Editing Harold Bishop (section)

==Reception==
Smith has earned various award nominations for his role as Harold. At the 2007 [[Inside Soap Awards|''Inside Soap'' Awards]], he was nominated for "Funniest Performance".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/scoop/a64083/inside-soap-awards-2007-the-nominations.html|first=Kris|last=Green|title=''Inside Soap'' Awards 2007: The Nominations|website=[[Digital Spy]]|date=3 July 2007|access-date=11 June 2010|archive-date=21 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110621074730/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/scoop/a64083/inside-soap-awards-2007-the-nominations.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The following year saw Smith nominated for "Funniest Performance" again and "Best Actor".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msnuktvsoaps.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E65397F19A3BDCEA!3110.entry|title=''Inside Soap'' Awards 2008 – Nominations|date=16 July 2008|work=[[MSN TV]]|access-date=10 June 2010|archive-date=13 September 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913043556/http://msnuktvsoaps.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!E65397F19A3BDCEA!3110.entry|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2009, Smith was once again nominated for "Funniest Performance" and "Best Storyline" for Harold's cancer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beaconradio.co.uk/article.asp?id=1401861|title=Soap Awards|publisher=Beacon Radio|access-date=7 July 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309000019/http://www.beaconradio.co.uk/article.asp?id=1401861|archive-date=9 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> That same year he was nominated for the "[[Gold Logie Award for Most Popular Personality on Australian Television|Most Popular Personality]]" and "Most Popular Actor" [[Logie Award]]s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ian Smith misses out on Gold Logie|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a154765/ian-smith-misses-out-on-gold-logie.html|first=Darren|last=Rowe|date=3 May 2009|website=[[Digital Spy]]|access-date=28 December 2010|archive-date=26 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100526045005/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/soaps/s14/neighbours/news/a154765/ian-smith-misses-out-on-gold-logie.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Television critic [[Charlie Brooker]] praised the character of Harold in 2005, saying "Thank God then, for Harold Bishop, who looks precisely the same as he always did – just slightly more so. His is probably the friendliest face on television – a cross between 10 Toytown mayors and a baby".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/oct/15/tvandradio.screenburn|title=Everybody needs good Neighbours|last=Brooker|first=Charlie|date=15 October 2005|work=[[The Guardian]]|access-date=31 May 2010}}</ref> Virgin Media included Harold in their top ten favourite soap characters poll in 2007.<ref name="media"/> They also express that he's become "one of the most popular Ramsey Street residents."<ref name="media"/> After listing his many storylines, Paul Kalina of ''[[The Age]]'' asked whether there were any plot devices left for the writers to give Harold.<ref name="Kalina">{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv-reviews/neighbours/2008/03/27/1206207281825.html|title=Neighbours|last=Kalina|first=Paul|date=27 March 2008|work=[[The Age]]|access-date=19 March 2011|archive-date=6 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106142939/http://www.theage.com.au/news/tv-reviews/neighbours/2008/03/27/1206207281825.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He went on to say that Harold's 2008 exit was "a criminally low-key send-off for ''Neighbours''' most colourful and longest-standing cast member. For the best part of two decades, Harold was the moral compass of Ramsay Street, a paragon of the decent-in-a-sliced-white-bread-kind-of-way and nostalgic ideals that distinguishes the squeaky clean ''Neighbours'' from a legion of more temperate television soaps."<ref name="Kalina"/> Kalina added that the writers had "better be working up something damned good for when Harold returns."<ref name="Kalina"/> Tony Squires from ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' branded Harold a "classically over-the-top character".<ref>{{cite web |last1=Squires |first1=Tony |title=Guide preview - Neighbours |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50684934/guide-preview-neighbours/ |website=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]] |access-date=26 May 2020 |date=31 December 1990 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] |archive-date=7 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200807123041/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/50684934/guide-preview-neighbours/ |url-status=live }}{{free access}}</ref> Ethan Sills of ''The Spin Off'' called Harold "the show's God-fearing, tuba-playing version of [[Alf Stewart]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/15-12-2015/soap-day-a-year-of-neighbours-killer-castles-doggy-daydreams-blasts-from-the-past|title=Soap Day: A Year of Neighbours – Killer Castles, Doggy Daydreams & Blasts From the Past|last=Sills|first=Ethan|date=15 December 2015|work=The Spin Off|access-date=28 September 2022|archive-date=30 September 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220930140951/https://thespinoff.co.nz/pop-culture/15-12-2015/soap-day-a-year-of-neighbours-killer-castles-doggy-daydreams-blasts-from-the-past|url-status=live}}</ref>

