Karl and Susan

[lizann]

karl looks thin and bald

[Pantherboy]

Not a spoiler, but for any interested Karl/Alan Fletcher fans in the UK:


Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher reveals new project ahead of filming final ever episodes
The Karl Kennedy star is heading out on the road.

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...nnedy-uk-tour/

Neighbours star Alan Fletcher has revealed his next project after he wraps filming as his iconic soap character Karl Kennedy.

With Neighbours due to bow out this summer after 37 years on the air, Alan has confirmed that he will be heading to the UK in September to perform a string of live shows about the 28 years that he has spent on Ramsay Street as Karl.

The Doctor Will See You Now is described as "an interview-style show, which will undoubtedly go off-script", also featuring video footage and music from Neighbours.

During the show, Alan will look back on his time on Neighbours and provide some fascinating insights into his life and career, in an evening which is described as "funny, fabulous, heart-warming and full of details about the history of one of the biggest stars in soap".

"I have appeared in hundreds of theatrical performances in my 43 years as an actor, but this is the first time I will lay myself bare for an audience," Alan said. "I want to give fans a frank and truthful insight into my life on Neighbours in an entertaining and fun way."

Each performance will also feature a Q&A segment, allowing fans to put their burning questions to the actor, while a limited number of meet and greet tickets will be available for each venue.

The Doctor Will See You Now will be visiting venues in Glasgow, Newcastle, Cottingham, Edinburgh, Doncaster, Worthing, Crickhowell, Stratford, London and Milton Keynes across September.

Tickets can be booked at alanfletcher.net.

With Neighbours due to wrap up in just a few months' time, Alan has teased that there has been so much secrecy surrounding the soap's final ever episodes that he doesn't actually know what's going to happen yet.

"Here's the thing... I can't tell you something I don't know about. The ink is still drying on that last episode, they waited to write it for as long as possible because they didn't know who was going to come back... and now they are keeping that so guarded," he said.

"It's such top secret stuff, I don't know when I'll find out. I guess... three weeks before it happens and my script lands in my inbox."

What we do know is that we can expect to see over 20 iconic returning characters from the soap's history, including Charlene Mitchell (Kylie Minogue) and Scott Robinson (Jason Donovan).

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach and streams on 10 Play.

[Pantherboy]

DS article:


Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher reassures fans over health after fan concern over hair loss
"I know a lot of you are going to be pretty shocked."

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...ins-hair-loss/

Neighbours veteran Alan Fletcher has laid to rest a few fan concerns on social media.

Known for playing Karl Kennedy for close to three decades, the Aussie usually sports some facial fuzz to go with his grey hair, but now he's completely bald on both accounts.

Speaking via the soap's official Twitter channel, Fletcher explained the situation this week.

"A lot of fans have expressed a little concern about my health on the internet and there's been some media inquiries as well, so I just wanted to put something to rest," he said. "I'm absolutely fine, I'm fit and well working on Neighbours and having a great time.

"But, I can report to you I do have a disorder called alopecia areata.

"Now, if you watched the Oscars, you know that's the thing that caused a bit of a discord between Will Smith and Chris Rock in referencing Will Smith's wife."

Jada Pinkett Smith's own alopecia diagnosis became the subject of one of Oscars host Rock's jokes, leading eventual Best Actor winner Smith to walk onstage and slap the comedian across the face.

https://twitter.com/neighbours/statu...s-hair-loss%2F

"Alopecia areata causes patchy hair loss. I started to lose hair in my beard and then on my scalp in patches, so eventually I shaved my beard off and then my hair became so patchy on my head, I had to get rid of most of that as well.

"UK audiences have seen Dr Karl without hair, Australian audiences are going to see it on June 2, so stay tuned for that," Fletcher added before cheerily whipping his cap off.

"I know a lot of you are going to be pretty shocked, but I have no problem with it. In fact, it's kind of fun!"

The Neighbours legend, who briefly portrayed a different character named Greg Cooper in the late '80s, encouraged fellow alopecia sufferers to seek out professional support if they're struggling too.

"Alopecia areata can be quite serious for people, particularly from an emotional point of view," he said. "Sudden hair loss is really troubling for a lot of people, and particularly for young people who can be terribly bullied.

"There is support out there. There are alopecia areata associations in Australia and in the UK, so reach out for help if you need it."

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach and streams on 10 Play.

[Danners9]

Susan marching down the street to slap someone for making a comment about it would be a delightful finale.

