Nov 29, 2009
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Dr Karl: 'I don't have medical knowledge'

Saturday, November 7 2009, 09:52 UTC - by Daniel Kilkelly, Entertainment Reporter

Alan Fletcher has warned that Neighbours fans should not expect any expertise from him in medical emergencies.

The 52-year-old actor told Holy Soap that he would not be as calm in a crisis as his Ramsay Street alter ego Dr Karl Kennedy.

Fletcher admitted: "I've picked up a lot, but I don't pretend to have any medical knowledge of any import. If someone collapsed next to me on the Tube, I'd be the first to put my hands in the air screaming my head off.

"And it would be more dangerous to apply the small smattering of medical knowledge I do have than to stand back and let the professionals do it."

However, the star also revealed that he is unable to escape being known as "Dr Karl" when the soap's cameras stop rolling.

"[Fans] call me Dr Karl. I hear it shouted around the streets wherever I go, which is kind of cute. I answer to the name Karl wherever I go too," he explained.

"It gets a bit embarrassing. Once someone shouted out 'Hey Karl!' at the football and I turned around and waved, and he said, 'Not you!'"

Fletcher has played the Erinsborough medical man since 1994.