MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Actor Ian Smith, who has played the character Harold Bishop in the iconic Australian soap opera “Neighbours” since 1987, has announced his retirement after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
The 86-year-old actor revealed the diagnosis in an interview with 10 News First on Network 10, which broadcasts the series in Australia.
The interview broadcast on Monday was recorded last week, the network said on Tuesday.
Smith filmed his last episode two weeks ago and said farewell to the other cast members on his final day of shooting, the network said.
“It isn’t just my last day in ‘Neighbours,’ it’s my last day of work,” Smith told 10.
Smith said he was being treated for a rare form of lung cancer known as pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.
“I found out a few months back that I have cancer, that I have a very aggressive, non-fixable cancer and ... they expect me to die,” Smith said.
The producers of “ Neighbours,” which is set on fictional Ramsay Street in suburban Melbourne, used social media to confirm Smith’s departure.
“Harold waves goodbye to Ramsay Street. We’re sharing the sad news that Ian Smith will soon be stepping away from the beloved role of Harold Bishop,” the program posted on Monday.
Smith's final episodes will be broadcast in Australia and Britain, where the program found its largest audience, in April next year, the network said.
“Neighbours” executive producer Jason Herbison paid tribute to the actor and how he ended the role, which has come and gone from the storyline several times over the decades.
“The way the residents of Ramsay Street feel about Harold is how we all feel about Ian -– we couldn’t love him more than we do,” Herbison said in a statement.
“Despite the challenges he was facing with his health, he wanted to give Harold a proper sendoff. It was a very emotional moment on set as we paid tribute to him and the incredible contribution he has made to the show,” Herbison said.
The network described Smith as the “heart and soul of the show.”
“Ian has brought joy, laughter and inspiration to audiences all around the world for decades,” the network said in a statement.
“Along with the cast and crew and all his fans from around the world, we will support Ian in any way we can during this difficult time,” it said.
“Neighbours” first screened in 1985 and has become Australia’s longest-running drama series. It has been sold to more than 60 countries.
Australian actor Ian Smith, left, poses for a photograph with his wax figure in the character of Harold Bishop from Australian soap "Neighbours" at Madame Tussauds waxworks in Sydney, April 16, 2012. (April Fonti/AAP Image via AP)
Straws might seem insignificant, inspiring jokes about the plastic vs. paper debate, but the plastic straw has come to symbolize a global pollution crisis over the past decade.
On Monday, President Donald Trump waded into the issue when he signed an executive order to reverse a federal push away from plastic straws, declaring that paper straws “don’t work” and don’t last very long. Trump said he thinks “it’s OK” to continue using plastic straws, although they've have been blamed for polluting oceans and harming marine life.
In 2015, video of a marine biologist pulling a plastic straw out of a turtle’s nose sparked outrage worldwide and countries and cities started banning them, starting with the Pacific Island nation Vanuatu and Seattle in 2018.
Here’s what to know about the larger fight over single-use plastics in the United States:
More than 390 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States, most for 30 minutes or less, according to advocacy group Turtle Island Restoration Network.
Plastic straws are usually thrown away after one use, going on to litter beaches and waterways and potentially killing marine animals that mistake them for food.
The straws are not recyclable because they are so small. They take at least 200 years to decompose, the network said.
They break down into incredibly tiny bits of plastic smaller than a fraction of a grain of rice. These microplastics have been found in a wide range of body tissues. Though research is still limited overall, there are growing concerns that microplastics in the body could potentially be linked to heart disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and other problems.
Trump's executive order claims that paper straws use chemicals that may carry risks to human health are more expensive to produce than plastic straws. Researchers from the University of Antwerp found forever chemicals known as PFAS to be present in paper, bamboo, glass and plastic straws, but not stainless steel ones, according to a 2023 study.
The advocacy group Beyond Plastics said that while plastics are often cheaper than paper products, the cheapest option is to skip the straw.
Judith Enck, a former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator who now heads up Beyond Plastics, said she hopes that people react to the executive order by committing to using fewer plastic straws and that local and state governments do, too.
“It’s easy to just kind of almost poke fun of this, ignore it,” she said Tuesday. “But this is a moment that we as individuals and state and local policymakers can make a statement that they disagree with this executive order and are committed to using less plastic straws. It’s not that hard to do.”
Several states and cities have banned plastic straws and some restaurants no longer automatically give them to customers.
President Joe Biden administration’s had committed to phasing out federal purchases of single-use plastics, including straws, from food service operations, events and packaging by 2027, and from all federal operations by 2035.
The move was a way for the federal government to formally acknowledge the severity of the plastic pollution crisis and the scale of the response required to effectively confront it.
Erin Simon, an expert on plastics and packaging at the World Wildlife Fund, said at the time that it sent a message around the world: If we can make change happen at scale, so can you.
The declaration came in July, just a few months before negotiators met in South Korea to try to finish crafting a treaty to address the global crisis of plastic pollution. Negotiators didn’t reach an agreement late last year, but talks resume this year.
Under the Biden administration, the United States at first adopted a position viewed as favoring industry, stating that countries should largely develop their own plans instead of abiding by global rules. China, the United States and Germany are the biggest players in the global plastics trade.
The United States changed its position heading into South Korea. The delegation said it would support having an article in the treaty that addresses supply, or plastic production. More than 100 countries want an ambitious treaty that limits plastic production while tackling cleanup and recycling.
U.S. manufacturers have asked Trump to remain at the negotiating table but revert to the old position that focused on redesigning plastic products, recycling and reuse.
The environment is littered with single-use plastic food and beverage containers — water bottles, takeout containers, coffee lids, straws and shopping bags.
Every year, the world produces more than 400 million tons of new plastic. About 40% of all plastics are used in packaging, according to the United Nations.
In 2023, Ocean Conservancy volunteers collected more than 61,000 plastic straws and stirrers polluting beaches and waterways in the United States. There were even more cigarette butts, plastic bottles, bottle caps and food wrappers, the nonprofit said.
Most plastic is made from fossil fuels. Negotiators at the United Nations climate talks known as COP28 agreed in 2023 the world must transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and triple the use of renewable energy.
As pressure to reduce fossil fuels has increased globally, oil and gas companies have been looking more to the plastics side of their business as a market that could grow. Trump strongly supports and gets support from the oil and gas industry.
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Plastic straws, left, sit next to paper straws on display for sale in Cincinnati on Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
A plastic straw is displayed in a glass of milk, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
A box of plastic straws is displayed, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
Plastic straws are displayed in a glass, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)