Neighbours star Ian Smith, who has appeared on the Australian soap since 1987, has announced he has an aggressive cancer and is leaving the show.The 86 year old told Australia's Channel 10 he had been diagnosed with a form of lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.The actor first stepped onto the Neighbours set in 1987 as a love interest for Madge Mitchell, played by Anne Charleston, and recently returned to Ramsay Street after a 15-year absence. “It isn’t just my last day on Neighbours, it’s my last day of work.
I’ve had the most privileged life... we didn’t just make a soap, we made the best bloody soap there was to make," he told Channel 10. "I have met the most beautiful people." His first departure from the soap came in 1991 when he was believed to have died after being swept out to sea - but a body was never found.
He then returned 'from the dead' in 1996 and remained a permanent member of cast until 2009. His major storylines in that time included everything from surviving a shocking attempted murder to recovering from a stroke.
Speaking to Channel 10, Ian said he learned of his cancer diagnosis a few months ago and had already undergone three rounds of immuno-therapy, a relatively new treatment. “I found out a few months back that I have cancer," he shared. "That I have a very aggressive non-fixable cancer and they expect me to … they expect me to die. “I’ve really put my hand up to be a guinea pig.