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)
CAIRO (AP) — Palestinian officials say Fatah and Hamas are closing in on an agreement to appoint a committee of politically independent technocrats to administer the Gaza Strip after the war. It would effectively end Hamas' rule and could help advance ceasefire talks with Israel.
The rival factions have made several failed attempts to reconcile since Hamas seized power in Gaza in 2007. Israel has meanwhile ruled out any postwar role in Gaza for either Hamas or Fatah, which dominates the Western-backed Palestinian Authority.
A Palestinian Authority official on Tuesday confirmed that a preliminary agreement had been reached following weeks of negotiations in Cairo. The official said the committee would have 12-15 members, most of them from Gaza.
It would report to the Palestinian Authority, which is headquartered in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and work with local and international parties to facilitate humanitarian assistance and reconstruction.
A Hamas official said that Hamas and Fatah had agreed on the general terms but were still negotiating over some details and the individuals who would serve on the committee. The official said an agreement would be announced after a meeting of all Palestinian factions in Cairo, without providing a timeline.
Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media on the talks. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to continue the war until Hamas is dismantled and scores of hostages are returned. He says Israel will maintain open-ended security control over Gaza and continue to hold corridors within the territory, with civilian affairs in the rest administered by local Palestinians unaffiliated with the Palestinian Authority or Hamas.
No Palestinians have publicly volunteered for such a role, and Hamas has threatened anyone who cooperates with the Israeli military.
The United States has called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern both the West Bank and Gaza ahead of eventual statehood. The Israeli government, which is opposed to Palestinian statehood, is reportedly discussing a postwar plan with the United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Israel in 2020 and backs a rival Fatah faction.
The Hamas official said the emerging Palestinian agreement would fulfill one of Israel’s war goals by ending Hamas’ rule in Gaza. It’s unclear if Israeli officials would see it that way.
Previous attempts at unity between the Palestinian Authority and Hamas have fallen apart, often because of competition for power between the two rivals — and there are opponents to the current talks within Fatah.
Jibril Rajoub, secretary-general of Fatah’s central committee, denounced the agreement, saying it was “a mistake that we even accepted the principle of discussing this matter.” He said the arrangement would entrench the division between the West Bank and Gaza by accepting two administrations. He said Hamas should instead let the Palestinian Authority retake administration of the territory. ”We represent the unity of the land and the government," he told journalists in the West Bank town of al-Bira.
The Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the occupied West Bank, recognizes Israel and cooperates with it on security matters, a policy that is deeply unpopular among Palestinians, many of whom view it as a subcontractor of the occupation. Israel says the authority has not done enough to combat militancy or curb incitement.
The committee would assume its responsibilities after a ceasefire agreement with Israel, the Hamas official said. American and Arab mediators have spent nearly a year trying to broker such an agreement, but the negotiations have repeatedly stalled.
Hamas ignited the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack into Israel, in which Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages remain inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are dead.
Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 44,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many of the dead were combatants. The offensive has leveled much of the coastal territory and displaced the vast majority of its 2.3 million residents.
Federman reported from Jerusalem.
Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war
Israeli armoured vehicles move on in an area at the Israeli-Gaza border, seen from southern Israel, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Tsafrir Abayov)
A Palestinian inspects the car that was targeted in an Israeli airstrike that the military said was targeting a militant cell near the West Bank village of Al-Aqaba, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Muhammad)
Mourners carry the bodies of two Palestinians Akram Abu Arrah, seen, and Mohammad Ghannam, both killed in an airstrike Israel said targeted a militant cell, during their funeral in the West Bank village of Al-Aqaba, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Muhammad)
Mourners carry the body of Akram Abu Arrah, wrapped with a Hamas flag, out of the family house during his funeral with Mohammad Ghannam, both killed in an airstrike Israel said targeted a militant cell, in the West Bank village of Al-Aqaba, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Muhammad)
Mourners carry the bodies wrapped with the Palestinian flag, of Akram Abu Arrah and Mohammad Ghannam, both killed in an airstrike Israel said targeted a militant cell, during their funeral in the West Bank village of Al-Aqaba, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Muhammad)
Israeli troops enter the complex of the Turkish hospital, where they searched for the bodies of those killed in an airstrike, in the West Bank city of Tubas, Tuesday Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Majdi Muhammad)
Young Palestinians walk amongst rubble of destroyed buildings at a neighbourhood in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
