Alan Fletcher

Alan Fletcher (born 30 March 1957 ) is an Australian actor of stage, television and film. He is also a singer and musician. He is perhaps best known for his television soap opera role in Neighbours as Dr. Karl Kennedy. He has also played Frank Rossi in Cop Shop and Michael Clayton in Embassy. In 2007, he was a contestant on the UK reality show Soapstar Superstar.

Having appeared in Neighbours since 1994, Fletcher is the third longest serving actor in an Australian television serial, after Home and Away actors Ray Meagher and Lynne McGranger.

Career Fletcher was born in Perth, Western Australia, and attended Wesley College in Perth. Fletcher appeared in various stage productions in Perth, including No, No, Nanette, Privates on Parade and Something's Afoot. He was also asked to appear in the play Beyond a Joke alongside British actor Arthur Lowe. The following year, he starred in the Seven Network miniseries Sword of Honour as Frank Vittorio, alongside Andrew Clarke, Tracy Mann and Nikki Coghill. In 1987, he appeared in the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Greg Cooper, a mechanic working in Jim Robinson's (Alan Dale) garage. He also appeared in the 1993 television film Mercy Mission.

In 1994, Fletcher joined the main cast of Neighbours as Karl Kennedy, a role which he continues to play.

In 2005, Fletcher starred as Henry Higgins in a production of My Fair Lady at the Melbourne Comedy Theatre. He is also a prominent member of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, a role which saw him become a vocal critic of the 2004 US-Australia Free Trade Agreement, including an appearance on the political talk-show Meet the Press.

In 2008, Fletcher starred as Frank McGee in the workshop performance season of Call Girl the Musical and as Captain Hook in the Pantomime Peter Pan at His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen.

In 2011, Fletcher spent time in Old Melbourne Gaol to raise money for the charity Whitelion. In order to break out, Fletcher and fellow Neighbours cast members Stefan Dennis, Jordy Lucas and Valentina Novakovic had to each raise $1,000.

In May 2013, along with Saskia Hampele, he presented the award of Best Newcomer to Joseph Thompson at the British Soap Awards. Fletcher appeared in a documentary special celebrating Neighbours 30th anniversary titled Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite, which aired in Australia and the UK in March 2015. Musical career Fletcher is also the lead singer in a band called Waiting Room, alongside Tommy Rando, Chris Hawker and Jeff Consi. The group has toured the United Kingdom several times. With a handful of their own songs they incorporate a selection of cover versions into their set, including Smokie's "Living Next Door to Alice", replacing 'Alice' with 'Susan', a reference to his Neighbours on-screen wife. Their single, "So Wrong", was released on iTunes on 26 November 2007, followed by their album, Live at the Elephant, on 17 December 2007.

On 30 November 2007, Fletcher performed a cover of the Oasis song "Wonderwall" for BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge.

In December 2008, Fletcher played a solo gig in Aberdeen, performing a mixture of covers and Waiting Room material. He followed this with a second gig in the city on 3 January 2009 at The Lemon Tree.

On 15 May 2009, Fletcher announced via his official website that he was to tour the UK with a new band, The X-Rays due to the economic situation of bringing Waiting Room with him. The tour took place in September and October 2009 and featured some original Waiting Room material. The X-Rays are UK-based musicians Johnny Lucas, Chris Hanby and Martin Stewart. Fletcher continued to perform each week in Melbourne with Waiting Room.

In September 2010, Fletcher announced on his official website that he would be touring the UK with Tommy Rando in November and December of that year. On 28 November 2010, during his UK tour, Fletcher appeared on The Xtra Factor to discuss the potential winners of the show.

Fletcher was a contestant on the UK TV show Soapstar Superstar, in January 2007 finishing in sixth place. He performed the following songs: Day 1: "Faith" (George Michael) Day 2: "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel) Day 3: "Tears in Heaven" (Eric Clapton) Day 4: "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" (Andy Williams) Day 5: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (Elton John)

In 2013, Fletcher released a Christmas single, "If You Want A Happy Christmas", on which he collaborated with The Pacific Belles.

Photography and travel In 2018, Fletcher combined his interests in travel and photography in a reality television program Photo Number 6. Fletcher explores the world with actor and director, Stig Wemyss, as they seek travel experiences that go beyond the tourist guidebook and delve into the heart and soul of the places. They look for photographic images that encapsulate emotion, geography and human connections.

Personal life Fletcher is married to Jennifer Hansen, a former newsreader for the Ten Network and they have two children.

Fletcher supports Essendon Football Club and Liverpool Football Club.

Fletcher is an ambassador for Blue September, a charity that raises awareness of all cancers that can affect men. In 2011, Fletcher helped launch the charity in Britain.

In 2022, following media reports about his health due to his sudden hair loss, Fletcher revealed that he had been diagnosed with alopecia areata. This condition was worked into the plot of Neighbours, where it was said that dodgy hair products caused Karl's hair to fall out.

Fletcher's grandfather was an organ builder in Liverpool with Rushworth's (Australian Organist Review Dec 1995).

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1985 Fran Jeff 1986 Cool Change Rob Mitchell 1990 Return Home Barry 1990 What the Moon Saw Mr Esposito 1990 Beyond My Reach Alex Gower 1993 Gross Misconduct Henry Landers 2013 By a Loved One Clown Short film 2013 Off the Metre Daniel Folkmover Short film

Television Year Title Role Notes 1980 The Young Doctors Patrick Hay Guest 1981 The Love Boat Martin Blake Guest 1982–1984 Cop Shop Frank Rossi Main cast 1985 The Fast Lane Collins Episode: "Confusion by Numbers" 1985 A Thousand Skies John Stannage Miniseries 1986 Sword of Honour Franky Vittiro Miniseries 1987 Neighbours Greg Cooper Recurring role 1990 All the Rivers Run II McLean Miniseries 1990 Fast Forward Himself Guest performer 1990–1992 Embassy Michael Clayton Main cast 1991 The Flying Doctors Austin Bennett Episode: "Chasing Rainbows" 1992 Lift Off Harry Stinson Episodes: "A Load of Old Rubbish – Part 1" and "Destroy Part A" 1992 Bony Prior Episode: "Looks Can Kill" 1993 Time Trax Mr Davenport Episode: "To Kill A Billionaire" 1993 Snowy Harry Jarvis Episode: "Dams, Schemes & Damn Schemes" 1993 Flight from Hell Franky TV movie 1993 Mercy Mission Frank TV movie 1994 G.P. Rick Cameron Episode: "All of Me" 1994–2025 Neighbours Karl Kennedy Main cast 1996 Mercury Snow Dockerty Miniseries 2007 Soapstar Superstar Contestant 2009 Remembering Nigel Self 2013 Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway Karl Kennedy Guest 2014 Neighbours vs Zombies Karl Kennedy Webseries 2015–2017 Shakespeare Republic Macbeth / Viola / Jaques Guest 2015 Neighbours 30th: The Stars Reunite Himself Documentary 2016 Neighbours Summer Stories Karl Kennedy Webseries 2017 Neighbours vs Time Travel Karl Kennedy Webseries 2018 Photo Number 6 Himself Reality TV series 2018–2019 Deano's Footy Show Karl Kennedy Guest 2022 Ainsley's World Cup Flavours "Big Poppa Pump" Guest 2024 Neighbours Does Hard Quiz Self