admitted that he should have left Neighbours sooner and admits he felt typecast. Smith admitted "he wasn't aware he was becoming 'Harold from Neighbours while he was on the show" and joked that when he auditioned for other roles he would be told "Oh you were in Neighbours, you were Harold, you couldn't possibly be a murdering paedophile". In February 2022, Laura-Jayne Tyler of Inside Soap reported that Smith would be reprising his role to play a part in the show's finale. Smith has filmed a part in the upcoming film titled "Residence, playing Mike the Thaumaturge. Personal life Smith was 54 when his mother Connie Smith, realising she had very little time to live, told him that he had been adopted. After her death, Smith went in search of his natural mother Peg Kline, whom he finally found. According to Kline's story, Smith was conceived when she was fourteen, the product of rape, and was put up for adoption. Kline eventually married and had two children from this marriage. She never told anyone besides her husband about her first son until she was contacted by Smith via a letter. Kline contacted Smith's wife Gail, who mentioned that her husband was a prominent Neighbours actor, to which Kline replied, "I've never seen Neighbours in my life". Smith and Kline were reunited and he built a strong relationship with his mother and two half-brothers, although Smith said that he did not feel a mother–son relationship. He called Kline "one of my best friends". Kline died in May 2005 after a battle with cancer. Smith told his story in an exclusive interview on the biographical documentary series Australian Story'' in March 2005. He had also described the situation in a BBC interview some years before. Although Smith was brought up as a Roman Catholic, in a 2008 interview, he identified as an atheist. Filmography References External links Ian Smith as Harold Bishop Ian Smith in Panto at Grand Opera House York Male actors from Melbourne Australian adoptees Australian male film actors Australian male soap opera actors Australian television writers Australian atheists Former Roman Catholics 1938 births Living people Australian male television writers 20th-century Australian male actors 21st-century Australian male actors