Soap star: 'Brutality of cancer diagnosis'

ACTOR Ian Smith, who played Harold Bishop in Neighbours, has said that his terminal cancer diagnosis put him in a "cruel, ugly, brutal place".

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The 86-year-old actor, known for playing the former cafe owner in the Australian soap, revealed last year that he has a rare form of lung cancer called pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.

Yesterday, Smith, pictured, told ITV's Good Morning Britain that when he received his diagnosis he was in a "space" where "no one is there to help you", even if they make attempts.

He added: "They (people) won't know, until maybe it happens to them themselves.

"It's a cruel, ugly, brutal place... and I don't know how, but it looks like I'm having the best luck in the world with defeating this cancer."