Neighbours star Mark Little aka Joe Mangel looks different now

MARK Little shot to fame playing Joe Mangel in Neighbours in the late eighties and early nineties. Now he has resurfaced and is virtually unrecognisable.

Mark Little played Joe Mangel in Neighbours with Linda Hartley as Kerry Bishop. Picture: Supplied

FORMER Neighbours star Mark Little looks like a different man from his days playing Joe Mangel.

Little, 58, played iconic character between 1988 and 1991, and then again briefly in 2005.

Now he has signed up to be one of the celebrities in the UK show Dancing on Ice and he confessed to The Sun that he is not a skilled skater.

Mark Little played Joe Mangel in Neighbours. Picture: Supplied

Mark Little will appear on the UK’s Dancing on Ice. Picture: Supplied

Hinting that his moves might be “dangerous”, he said: “How exciting this is! My skating is pretty rickety.

“I’ll be trying to find the elegance, the strength, the smoothness.

“I’m a bit of a danger man, a bit of a risk taker, and I do like dancing so let’s see what happens.”

Mark Little as Joe Mangel when his wife Kerry Bishop (Linda Hartley) was shot and killed while protesting against duck hunting. Picture: Supplied

The actor last appeared in Neighbours in 2005.

An insider told us: “Bosses were desperate to sign him up.

“Mark will add a sense of nostalgia to the show - everybody knows who he is,” the source said. “Joe Mangel is a Neighbours’ legend to fans old and new.”

Born in Brisbane, Australia, Little shot to fame in the United Kingdom thanks to his role in Neighbours.

Kimberley Davies and Mark Little in Neighbours. Picture: Supplied

Janet Andrewartha and Mark Little in Neighbours. Picture: Supplied

As a result, he replaced Chris Evans as the host of The Big Breakfast in 1994 - eventually moving to Brighton, and then London.

Since Neighbours, Little has enjoyed success as a theatre actor - even winning an Olivier Award for one-man-show Defending the Caveman in 2000.

The star has two sons with his wife, Cath Farr.

This article originally appeared in The Sun and is republished here with permission

Originally published as Neighbours star Mark Little aka Joe Mangel looks different now