Neighbours’ Alan Fletcher shares hair growth journey after losing ‘everything’ to alopecia

By William On Apr 11, 2023

Alan Fletcher talked about his journey with alopecia areata during an appearance on Loose Women on Tuesday.

The 66-year-old The Neighbors actor explained that by 2022 he lost all of his hair, including eyebrow hairs and eyelashes, to the disease.

And while sharing his joy at the positive work of medication, the star showed off his hair and beard regrowth throughout the show.

He is known for playing Karl Kennedy on the Australian soap opera since 1994, and was one of the first cast members to be confirmed for the new series.

Speaking to the Loose Women panel about his hair journey this week, Alan shared: ‘Last February it started, patchy hair loss, I lost everything, eyebrows, lashes.

Journey: Neighbors’ Alan Fletcher on Tuesday described his years-long battle with alopecia as he shared hair growth journey after losing “everything” to the disease (pictured left this week, right in May 2022)

On screen: The actor, now 66, has played Karl Kennedy on the Australian soap opera since 1994 (pictured)

“My doctor thinks it’s probably a virus and it started attacking my own hair. However, I’m happy to say that I got quite a bit back from it [takes off his hat to show longer hair] applause from the audience.’

He added: ‘He’s treating me with some drugs that help suppress the immune system, I believe it’s now under review in the UK so hopefully it will be available for treatment here soon.’

Alan has also kept fans updated on his hair journey via Instagram, sharing a photo from a barber shop in February when he got a beard trimmed for the first time in a long time.

‘After losing all my hair to #alopecia 12 months ago it was lovely to be back at the barber shop for a beard trim in #dublin. Thank you #mario. Perfect!’

Alopecia areata – a patchy version of alopecia – is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system causes hair loss.

It can affect hair on any part of the body and can happen to anyone at any age – it can be caused by stress.

It comes after Alan recently revealed that he once almost died while filming Neighbours.

During an appearance on Saturday Night With Hayley Palmer, he told the host how his character had tried to save his fiancé Izzy Hoyland (Natalie Bassingthwaighte) when things went wrong.

To share; Speaking to the Loose Women panel about his hair journey this week, Alan shared: ‘Last February it started, patchy hair loss, I lost everything, eyebrows, lashes’

Update: Alan has also kept fans updated on his hair journey via Instagram, sharing a photo from a barbershop back in February when he got a beard trimmer

WHAT IS ALOPECIA AREATA?

Alopecia areata – a patchy version of alopecia – is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system causes hair loss.

It can affect hair on any part of the body and can happen to anyone at any age – it can be caused by stress.

The hair usually begins to fall out in pieces, leaving bald, smooth patches.

It is not possible for doctors to predict how much hair someone will lose, nor can they say whether the hair will ever grow back.

Alopecia areata cannot be cured, but if only patches of hair are lost, there’s about a 60 to 80 percent chance it will grow back within a year.

However, there is no guarantee that it will grow back and doctors cannot predict whether it will or how much hair will be lost.

If the hair grows back, it can take months or years and usually starts as thin white hairs in the bald patches that can eventually thicken and regain their color.

Regrowth is less likely if all of a person’s hair is falling out.

Source: British skin foundation

Speaking of the ordeal, Alan claimed that he only survived the near-death experience after a speedboat came to his rescue.

He went on to tell viewers that he collapsed a week later due to a “delayed shock,” but he lived on to tell the story.

The Perth resident said: ‘This was a terrifying incident, Karl introduced Izzy…she got so excited she fell into the water.

“After they fished her out I had to dive in to try and save her, obviously in a fictitious way, but I forgot to take my shoes off so they filled with water and every time I went down I thought “Gosh, am I coming up again?

“The third time I went down, I thought, ‘I don’t know if I’m going up,’ so I got a little confused, put my hand in the air, and the speedboat had to run out to save me .

“A week later I actually collapsed from a delayed shock to the body. It was really weird.”

It was recently revealed that Neighbors would be returning to the small screen less than a year after the release of ‘last episode ever’ ended on a high in July.

And it has since been announced that filming dates for a new series of episodes will begin on April 17 at Nunawading Studios in Melbourne.

Veteran cast members revealed the news on stage at their final show of their ‘Neighbours – The Celebration Tour’ at the London Palladium.

Alan, Jackie Woodburne, Stefan Dennis, Ryan Moloney, Annie Jones and April Rose Pengilly have all been confirmed for a return to the series after it originally ended last year.

The reboot is expected to premiere on Amazon Freevee in the UK in the spring.

According to TV black boxthe new storylines take place a few years after the finale.

No specific number of episodes have been ordered, and it’s still uncertain if the same locations from the original series will be used for the reboot.

Help: Alan is being treated with immune suppressing drugs which are not yet available in the UK