Alan Fletcher, a veteran Neighbours actor, has discussed how producers tried to conceal his baldness diagnosis when he was filming the Channel Ten programme.
The 65-year-old actor claimed he attempted to cover up his diagnosis of autoimmune illness, which results in hair loss, by claiming that his character Dr. Karl Kennedy had experienced a questionable hair product failure.
It was beginning to seem a little strange. I went to the producers and simply said, “I need to have a tiny scene, just something squeezed in that explains what’s going on,” Alan recalled. “Karl was wearing caps all the time.
As a result, “we dropped in a tiny scene where Karl comes out, with almost no hair, and says he’s simply used some terrible hair product and he hasn’t followed the instructions, and that is how we sort of explained it,” the author says.
The Neighbours actor responded to fans’ worries about his health earlier this year after he debuted a bald head.
In a video that was shared to the show’s Twitter account in May, Alan assured viewers that he is well. He also revealed his diagnosis.
In recent Neighbours episodes, the actor debuted his newfound bald appearance, raising fan concerns.
In the video, he added, “I just want to lay something to rest. A lot of people have voiced a little concern about my health on the internet, and there have also been some media enquiries.”
“I am doing just well.” I’m working on Neighbours and loving it. I’m in good health. However, I can confirm that I do suffer from a condition known as alopecia areata.
Since the condition “causes uneven hair loss,” according to Alan, he ultimately chose to shave it all off.
I noticed that I was losing hair in areas on my head and in my beard. As a result, I eventually shaved my beard, and because my head’s hair was so uneven, I also had to cut most of it off, he revealed.
Although alopecia areata cannot be healed, there is a 60 to 80% probability that the hair may regrow within a year if only patches of hair are gone.
Doctors cannot foretell whether or how much hair will grow back, thus there is no assurance that it will.
If hair does regrow, it may take months or years and typically begins as thin, white hairs in the bald patches. Over time, these hairs may thicken and take on their original colour.
If someone’s hair completely falls out, regrowth is less likely.
