In 2022 Neighbours star Alan Fletcher, who plays Dr Karl Kennedy, explained his changing appearance to his fans when he revealed he has alopecia areata - the auto-immune condition which causes hair loss. Many fans were worried he was ill with cancer before he explained his diagnosis.
Now Alan has appeared on the Australian TV show The Morning Show with a totally new look from his former bald style. Speaking to Larry Emdur and Kylie Gillies about the return of Neighbours to our screens, Fletcher donned a khaki hat and sported a moustache and salt-and-pepper stubble.
Halfway through the chat, he removed the hat to show that his hair was regrowing on the top of his head, too. “I lost every single hair on my face and head, as the last episode of Neighbours showed,” he explained. You can keep up to date with the latest TV and showbiz news by signing up to the newsletter here.
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“I even lost my eyebrows and eyelashes, which was pretty freaky, I have to say. Being an older bloke, I dealt with it. But a lot of younger people suffer very badly if they get this sort of alopecia, which is alopecia areata. They can be terribly hounded for it by their peers."
“But mercifully, with some very innovative treatments, which help to suppress the immune system, my hair is coming back.” Showing off the regrowth, Alan added: “I’m not doing too bad these days!”
Alan went on to explain it had taken a year for his hair to start growing back. He added: “So, for anyone out that that’s got alopecia, my heart goes out to you because I know how distressing it can be. But there are treatments available and there’s more and more research being done, so hopefully one day they’ll be able to cure it.”
Neighbours was axed last year after almost 40 years after its UK broadcaster Channel 5 said it would be ditching the Aussie soap but now it's set to make a comeback in April on Amazon. Read more here.
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