Keep my husband's name out your... mouth!

[kaz21]

Susan marching down the street to slap someone for making a comment about it would be a delightful finale.

Keep my husband's name out your... mouth!

That would funny.

[Pantherboy]

Nowtolove.com.au article:


Neighbours icon Alan Fletcher shares his heartbreak after filming his final scenes as Karl Kennedy
The actor has played Karl Kennedy for almost 28 years.

https://www.nowtolove.com.au/celebri...s-ending-71294

Alan Fletcher has filmed his final scenes outside his and co-star Jackie Woodburne's iconic Ramsay Street home.

The 65-year-old, who has played Dr Karl Kennedy on the long-running soap since 1994, took to Instagram to share a snap of himself and his on-screen wife on set as production for Neighbours begins to wrap up ahead of its finale episode.

"Yesterday was the last day of location for the Kennedy clan. #jackiewoodburne and I have stood under this arch outside 28 Ramsay Street many times over the last 28 years," he penned.

"Emotions starting to well up as we finalise filming all together on Friday. Stay tuned. The last episodes are amazing!!!"

Alan's current and former Neighbours co-stars shared their sadness over the show's ending, with Rob Mills commenting: "Love you guys. Thanks for letting me crash for a while. Hug soon. Congrats on a mammoth effort mate."

Benjamin Turland wrote: "Very special ❤️❤️" while April Rose Pengilly simply commented "😭❤️".

The beloved soap was axed after Channel Five in the UK, the show's biggest financial backer in recent years, announced that it will not renew the program after this coming British summer.

Alan's nostalgic post comes three months after he plead with Channel 10 to save the show.

"It's official, all attempts to #SaveNeighbours have been unsuccessful and #fremantle has confirmed the show will end production in June this year," Alan penned on Instagram in March.

"This is a sad day indeed. I want to express my deepest gratitude to the millions of fans all around the world who have supported our iconic drama for 37 wonderful years. And huge thanks to our broadcast partners @channel10au and @channel5_tv who have been incredible supporters of the show for so long.

Alan then pleaded with fans: "Please stick with the show right to the end because the final episodes will be an incredible celebration with returning characters and extraordinary story lines."

The actor continued by reflecting on his own Neighbours experience and gave a special shoutout to Jackie Woodburne who plays his on-screen wife Susan Kennedy.

"On a personal level @neighbours has been my creative home for almost 28 years. It has provided me with enormous artistic satisfaction and deep, everlasting friendships that I will treasure forever.

"Most especially my artistic partnership with the spectacular #jackiewoodburne who has truly made the journey the greatest joy imaginable.

"The show has also connected me to thousands of people who have supported my work on and offscreen through my music and stage appearances. I am filled with #gratitude #staytuned #celebrateneighbours #farewellneighbours #pleasestickwithus."

Past and present Neighbours cast members shared their support in the comments with Alan.

"Beautiful Alan. Congratulations on all you have built over the last 28 years. Xox," penned Lucy Durack.

Meanwhile Dan MacPherson remarked: "I'll never forget my time with the Kennedy's mate 🙏🏼❤️"

In 2019, Alan and Jackie reflected to TV WEEK on 25 years on working together on the soap.

"It's really marvellous. It's just a real honour to be part of television history in Australia," Alan said.

"25 years is an incredibly long time but it feels like yesterday!" Jackie added. "Time has gone so quickly and we've seen so many people come and gone. It's been wonderful."



And some more photos:

Neighbours veteran Jackie Woodburne battles the winter chill by clutching a hot water bottle as she films her final scenes on Ramsay Street

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...ay-Street.html

[Pantherboy]

DS article:


Neighbours lines up emotional Susan Kennedy scenes in series finale
Get ready to say one last goodbye to Susan and Karl.

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...-karl-kennedy/

Neighbours spoilers follow.

Neighbours will come to an end next week, but by the look of things it will only be Susan and Karl Kennedy left on Ramsay Street by the time the soap draws to a close.

As next week gets underway, Chloe Brennan has put number 24 up for sale and is ready to start a new life away from Erinsborough ? perhaps with Elly Conway.

But Chloe is far from the only one as numbers 22, 26, 30 and 32 are all also put up for sale, much to the shock of the Kennedys at number 28.

Karl and Susan are horrified when they see all of the for-sale signs have been put up, and they have no choice but to contemplate what life will be like on Ramsay Street with a completely new set of neighbours.

