Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher teases huge return storylines and new tour

 "They're some of the most exciting scripts I've ever seen in the show."

Life has never been busier for Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher. Just a few weeks after filming the iconic soap's big return episode, Alan has made the trip over to the UK for a month-long tour.

Alan is taking a break from filming to star in The Doctor Will See You Now, an interview-style show that looks back on his most memorable moments as Karl Kennedy – and teases the future of the Neighbours.

 recently caught up with Alan for an exclusive chat about the tour and Neighbours' new season.

What can you tell us about your tour?

"We do 23 shows in 35 days across the country. On the days that I'm not doing shows, I'm generally travelling between venues. It's a pretty intensive tour but I love being on the road.

"My wife Jen [Hansen] is with me doing the show. We both went on the Neighbours Celebration Tour earlier in the year, and then followed it up with a two-week music tour straight after. Being on the road is a lot of fun for us."

What can the fans expect from The Doctor Will See You Now?

"I did a warm-up tour for the Dr Karl show last year. I'm very mindful that a lot of people who came to see me then are coming again this year, so I've done quite a bit of work in revamping the show. I've brought in some new elements and I do a much deeper dive into some of Karl Kennedy's biggest moments. I've also added more music into the show.

"This time, we do a much deeper dive into the early years of the Kennedy family and the relationship that Karl and Susan had with their children. It's important not to gloss over that – those first four years of the Kennedys really established the characters and made the family beloved, I suppose.

"We also explore the big stories with Sarah and Izzy in more detail as well. There are some moments that we see all the time, like when Susan slapped Karl! But I think it's really interesting to go in there and see how other people were involved – like Toadie and Billy were really involved in Sarah's storyline. It's great to be able to rediscover those elements that may have been forgotten."

Do you mention Greg Cooper, the other Neighbours character you played in 1987?

"Oh most certainly yes! I think Greg has to be acknowledged. It was enormous fun for me to come and play him because I was working with so many pals – Stefan Dennis, Paul Keane, people like that.

"They did actually invite me to reprise the role of Greg Cooper on Neighbours but I declined because I was doing theatre! I had no concept at all of how popular Neighbours was at the time. Although, if I had reprised the role of Greg Cooper, I never would have got to play Karl Kennedy."

Neighbours has only been filming again for a few weeks. Will Karl have to take a break because of the tour?

"Neighbours were very good about the fact that this tour was pre-planned before the show was coming back, so they've made some adjustments. But mercifully, because there are production breaks in Neighbours' schedule, I won't be off air for very long even though I'm over here for a long time.

"There's a very good story reason for Karl to go away. Of course, there's so much other stuff going on that I don't think anyone's going to miss Karl!"

So what can you tell us about Neighbours' new season?

"The new storylines that they've got for these first few weeks of Neighbours are startling. I actually got in contact with our story team by email the other night when I read the latest scripts that I've received, just to congratulate them.

"They're some of the most innovative and exciting scripts I've ever seen in the show on my 28 years. The fans have got an enormous amount to look forward to."

When the show was axed, you encouraged people not to get their hopes up about a reprieve! Has the Amazon Freevee pick-up been beyond your wildest dreams?

"No question – I could not have imagined on any planet that this could happen! I was told later by Amazon executives that it was the fans' outpouring of grief, the petitions and all the social media that drew their attention.

"This is very much a miracle caused by the love of the fans. I think they should be very, very proud and they should take ownership of the fact that they are responsible for getting Neighbours back on air.

"I say thank you to them from the bottom of my heart because the show means so much to me. They are remarkable, and doing the show every night gives me an opportunity to come face-to-face with them every week and say thank-you."

Was the first day of filming emotional?

"Yes, it was incredibly emotional, but also very exciting because we've got a bunch of new people working on the show. Obviously we've got all of our returning cast who've been announced, but we've also got some new cast who people will find out about over time. We've got new crew as well.

"It's extraordinary how the show has been reinvigorated and reimagined by having new people coming in. It's just made things so exciting.

"I now find myself waiting desperately for the new scripts to land in my inbox so I can find out what's happening next. There's so many characters there that I can follow with enormous interest. It's very exciting times and wonderfully joyous to be back."


With Guy Pearce coming back and Mischa Barton joining the cast, there are certainly some big names involved…

"I'm just full of admiration for Guy. He really stepped up last year for the Neighbours finale and did three full episodes. Him, Annie Jones and Henrietta Graham were responsible for some of the best stories in those final episodes.

"When I heard that Guy was going to step up again for the new Neighbours, I thought that just sums up what a fantastic bloke he is. He always said that he's very, very aware of the debt he owes to Neighbours and he honours the show and he's doing that by coming back.

"Mischa Barton's casting is a stroke of genius. Amazon will be showing Neighbours in America and Canada as well. A lot of people loved The OC and they loved Mischa in the show. Even my son, who doesn't tend to watch Neighbours, said that he'd be watching because he loved The OC so much.

"I think it's a great piece of casting and hopefully will help us to establish a new audience in America."

Do you think streaming is the future of soaps?

"I don't know! I'm not a TV executive so I don't know exactly what's going to happen with that sort of thing. People have been prophesying the death of free-to-air TV for a very long time!

"I think there's different types of viewers for soaps. There's a young audience, the YouTube generation, who like to watch things on-demand. There's also a fiercely loyal audience, particularly in the UK, who watch at a particular time of day and that's important to them because it's part of their daily routine.

"I think, as they say on Neighbours, there'll probably be a perfect blend of soaps on streaming and free-to-air."

We've always loved Neighbours in the UK, but do you think Australia will start to become more supportive of the show again after this one-year break?

"I think it's going to be quite a change. When Australia found out that Neighbours was ending, we had around 1.5 million people watch the last episode. Now in Australia, that figure is huge and it was the highest-rated programme of the night.

"I think the interest that has been generated by Neighbours returning will be sufficient to really bring the audience back up in Australia as well.

"Of course, we had 5 million Brits watching the last episode as well, plus the Irish and people in other countries. So I hope and pray that when the first episode goes to air on Freevee later this year, they'll all come rushing back to watch again."

The Doctor Will See You Now tour runs in June and July, with all dates and locations available on Alan's official website.

Neighbours returns in the second half of 2023 with new episodes streaming free on Amazon Freevee in the UK and US. Network 10 will retain first-run rights in Australia for the new series.


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