Neighbours’ Ian ‘Harold’ Smith says government should have saved axed soapie

As worldwide fans prepare to farewell Neighbours after 37 years, one of its most famous cast members has hit out, saying the actors’ training ground should have received government support.

One of Neighbours’ best-known actors, Ian Smith, said the nation’s longest-running drama should not have been axed and more could have been done by the federal government to keep it in ­production.

Smith, 83, who played the bumbling Harold Bishop in the TV soap series, said there should have been intervention to save the show, which produced some of Australia’s most successful acting talents in its 37-year history.

“I think the Australian government should have bought it, put it on the ABC and used it as a living, working school for actors, writers and cameramen and put it to air as such,” Smith said.

He said the drama series had been a great training ground for up-and-coming talent, both on and off the screen, and its demise would be a huge loss to the country’s entertainment industry.

Neighbours veteran Ian Smith at the finale filming of the long-running soap. Picture: Sam Tabone/Getty Images

Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan as Scott and Charlene are perhaps the soap’s best-known alumni.

After 8903 episodes, the series finale will air on August 1 to fans in Australia and Britain – and many stars, both past and present, returned to reminisce about the popular soap at a farewell event at the program’s Nunawading, Melbourne, studios on Wednesday.

This included Stefan Dennis (Paul Robinson), Alan Fletcher (Karl Kennedy), Annie Jones (Jane Harris), Ryan Moloney (Toadfish), Jackie Woodburne (Susan Kennedy) and Olympia Valance (Paige Smith).

Although two of the soap’s biggest names – Kylie Minogue (Charlene Robinson) and Jason Donovan (Scott Robinson) – didn’t attend, they will be among many of the show’s former stars who will feature in the 90-minute finale to air on 10 Peach.

Filming at Ramsay Street finished earlier in June after production company Fremantle was unable to secure a new broadcasting arrangement with a British outlet after its deal with Channel 5 came to an end.

Dennis, part of the show across four decades, said there should have been increased promotion of Neighbours to prevent its demise, noting the recent rise in streaming giants which, he said, attracted viewers away from free-to-air services.

Past and present cast and crew gathered for one final epside of the 37-year-old soapie. Picture: Alex Coppel

“Even though it was enormously popular in the 1980s and the 90s, the popularity wanes somewhat,” Dennis said.

“If a show doesn’t get promoted, people don’t know about it, and if people don’t know about it, people don’t watch it.

“Unless we pass the TV network mentality, unless we change that and move with the landscape, TV networks are going to be left behind.”

The show, created by TV executive Reg Watson, had dwindling Australian audiences in recent years, which saw it being demoted in 2011 from Network Ten’s main channel to its digital channel, 10 Peach.

The careers of some of Australia’s most successful acting talents flourished after their time at ­“Erinsborough” – including Margot Robbie, Guy Pearce, Liam Hemsworth, Natalie Imbruglia, Alan Dale, Holly Valance and Delta Goodrem.

Neighbours first hit British TV screens on BBC1 in 1986 and the show attracted about 1.2 million viewers daily in the UK; in Australia, recent figures from TV ratings company OzTAM showed about 120,000 viewers tuned in for each episode.