Neighbours star Ian Smith has said that he is “glad” that he decided not to go ahead with his initial plans for voluntary assisted dying (VAD).
The 86-year-old actor, best known for playing the beloved character Harold Bishop on the Australian soap since 1987, took a step back from the show in December when he announced he had been diagnosed with terminal pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma, a rare and aggressive lung cancer.
He was told by his doctor that he didn’t have long left to live and that he would likely die in March.
In a new interview, Smith revealed that he had applied for VAD – which is legal in Australia under particular circumstances for adults with terminal illnesses – but decided against it when the pharmacist phoned him arranging to deliver the drugs to keep at home for the day he decided to die.
“I said no,” he told The Guardian. “I’m awfully glad I did, too, because there have been times I would have taken it. I really would have.”
Voluntary assisted dying is legal in Australia in circumstances where an adult with a terminal illness is experiencing “intolerable suffering” and has the capacity to make the decision themselves.
Smith said he “wholeheartedly” approves of VAD – having watched his parents, birth mother and wife all die of cancer – but he does not agree with the drugs being kept in the home.
“I just disagree with it being left in the home. For so many reasons – you could be robbed! It is as good as a loaded gun.”
In the UK, MPs voted in November last year in support of a proposal to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, but the legislation process is still ongoing. One of the highest-profile advocates behind the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is broadcaster Dame Esther Rantzen, who has stage-four lung cancer. She has said that legalising assisted dying in the UK would give terminally ill people “the dignity of choice”.
At present, laws throughout the UK prevent people from asking for medical help to die.
In December, just after Smith had stepped back from Neighbours and announced his diagnosis to the world, doctors told him the good news that his chemotherapy and immunotherapy were working and his tumours were clearing. His life expectancy was first moved to Christmas 2025 and is now Christmas 2026.
Smith said that if he had taken the drugs for assisted dying, he would have “missed out on that wonderful day in December when I was told of my progress”.
“My first thought was: ‘My God, I could have been dead.’ And I would have been, if I’d had the mixture at home.”
While the actor’s cancer is incurable, he said his increased life expectancy has given him a positive outlook.
“That’s why I’ve got this solid grin on my face,” he said. “Apart from being 86, I feel good. I’m in no pain. I know how strange that sounds.”
“I know I have cancer, because doctors keep telling me I have it. I may get very sick again one day. But I have lived the most privileged life.”
He added: “I am in this funny, vacuous place. They can’t say the cancer has gone – in fact, they mustn’t, because it has come back in other people and they have died of it. But honestly, if they told me it had come back now, I would be ready this time.”
Smith first appeared on Neighbours in 1987 as an old flame of Madge Mitchell (Anne Charleston). His character was only supposed to be in a few episodes but ended up staying until 1991, when Harold was washed out to sea while on holiday. He returned in 1996.
During his time on the show, Harold had his house burgled by a gambling-addicted girlfriend, suffered a stroke that completely altered his personality, and tried to strangle the man he blamed for the plane crash that killed his son.
The show was cancelled by Channel 5 in 2023, but Amazon Freevee has since rebooted the show.
Despite periodic interruptions and breaks from the series, Smith is the longest-serving member of the cast, having worked on the show for 37 years.
If you are experiencing feelings of distress, or are struggling to cope, you can speak to the Samaritans, in confidence, on 116 123 (UK and ROI), email jo@samaritans.org, or visit the Samaritans website to find details of your nearest branch.
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you
