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Alan Fletcher says half of Neighbours actors’ workload done off set

Alan Fletcher says half of his and his fellow ‘Neighbours’ stars’ work is done before they get on set.
The 62-year-old star likes to discuss his scripts with the directors and writers before acting them out, and often makes little tweaks to lines before having to shoot scenes "very economically and quickly".
Alan – who has played Dr. Karl Kennedy since 1994 – exclusively told BANG Showbiz: "Half of our work is actually before we get to set. It’s going through the scripts, talking to each other about the scripts, having a read through with the whole cast, then going to see the directors and the writers and saying, ‘Hey, not sure about this.’ Tweak, tweak, tweak.
"Eventually, you end up on the set and have to very economically and quickly shoot it."
Bonnie Anderson has praised the "amazing" ‘Neighbours’ writers, but agrees with Alan that sometimes a bit of tweaking is necessary to make lines more personal to characters.
The 24-year-old star – who plays Bea Nilsson – added: "These amazing writers are writing constantly, 24/7, and they’re creating this amazing show.
"Sometimes there are certain things that our characters would certainly do and sometimes you like to tweak a little bit, because it’s something personal to your character."
As well as starring on the soap, Bonnie also works on her singing career, and she admits it can be "crazy" juggling the two.
She said: "It is crazy and that’s how I like to live my life.
"I’m a bit of a jack-in-the-box. My whole life I’ve been gigging and singing, and travelling and all of that stuff.
"It’s been really nice to be able to separate the two and do the show.
"We do long hours on the show, it’s very, very long. But you just have to make it work. You go home and you just keep working."
‘Neighbours’ airs weekdays at 1.45pm and 5.30pm on Channel 5.