Neighbours' Karl hopes to be a Superstar

Neighbour' Alan Fletcher is hoping to wow the audience in Soapstar Superstar, but his vocal talents weren't always up to scratch.

The actor - better known to Neighbours fans as Dr Karl Kennedy - is no stranger to performing live and regularly appears with his band Waiting Room. However, he admits his performances haven't always been well-received - at the age of 12, he was given some harsh criticism from a director.

"I was in a production of a musical called Little Gipsy Gay and I played the lead - I was the gipsy king," he said. "Halfway through the rehearsals, the director said there's something wrong and he worked out it was me, so he asked me not to sing. It was just funny because it just didn't work."

Luckily, since then, Alan has proved he can master many different genres of music. "I don't really compare myself to anyone or see myself in any sort of slot. I suppose, really, that at my core a lot of the work I do is in the swing area," he said.

Alan is hoping his prior experience will help him impress the public, but it seems he's less concerned about getting slated by the Soapstar Superstar judges. He laughs: "I've been an actor for 30 years, I've had plenty of bad reviews."