Ruth Deller of entertainment website [[Lowculture]] expressed her sadness over Harold's cancer storyline saying, "Poor Jellybelly. There might have been a little bit of tear-shedding this week at his cancer diagnosis and trip to Madge's grave. We love you Hazza! The current web campaigns to get Ian Smith a golden logie after 20 years on ''Neighbours'' also have our support, in a very nominal kind of way."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://lowculture.co.uk/index.php/2009/02/28/soapstar-superstars-february/ |title=Soapstar Superstars: February |publisher=[[Lowculture]] |author=Deller, Ruth |date=28 February 2009 |access-date=13 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090909003056/http://lowculture.co.uk/index.php/2009/02/28/soapstar-superstars-february/ |archive-date=9 September 2009 }}</ref> Of his 2009 departure, Deller said "Actor Ian Smith is retiring, which is the kind of behaviour we expect from normal people, not soap stars. He and his wife are going to be 'grey nomads' – the term for Australians who spend their retirement travelling the country in trailer homes. And in a case of art imitating life, that's exactly what Hazza will be doing. [..] To be fair, although I'm sad to see old Jelly Belly depart, it's a nice way to go: much better than him having a second screen death, or moving to live with the whiny Sky. Considering that Harold has had one of the most tragic lives of any Ramsay Street resident (two dead wives, two dead children, a dead grandchild, a dead daughter in law, being missing presumed dead for several years, watching Sky turn from fierce funky teen to moaning nymphomaniac, becoming insane and murderous, being conned by a variety of unscrupulous women and so on), giving him a happy ending is even sweeter."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lowculture.co.uk/index.php/2008/06/17/jelly-bye-bye/ |title=Jelly Bye-Bye |last=Deller |first=Ruth |date=17 June 2008 |publisher=[[Lowculture]] |access-date=5 January 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080703022518/http://lowculture.co.uk/index.php/2008/06/17/jelly-bye-bye/ |archive-date=3 July 2008 }}</ref> Sarah Megginson of SheKnows placed Harold's departure on her "8 Most Memorable ''Neighbours'' Moments".<ref name="SheKnows"/>

In 2010, to celebrate ''Neighbours''' 25th anniversary, [[British Sky Broadcasting]] profiled twenty-five characters of which they believed were the most memorable in the series' history.<ref name="a">{{cite web|url=http://tv.sky.com/neighbours|title=Neighbours: 25 Top Characters|publisher=[[British Sky Broadcasting]]|year=2010|access-date=26 April 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100323092809/http://tv.sky.com/neighbours <!--Added by H3llBot-->|archive-date=23 March 2010}}</ref> Harold was included in the list and they describe him as having no luck in life, they added "Harold Bishop is proof that bad things happen to good people. Harold made Helen Daniels look like a manipulative harpy, and yet the universe still conspired to sweep him out to sea, give him amnesia for several years, and to give his wife Madge terminal cancer. This is all tear-jerking stuff, but the death of his son David's family in a plane crash and Harold subsequently putting a brave face on the situation turned the end of three unloved characters into one of the soap's saddest storylines in years."<ref name="a"/> In April 2012, Harold was immortalised in wax for the Madame Tussauds attraction in [[Darling Harbour]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/travel/news/madame-tussauds-opens-in-australia-in-sydney/story-fn32891l-1226327799611|title=Madame Tussauds opens in Australia in Sydney|date=16 April 2012|work=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=17 April 2012}}</ref>