Harold Bishop asks the couple if they would be the new custodians of the Ramsay Street history book and while they agree, Susan struggles with Harold's request to write a new introduction.

But Karl and Susan have no time to mourn the loss of all their friends, as they have Toadie and Melanie's wedding to help organise ? as well as some fresh drama from Izzy Hoyland to deal with.

Making the best of it, the Kennedys try not to dwell on all the changes coming, and pull out all the stops to make sure that Toadie and Melanie have a magical day to remember.

But how will Ramsay Street's longest-serving residents cope with all their friends moving to new places?

Neighbours comes to a close after 37 years and just over 8,900 episodes next week with an hour-long finale airing in a primetime slot.

Channel 5 have also lined up two specials to run immediately after it airs the finale in the UK, one about stars from the show's history and one about the many actors who made the move into the music world.

Neighbours airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 6pm on Channel 5 and streams on My5. The series finale will air in the UK on July 29 at 9pm on Channel 5.

In Australia, the show airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on 10 Peach and streams on 10 Play. The series finale will air in Australia on July 28 at 7.30pm, simulcast on 10 and 10 Peach.

[Ruffed_lemur]

It does seem very hard to believe that all these people are leaving Erinsborough at the same time.

[Danners9]

It does seem very hard to believe that all these people are leaving Erinsborough at the same time.

Just trying to ride out the property boom before it collapses completely. Can't blame them, really. They will all probably move to Summer Bay - or back to Summer Bay, for some.

[Pantherboy]

DS article:


Neighbours to revisit forgotten Karl and Susan Kennedy storyline in new season
"Susan does start to act out."

https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/nei...rgotten-story/

Neighbours spoilers follow.

Neighbours will revisit Karl and Susan Kennedy's financial woes in the show's new season.

The popular couple hit the rocks early last year when Karl went behind Susan's back to invest in Montana Marcel's doomed business plans.

Karl sadly lost his investment when Montana was arrested and Susan was furious over his betrayal.

Unfortunately, the full consequences couldn't be explored on screen when Neighbours was cancelled by Channel 5 and the show's focus shifted to setting up the nostalgia-filled final episodes.

peaking to Digital Spy and other press about the Kennedys' next scenes, Alan Fletcher ? who plays Karl ? teased: "They're not actually in a remarkably different place. I mean, having lost $200,000 is not something that Karl's going to get away with lightly! But when we come back, the Kennedys are surrounded by drama ? more so than causing it.

"[Executive producer] Jason Herbison's brilliance ? and the whole story department's brilliance ? is that they never forget anything. So what they can do is they can bring back things from the past.

"In our case, the fact that Karl lost $200,000 is still not wasted on Susan. That's good, because you shouldn't go through those sorts of things and then suddenly everyone goes: 'Oh, let's pretend it didn't happen'. It's huge."

Jackie Woodburne, who plays Susan, continued: "Susan does start to act out in a way that is completely out of character. By spending an awful lot of money on tat, really! She doesn't know why she's doing it and doesn't really want it.

"But it's because she's still carrying anger about Karl losing that $200,000. It's an interesting story to tell about how we repress stuff. We think everything's okay and we've moved on, but sometimes we haven't. So that's an interesting story."

Another blast from the past for the Kennedys is the presence of Karl's daughter Holly Hoyland, who's now a regular character in the show.

Lucinda Armstrong Hall has reprised her role as Holly, as announced by the show in May.

Alan continued: "That's genius again, because Holly is now around 20 and so she's very much the boss of herself. Karl has been the absent father. For Susan, she loves Holly, but she has grave concerns about the fact that Holly is not taking responsibility and Karl's not doing enough about it.

"She's a bit lost when we first find her. So she's got a really interesting journey to run. I know for me, it's going to be a very interesting journey as well, because Karl has to re-learn how to parent."

Jackie added: "Holly is not showing a lot of respect. She's using the house as a bit of a drop-in. Susan is saying to Karl: 'Be a parent, step up, don't just tell her what to do'. So that's good too.

"But what's interesting, too, is that in every house, there are these small domestic stories going on, against a much bigger backdrop of just amazing stories. There's a two-year time jump ? and you might find out what happened during that time further on down the line.

"The stories are just phenomenal. It's fantastic."

Neighbours returns on September 18, with new episodes streaming on Mondays to Thursdays for free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the new series.