Neighbours star Ian Smith who played Harold Bishop shares his favourite memories from the show

AS Neighbours celebrates 30 years on our screens, Ian Smith who played fuddy-duddy Harold Bishop looks back at one of Australia’s most loved TV shows.

PEOPLE across the world still stop Ian Smith to ask questions about lovable Ramsay Street fuddy-duddy Harold Bishop.

Together with his wife Madge (played by Anne Charleston), Harold remains a firm favourite with the soap’s audience.

So when it was announced that the duo would return to for the Neighbours 30th anniversary celebrations, it was no surprise it created plenty of buzz. Well, no surprise to anyone but Smith that is.

“Did it really?,” he asks. “I don’t know why Harold and Madge were so popular. All we were doing was working in a studio in Nunawading.”

Still, he did manage to answer a few of our burning questions about the long-running soap and all of its success.

Reunited ... Old pals Anne Charleston and Ian Smith. Picture: Supplied

CO-STAR CHEMISTRY

REUNITING with Anne Charleston — despite Madge having died on screen — was a “the number one reason” Ian came back for the Neighbours 30th anniversary episodes.

“First of all I said, ‘No, I’m not going to do any back-from-the-dead rubbish’,” he recalls. “But when I heard how she was coming back I totally agreed with it.”

“We walked out onto that studio floor together and by the time we got to the second scene it was like we’d never walked off it.”

The odd couple ... Tom Oliver and Smith. Picture: Supplied

THE ‘OTHER COUPLE”

HAROLD and Madge may be Australia’s favourite TV couple, but Harold and Lou (Tom Oliver) arguably come a close second.

“We’ve often said that we must put pen to paper and see if we can write something for the two of them, like The Odd Couple,” Ian says. “It could be fun.”

So what stopped them?

“Oh I don’t know, laziness I think,” he laughs. “Or maybe we’re too old.”

Big break ... Guy Pearce in his Neighbours heyday (left) and picking up an Emmy Award in 2011. Picture: Supplied

TALENT SPOTTING

”I WAS always very proud of the youngsters in the show when I was there full-time,” Ian says of the talented cast he’s worked with over the years.

“You spot that potential but you just don’t know how far they’ll go or how good they are,” he continues. “I stopped trying to judge after Guy Pearce. Because I always had him down as a very competent actor but I had no idea how bloody good.

Ramsay Street graduate ... Margot Robbie in a scene from film The Wolf of Wall Street. Picture: Supplie

Margot Robbie is the same. I end up sitting and watching her in the cinema with my mouth open saying, ‘How in God’s name did you do that?’ It’s just wonderful.”

SOAP STAR RIVALS

WHEN Harold waved goodbye to Neighbours in 2011 he left the path open for Home and Away’s Alf Stewart (Ray Meagher) to take his most loved character mantle.

“I’ll have to have a word with him about that,” Smith laughs.

“Ray and I used to do backpacker gigs up in Sydney together. We’d stage a battle — he’d walk out on stage saying, ‘Dirty rotten mongrel so and so,’ and I’d be standing there saying, ‘Oh now I wish you wouldn’t use language like that.’ The kids used to love it.”

Memory lane ... Harold (Ian Smith) arrives back on Ramsay Street. Picture: Ten

LETTING GO

SMITH’S life has only got busier since he retired. “There was a time I was guilty of saying, ‘I wish I could go back to work and have a rest,” he jokes.

“I enjoy photography, fly fishing, golf, bushwalking. Luckily my wife is interested in all of those. And touring around, going to different countries different places.’

But he’s still up for acting work when the project is right.

“I’m doing an awful lot of short movies for talented young people,” he says. “I don’t want to commit myself to anything too big. I don’t want to find myself on my deathbed saying, ‘I wish I’d done so and so but I was too busy working.’ It’s happened to too many of my friends.”

NEIGHBOURS

WEEKDAYS, 6.30PM, ELEVEN