Harold was placed at number four on the ''[[HuffPost|Huffpost's]]'' "35 greatest Neighbours characters of all time" feature.<ref name=huff1>{{cite web |last1=Beresford |first1=Adam |title=The Definitive Ranking Of The 35 Greatest Neighbours Characters Of All Time: #10-1 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/neighbours-greatest-characters-all-time-10-1_uk_5e70b616c5b60fb69dddfbde |website=[[HuffPost]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=16 March 2020 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319144809/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/neighbours-greatest-characters-all-time-10-1_uk_5e70b616c5b60fb69dddfbde |url-status=live }}</ref> Journalist Adam Beresford described him "a tuba-playing Salvation Army volunteer" and a "prim and proper [...] old-fashioned fusspot who became the heart and soul of Neighbours."<ref name=huff1/> They branded Harold's marriage to Madge and friendship with Lou a "classic partnerships".<ref name=huff1/> Beresford branded Harold's return from the dead the "best soap resurrection since [[Bobby Ewing]]" from ''[[Dallas (TV series)|Dallas]]''. He concluded that "we still miss old Jelly Belly."<ref name=huff1/> In 2021, Harold was placed ninth in a poll ran via soap [[fansite]] "Back To The Bay", which asked readers to determine the top ten most popular ''Neighbours'' characters.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knox |first1=Susan |title=Top 10 most popular Neighbours characters ever as Kylie Minogue comes last |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-10-most-popular-neighbours-25786857 |website=[[Daily Mirror]] |publisher=([[Reach plc]]) |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=26 December 2021 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319161802/https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/top-10-most-popular-neighbours-25786857 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2022, Kate Randall from ''[[Heat (magazine)|Heat]]'' included Harold and Madge in the magazine's top ten ''Neighbours'' characters of all time feature. Randall profiled the duo stating "love's old dream, these two were everything we adored about Neighbours."<ref name=heatmag>{{cite journal |last1=Randall |first1=Kate |title=Top 10 Neighbours characters |journal=[[Heat (magazine)|Heat]] |date=19-25 February 2022 |issue=1179 |pages=16, 17 |publisher=([[Bauer Media Group]])}}</ref> She added that she was "thankful" he returned from the dead "along with his tuba".<ref name=heatmag/> In a feature profiling the "top 12 iconic Neighbours characters", critic Sheena McGinley of the ''[[Irish Independent]]'' placed Harold and Madge as joint tenth place.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McGinley |first1=Sheena |title=Top 12: Iconic Neighbours characters |url=https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/top-12-iconic-neighbours-characters-41372756.html |website=[[Irish Independent]] |publisher=([[Independent News & Media]]) |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=22 February 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319164011/https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/top-12-iconic-neighbours-characters-41372756.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Lorna White from ''Yours'' profiled the magazine's "favourite Neighbours characters of all time" which featured Harold on the list.<ref>{{cite web |last1=White |first1=Lorna |title=Neighbours cast from the past and present |url=https://www.yours.co.uk/leisure/celebrity-tv/neighbours-cast/ |website=Yours |publisher=([[Bauer Media Group]]) |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319174543/https://www.yours.co.uk/leisure/celebrity-tv/neighbours-cast/ |url-status=live }}</ref> A reporter from ''[[The Scotsman]]'' included Harold's return from the dead as one of the show's top five moments in its entire history.<ref>{{cite web |title=End of the road: Top five moments from Neighbours history |url=https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/end-of-the-road-top-five-moments-from-neighbours-history-3595802 |website=[[The Scotsman]] |publisher=([[JPIMedia]]) |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=3 March 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319180352/https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/family-and-parenting/end-of-the-road-top-five-moments-from-neighbours-history-3595802 |url-status=live }}</ref> Sam Strutt of ''[[The Guardian]]'' compiled a feature counting down the top ten most memorable moments from ''Neighbours''. Strutt listed Harold's disappearance at sea as the second most memorable.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Strutt |first1=Sam |title=Neighbours: the 10 best memories, from Scott and Charlene to Madge's ghost |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/mar/03/neighbours-the-10-best-memories-from-scott-and-charlene-to-madges-ghost |website=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=19 March 2022 |date=3 March 2022}}</ref> A ''[[Herald Sun]]'' reporter included Harold being widowed and his 2015 return in their "Neighbours' 30 most memorable moments" feature. They also included his 1991 lost at sea departure, of which they opined "to this day, the most talked about exit on Neighbours."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A404194093/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-STND&xid=8eb6037c|title=Neighbours' 30 most memorable moments|date=7 March 2015|work=[[Herald Sun]]|access-date=10 May 2024|via=[[Gale (publisher)|Gale]]|url-access=subscription}}</ref>