liverpool echo
TO MILLIONS of female fans of a certain age, he will always be Dr Karl Kennedy, the star of the Australian soap Neighbours.
But Liverpool supporters did a double-take when they saw actor Alan Fletcher at Sunday's victory parade after he made a special detour to Anfield as he tours the UK with his band.
Mr Fletcher, 49, held the European Cup, toured the stadium and chatted with the crowd: "I watched the excellent Cup Final on Saturday, then I saw the stadium on Sunday," he said."Unfortunately, I had to leave before the bus arrived, but I did a lot of photos."
Mr Fletcher is playing a gig in Australian-themed bar Walkabout in Concert Square tonight.
His band the Waiting Room will be performing a mixture of British indie classics and their own compositions for an audience mainly made up of students.
"It's very much a Britrock set, playing Kaiser Chiefs, Franz Ferdinand and Oasis," he said.
"We like to do a lot of songs about student life and partying too hard. We change the lyrics to get some Neighbours references in, because people always ask me what's going to happen.
"It's great when people come up to us afterwards and say they came to see Dr Karl but really enjoyed the music."
He says fans often come to the gigs with homemade banners with slogans from the show.
"I've been with the band for two years now. This is our third tour, and it just keeps going from strength to strength. It gets to the point where we're booked six months in advance.
"When I leave Neighbours, my wife and I are planning to move from Melbourne to London, so I'll be able to get to Anfield more often."
The last time he was in Liverpool, Mr Fletcher met second cousins on his father's side who live in West Kirby.
Tomorrow, the actor will be visiting the Linda McCartney Centre, a treatment and research unit at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital.
The unit, which is best known for treating breast cancer victims, is also a centre of excellence for other conditions and was funded by the Forget Me Not Appeal
"I have had a lot of contact with the centre in the past," he said.
"A lot of my friends have been affected by breast cancer, and we have done storylines on the disease on Neighbours."
