Neighbours confirms a return for show LEGEND Harold Bishop!

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Neighbours fans are THRILLED by the news!

Neighbours Harold Bishop is back in Ramsay Street
(Image credit: Channel 5)

Neighbours has confirmed that show legend and all-round iconic character Harold Bishop is returning to Ramsay Street!

Neighbours announced the news via its social media, saying: "After fifteen years of living away, the legendary Harold Bishop is returning to Erinsborough."

Ian Smith played Harold from 1987 until 1991, when Harold 'drowned' in a tragic accident, having been swept out to sea.

But his exit was deliberately left ambiguous so the door was open for him to return.

And in 1996 Harold did just that, having suffered amnesia. Originally his return was planned to be temporary but everyone was so thrilled to have him back that Ian Smith stayed with the show until 2009!

Neighbours spoilers, Harold Bishop

Harold is making a very welcome return! (Image credit: Amazon Freevee)

Since then, Ian has returned to the show for a few guest appearances. He was involved in the finale in 2022, and then again with the first episodes of the revival.

But now it sounds as though he is returning on a more permanent basis, with the official social media account for the show saying: "We are thrilled to welcome Ian Smith back to the show and the opening titles, where he belongs."

The Ramsay St sign from Neighbours

Ramsay Street hasn't been the same without old jelly belly! (Image credit: Fremantle)

Neighbours fans were delighted by the news and some were quick to request the return of Harold's old frenemy, Lou Carpenter, too! 

Lou was the one to give Harold his nickname - 'jelly belly'!  

On screen in Neighbours at the moment, Terese Willis and Jane Harris are working to set up a retirement development called Eirini Rising.

Could Harold's return be linked with that? And will it pave the way for a return of other Neighbours legends?

Neighbours releases new episodes from Mondays to Thursdays on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. You can find spoilers for this week's episodes here.

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Kerry Barrett
Kerry Barrett
Freelance writer

Kerry is a writer, author and editor with a lifelong love of the soaps, a passion for TV drama of all kinds, and an obsessive devotion to Strictly Come Dancing. 

She was features editor of All About Soap magazine for more than a decade, covering every bit of excitement from all the UK soaps and the Aussies and still writes about all the juiciest gossip from the Street, the Square and the Dales whenever she can.

Kerry’s also an author of historical fiction, and her two jobs collided when she got the chance to write two novels based on Emmerdale, and the Sugden, Tate and Dingle families, during WW2.