Today is a momentous day. Today is the day that Harold Bishop leaves Neighbours. Now, Harold has been a part of Ramsay Street… on and off… since 1987. Get that! There’s people drinking in pubs who weren’t around when Harold poured his first coffee. It’s with a heavy heart we’ll bid him fare-thee-well.

The good news in this, is that Ian Smith (that’s the bloke who plays Harold… he looks incredibly similar, especially in the face region) has agreed that he’ll return to Neighbours for one-off specials and the like, but alas, as a regular fixture, he’ll be no more. I actually feel quite gutted about this as, Harold Bishop wasn’t your usual soap stalwart. If you look at Coronation Street and Eastenders, their long timeys have tended to be long-suffering. Despite a stupid amount of tragedy that has befallen ‘Arold, he’s tended to be the caring and jolly one.

Of course, that’s not to say he’s been the jolly tuba player all the time. Who could forget the emergence of ‘evil Harold’? After a stroke, Harold went mental. Casting aside the lovable God fearer that we all knew, Harold told the Salvation Army to sling it, as well as renouncing his vegetarianism and becoming a sensational randy drunk. During this period, Harold made a rather marvelous quip about Izzy’s buns and perved over a lingerie party.

Of course, the biggest Harold story was when he vanished in the foam of the sea. A wave whisked him away and then, after a good period of time, he was found by the only character that you could argue was more loved that Harold, notably, Helen Daniels. Harold had lost his memory and was going by the name of Ted. This would normally be a mere footnote, but testament to Ian Smith’s cheeky sense of humour, Ted was a reference to a character he’d previously played in Prisoner Cell Block H.

Over the years, Harold has veered between bedrock for the whole of Ramsey Street, as well as teaming up with Lou, becoming one of the finest double acts in soap history (I recall one instance when someone thought they were a gay couple which provided a good belly laugh). Neighbours is certainly a guilty pleasure for most, however, there’s no shame is liking Harold Bishop. He’s daft, blundering… and most importantly for a soap character, has heart. He’ll be missed.

Harold’s last appearance on Neighbours is on tonight, 5.30pm on Five