'Neighbours' Alan Fletcher on Karl, Susan, new doctors and more

Neighbours legend Alan Fletcher recently had a chat with Digital Spy about Karl and Susan's new marriage crisis.

For Alan's thoughts on Susan's growing attachment to Jim Dolan and what that means for the Kennedys, head over to the main interview for all the details.

Here, in the second part of the Q&A, Soap Scoop presents some bonus Kusan chat and asks Alan about the newbies who are heading to the Erinsborough Hospital.

The new doctor Rhys Lawson will be hitting our screens in the UK soon. Does Karl share many scenes with him?
"Karl does share many scenes with him. Karl is quite an arrogant man and certainly has an enormous amount of ego and pride, and facing a new young doctor who is full of enthusiasm and extremely ambitious, can be somewhat galling for Karl. So expect some fun confrontation but also cleverly the writers have explored what Rhys and Karl might have in common."

John Wood has also been cast as Martin Chambers, another new doctor. How does he interact with Karl?
"I'm not sure exactly how the relationship will pan out between Karl and John's character, but I do know that he is a wonderful foil for the Karl and Rhys relationship. We are yet to explore where this will go but it is marvellous to have an actor of John's enormous stature in the industry working on a show like Neighbours, and he is going to bring a lot to the show."

There have been a lot of new castings announced by Neighbours recently, including some real veterans of Aussie drama. Does that make it an exciting time for the show?
"Very much so. Neighbours is at a peak it hasn't enjoyed for quite some time. We are doing massive ratings on Channel 5 and in Australia it is the top-rating digital programme in the entire country - Channel 11 are absolutely thrilled with the results. This fantastic resurgence in Neighbours and the casting of veterans of the industry, such talented actors, is a mark of that and the fact these people want to work on our show is an indication of just how prestigious Neighbours is."

Jackie Woodburne said recently that playing Susan remains a challenge due to the storylines she gets. Is it the same for you with playing Karl?
"Yes it is amazing, isn't it? After 17 years, every week I pick up a batch of scripts and think, 'This is going to be interesting, how am I going to find a way to play this?' The wonderful thing about our show is that you never know what to expect. One day you will be playing high comedy and the next it's high drama, and you're often asked to do things that you wouldn't necessarily expect from the character too - and that is one of the things about the rich tapestry of being an actor which I love so much."

Looking into the long-term, what do you hope the future holds for the Kennedys?
"Well I think whatever happens in terms of the status as a married couple, the Kennedy family will continue to be a central pillar in Neighbours because the audience has indicated to me they love to see us around. I hope we will be able to provide wonderful foils for the other characters and always surprise an audience. I think we should only be here as long as we continue to surprise - you never want to become predictable."

Can you give us one last cryptic teaser on what's next for Karl and Susan?
"Midlife crises occur in many different ways and they occur for both men and women. They begin to question what they want out of life and what direction their life should start taking. Exploring that all makes for great television!"

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