Harold Bishop

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Harold Wayne Bishop
Image:ISmithHarold.jpg
First appearance January 30, 1987
Episode 415
Information
Nickname(s) Harry (by Izzy
Jelly Belly (by Lou)
Hazza (by Stingray
Gender Male
Occupation Co-owner of The General Store
Relationships Mavis Bishop (first wife, deceased)
Madge Mitchell (second wife, deceased)
Children David Bishop (son, deceased)
Kerry Bishop (daughter, deceased)
Relatives Sky Mangel (granddaughter)
Serena Bishop (granddaughter, deceased)
Kerry Mangel (great-granddaughter)
Portrayed by Ian Smith

Harold Wayne Bishop is a fictional character in the Australian television soap opera Neighbours,and is played by Ian Smith. The character first appeared in 1987 and departed in 1991, returning in 1996, and is one of the longest serving characters on the show.

Harold arrived in Erinsborough in 1987, eventually marrying Madge Mitchell (Anne Charleston) in 1988.

Harold and Madge had been lovers in High School in Queensland, but Madge had opted to marry Fred Mitchell and move to Coffs Harbour, New South Wales with him where they had two children. Harold later married a woman named Mavis, who bore him two children, David (Kevin Harrington) and Kerry (Linda Hartley-Clark). Unfortunately, Mavis died, leaving Harold to raise David and Kerry alone.

In 1989, Harold was reunited with Kerry, who had been estranged form him in the intervening years, and her daughter Sky (played at the time by Miranda Fryer). After the uneasy reunion, Kerry and Harold became closer. Kerry married neighbour Joe Mangel (Mark Little), who Harold initially did not approve of, and she moved in with him across the street from Harold. Kerry was killed by a stray bullet during a protest against duck hunting in 1990.

In what has been remarked[citation needed] as a hugely moving and thought provoking plot arc (and one which closely resembles the bizarre disappearance of Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt in 1967), Harold was washed away in the surf in 1991 and was thought drowned, although his sea battered body was never recovered. Harold was eventually spotted alive and well by Helen Daniels (Anne Haddy) in 1996. Harold had lost his memory and been living as a Salvation Army volunteer by the name of Ted (a reference to a character Ian Smith had previously played in Prisoner). Reunited with a returning Madge, they resumed their marriage which lasted until her death from pancreatic cancer in 2001.

Since then son David from his first marriage returned, bringing his wife Liljana (Marcella Russo) and daughter Serena (Lara Sacher). Harold's other granddaughter, Sky Mangel (now Stephanie McIntosh), also returned.

Harold had a minor stroke in late 2003, which dramatically changed his personality and many other aspects of his life. He stopped attending the Salvation Army, as well as renouncing his vegetarianism and consuming alcohol. In addition to this he also displayed a marked increase in overt sexual behaviour, for example his horrific misunderstanding of a reference to Isabelle Hoyland's (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) buns. These lewd actions could be said to have reached a climax in an episode featuring Harold peering through a window at "lingerie party" hosted by Sky Mangel, a mask of animalistic lust upon his once genial face. Thankfully, he has since recovered and resumed his service to the Salvation Army.

Ever the entrepreneur, Harold became the owner of the coffee shop at Lassiters Complex, until it exploded in the final episode of 2004. He subsequently owned and ran the General Store at Lassiters with Lou Carpenter (Tom Oliver). The store was innovative in its return to traditional values offering staff dressed in aprons and straw hats, hot food, groceries and a dry cleaning service. Originally this was ran solely by Lou as a cost cutting measure. This entailed him taking home the items of clothing, spraying them with water then hanging them on his washing line. However he was soon rumbled by Lyn Scully (Janet Andrewartha) who apprehended him whilst hand drying her undergarments. The service has since resumed with a real dry cleaners. In 2006 The General Store ran into trouble when Paul Robinson (Stefan Dennis) opened a new cafe, Lucinda's. Both Harold and his co-owner Lou Carpenter seriously considered selling up and retiring.

In 2004, Harold had a brief romance with Svetlanka Ristic (Deidre Rubenstein), the mother of his daughter-in-law Liljana. However in October 2005, he was hit hard by tragedy once again when his son David, daughter-in-law Liljana, and granddaughter Serena, were killed when a plane hosting a party to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Lassiters crashed. Sky was also in the plane but she survived. David's body was found but Liljana's and Serena's have not been found.

On the season finale of Neighbours for 2005, an enraged Harold stormed into Paul Robinson's house uninvited. Paul was talking to his son on the phone at the time, and Harold sensing the time was right to carry out the last stage in his plan, came creeping up from behind, arms outstretched. Harold wrapped his hands round Paul's neck, throttling him till he was rendered unconscious and fell to the ground.

The reason for Harold's uncharacteristically gruesome assault was his fervent desire for revenge, as he felt that Paul was unwittingly responsible for the bombing of the party plane and the subsequent death of new found Harold's family. It was also revealed that Harold had put Paul through a period of physiological torture, involving quoting aggressive religious verse at Robinson down the phone, deliberately opening his windows and doors and generally terrorising Paul to such an extent that by the end of Harold's campaign of vengeance he was completely housebound, unable to go outside fearing attempts on his life and felt the need to fit an extensive CCTV system to monitor his house at all times. This is dark side to Harold that no one had ever seen before. Eventually, in an attempt to find 'his old self', he left Erinsborough in 2006, but he has since returned. Recently, Harold has had to face up to a number of challenges, including the pregnancy of his granddaughter, foiling a vodka home-brewing scheme concocted by Lou and his Russian mail-order bride Mishka (Deborah Kennedy), and subsequently an on going battle with the Russian mafia.

Despite entering his golden years, Harold is very much in touch with modern culture. He has a keen interest in music, spanning such genres as gangster rap/hip hop. This is often displayed when he dons an afro style wig and sunglasses to become his “Cool Dude Harold” alter ego. This strand of Harold first appeared when he was fostering Tad and enjoyed a brief revival when pictures of him during this time were found by Sky and Serena. This is not the end of his musical talents however as he a deadly efficient tuba player, who entertains Ramsay Street residents with recitals as part of the Salvation Army Band. Harold is also a dedicated follower of fashion as illustrated recently when he believed model Elle McPherson could be coming to the street. He possessed an in-depth knowledge of ladies undergarments and was able to give Lou expert advice on the latest material and trends. (This could well be a lingering element of his personality which has remained from his post stroke period as “Parallel Harold”.)

The BBC's Neighbours minisite featured a game called "Harold Bishop: The Lost Years", where the player could speculate about what happened to Harold Bishop within the five years he was missing.

[edit] Family tree

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