Karl Fletcher
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- This page is on the character in the British TV series Dream Team. For the retired Canadian one of a similar name see Carl Fletcher (soccer). For Crystal Palace's Welsh footballer of that name, see Carl Fletcher.
Karl Fletcher was a character in the Sky One drama Dream Team played by Terry Kiely. He is the only character to have appeared in every series of the show (and it's subsequent spin-off, Dream Team 80's), and is the most popular character in the show's history, winning every fan poll to decide the most popular character at the end of each season (not counting seasons in which he made limited appearances and was not eligible to receive votes).
He started at Harchester United as a schoolboy, then played in the reserves team. He broke into the first team after the club's first season in the Premiership. To his teammates and friends, he was known simply as Fletch.
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[edit] Early life at Harchester
At the end of the first season, he was suspended after being found to have taken cocaine.
From then on, he was part of the furniture at Harchester, until the end of the third series, when he was on his best form, helping Harchester to the FA Cup, having defeated Manchester United. His form did not go unnoticed, and in a big move, he joined Real Mallorca.
Karl spent several months in Spain until he realised he wasn't happy there, and arranged for a transfer back to Harchester. In this second spell at Harchester, he fell in love with Lynda Block, and they had an on-off affair for several years. At one point he asked her to marry him, but she declined by laughing in his face.
[edit] Accused of murder
At the end of the fourth series, owner Prasant "Prash" Dettani was found murdered in the board room. In the build up to this event, Prash had been aggravating Fletch, which to those outside indicated a motive for Fletch killing Prash. To further compound this, Fletch had just been sent off in the game. Angry at this, he punched the tunnel wall, making his hands bleed.
All of this led to Fletch being accused of Prash's murder, for which he was tried. He was found guilty of murder, but at that point, Lynda Block admitted that she killed Prash, and Fletch was innocent.
[edit] Fight against Patrick
He was involved in the coach crash at the end of the sixth series on the way to the UEFA Cup final, and spent several months in hospital. Whilst in hospital, he met Abi Fletcher (maiden name unknown), whom he fell in love with and married.
This was at the start of the sixth series, when Patrick Doyle became manager. Karl discovered Patrick's plan to relegate Harchester, and became the main fighter against it.
This included a stunning performance where Karl scored a hat-trick against Patrick's wishes, who thought he had brought him on board to help Harchester get relegated.
In the ongoing fight, Karl was voted Dragon of the Year by the supporters, but on the same night he had his drink spiked with cocaine. This was part of a plot, as Patrick later had a drugs test conducted, making Karl ineligible to play.
All the while this was going on, Karl did not realise that it was his best friend, Jamie Parker, who was the main person helping Patrick. When Jamie died, Karl was at first reluctant to forgive him, but after hearing all of the evidence, he realised that Jamie was manipulated against his will.
He later delivered a moving eulogy at Jamie Parker's funeral, Quote; "We will beat Everton, and we will stay in the Premiership... and we will do it for you, Jamie".
Karl had a son, Louie Block, through his affair with Lynda Block; because Lynda was incarcerated, she let Karl and Abi look after him.
[edit] Move to Saudi Arabia
Karl had had money troubles throughout the sixth series; although he was on in excess of £20,000 per week, his extravagant lifestyle and crippling tax bills led him to struggle. When new superstar Luke Davenport arrived at the Dragon's Lair, Karl was no longer needed. He took the opportunity to move to Saudi Arabia, playing football over there for large sums of money in order to solve his money troubles.
This meant leaving his wife Abi behind with his son Louie Block, appointing teammate Marcel Sabatier to look after them. This later led to problems, as Marcel and Abi became closer, eventually sleeping together. When Karl found out about this, he ended the relationship with Abi.
[edit] Last stint at Harchester
In 2004, Dean Boyle had asked for Fletch's help in buying Gabriel Batistuta, because he was friendly with him. The deal with Batistuta never materialised and after promising a big-name signing for the Harchester fans, Dean Boyle had to recruit an overweight and unfit Fletch for yet another stint in Harchester. Fletch had a new girlfriend this time, Gina Moliano, the sister of ex-Harchester player Eddie Moliano.
Karl never got on with Harchester's manager at the time, Don Barker, and after weeks of buildup, Fletch was murdered by Don in the changing room of the Dragon's Lair... with the help of a coat hanger. His body was found in the back of Don's BMW at the Millennium Stadium just minutes before Don drove his car, with Fletch's body inside, into the Harchester coach.
[edit] Record
In his time at Harchester United, Karl scored 172 Premiership goals.
[edit] Statistics
Fletcher appeared in every episode during Series 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, and made appearances in at least one episode in Series 3, 7 and 8. After his death, he apperared as a flashback during a dream set in the year 1994. episodes: 1.1-2.76 episodes: 3.7 episodes: 3.48-7.2 episodes: 7.19&7.20 episodes: 8.10-8.32 episodes: 9.11 as a flashback; he was 23 years old as this episode was set in 1994 He made 323 appearances for Harchester.
[edit] Dream team episodes each season
season 1:1.1-1.64 season 2:2.1-2.76 season 3:3.7/3.48-3.62 season 4:4.1-4.26 season 5:5.1-5.32 season 6:6.1-6.32 season 7:7.1-7.2/7.19-7.20 season 8:8.10-8.32 season 9:9.11-flashback appearance
[edit] War of the Roses
Fletch also made a guest appearance in season 9 in a flashback appearance when he was 23. This was in the year 1994 when Casper Rose was dreaming about his past after being shot; although Fletch made an appearance, the actor who plays him was not in it. This was something they did on the computer from an old Harchester match during the first season. Other characters from the past appeared in this episode as well. These characters included Danny Rawsthorne, Ray Wyatt and Campbell Hooper.
[edit] Young Karl Fletcher in Dream Team 80s
A young Karl Fletcher is seen in the first episode of Sky One's new miniseries. Dream Team 80s, as a troublesome young mascot for the Dragons. He famously stated "my Dad said one day I will be the best striker this club has ever seen".
Currently there are plans afoot to bring back Fletch in some capacity in the last ever few episodes.
