic, so severe, so awful, they don’t know, they don’t know what it’s going to do.
Neighbours legend Ian Smith has revealed that his cancer is ‘so rare, drastic, severe and awful that doctors don’t know what will happen’ in heartbreaking Good Morning Britain interview on Friday
The actor, 86, spoke to Adil Ray and Charlotte Hawkins about his cancer diagnosis on GMB
The actor, 86 – who played Harold Bishop in the Australian soap on/off between 1975 and 2025 – shared that he was diagnosed with terminal and rare lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma in December last year
‘After my last treatment I asked, “How long do I have to keep going with these treatments?’
‘And he said: “It’s up to you”.
‘I said: “I thought I was in your hands”.
‘He said “No. We know so little about this cancer that we don’t know that if you stop taking the treatments, it may roar back into life”.
‘So I said: “Look for an hours treatment every three weeks I think I can put up with that”.
‘And it looks like these very clever people are going to keep me alive.’
Ian’s appearance on GMB comes after he admitted he feels ‘reborn’ amid his terminal cancer battle.
‘I was supposed to die in March. I didn’t. So I’m here to talk about me dying last month,’ Smith said to The Project.
Ian is best known for playing Harold Bishop on Neighbours – the star pictured on set back in 1985
‘I know I’ve got cancer because doctors keep telling me I have. That’s the only way I know.
‘I’ve got no pain – none of that.’
Ian waved goodbye to his alter-ego Harold earlier this week after 38 years.
‘Interesting is one word for it, privileged I think is better. I ended up making the best possible friends a man could ever have…
‘This has been more than a street to me,’ Harold told a full house.
‘You’ve been more than Neighbours. My life has been enriched by every one of you.
‘You are always in my heart. Always.’
The episode saw Harold make the difficult decision to leave Erinsborough for good and move to Port Douglas in Queensland to be with his granddaughter.
Ian admitted filming those last episodes was deeply emotional, especially surrounded by his co-stars – who he described as nothing short of ‘family’.
‘I love them all dearly,’ he said.
Neighbours isn’t the only thing that Ian has worked on.
Other TV shows include Little Britain Down Under, Prisoner, Homicide and Chopper Squad.
Some films include Body Melt, The Last of the Ryans and Remembering Nigel.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 from 6am and is available to stream on ITVX.
