The final episodes of the popular soap opera Neighbours, which starred 65-year-old Alan Fletcher as Doctor Karl Kennedy, began airing in August. The former Neighbours star recently opened up exclusively to Express.co.uk about Margot Robbie’s farewell gift to the cast and crew on their final day on set.
Similar to other well-known performers like Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan, Hollywood star Margot began her career on Neighbours by playing Donna Freedman.
Margot made sure to leave a gift for her former coworkers as the show came to an end earlier this month after 37 seasons.
In an interview with Express.co.uk, Alan disclosed: “On the final day, she sent 37 bottles of champagne to the cast and crew.
“There was one for each year the show aired. She’s just so adorable.
“There are so many people who have gone through Neighbours, even those you might not immediately think of, who have gone on to have quite successful careers in the US.
“It has been an excellent place for people to learn.
“Simply being there to see everyone arrive and collaborate with them made me very happy. However, it has been a wonderful thing.”
When Margot first appeared on the show in 2008, she immediately gained notoriety. She remained until 2011 before deciding to move from Melbourne to Hollywood.
Express.co.uk questioned Alan on how he will cope to missing such a significant portion of his life after he played Doctor Karl for more than 27 years.
He stated: “The fascinating thing is that, because I was preoccupied with other activities, I didn’t actually work on Neighbours for more than 32 weeks of the year.
“I would frequently fly over to the UK to perform in pantomimes, band tours, etc. I’ve always been busy as a result.
“However, now that Neighbours has concluded, I will be performing the Doctor Karl tour in the UK, and I anticipate doing so once more in 2023.
“In addition, I’ll be performing at numerous festivals and playing a lot of music. Consequently, I anticipate having a very busy year!”
Alyce Platt, a former Neighbours co-star, and Alan collaborated on a brand-new duet, “Sorry Is The Word,” for his latest song.
In reference to the song, he said: “‘Sorry Is The Word’ was inspired by a personal experience, like many songs do.
“I have discovered over time that so much grief and wasted chances are caused by pride and an unwillingness to accept responsibility and apologise.”
In addition to his much-anticipated music tour dates, Alan will be making two more trips to the UK in September for his Doctor Karl tour.
He raved: “I was left out! To film three episodes of Neighbours in the UK in March 2020, Jackie Woodburn and I were supposed to travel over.
“Three days before we were scheduled to leave, our firm abruptly cancelled owing to Covid, and I was also planning to conduct my Doctor Karl trip at that time.
“The UK is like a second home to me, so I haven’t left the country since, and I can’t wait to come home!”
Tickets are available via https://alanfletcher.net/ for all performances.
