English comedian and TV personality (born )
This article is about the British comedian. For the American stage and film producer, see Allan Carr. For other people with a similar name, see Alan Carr (disambiguation).
Alan Graham Carr (born 14 June )[1] is an English comedian, broadcaster, and writer. His breakthrough was in , winning the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards.
In the ensuing years, Carr's career burgeoned on the Manchester comedy circuit before he became known for co-hosting the comedy variety show The Friday Night Project (–) with Justin Lee Collins. This led to the release of a short-lived entertainment show Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong (), and he went on to star in the comedy chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man (–). Since , Carr often stands in as a team captain on the comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. In , he became a judge on the reality competition series RuPaul's Drag Race UK.
Carr hosted the radio show Going Out with Alan Carr on BBC Radio 2 (–), as well as releasing his autobiography book Look Who It Is! (), and going on three arena stand-up comedy tours: Tooth Fairy Live (), Spexy Beast Live () and Yap, Yap, Yap! (). Carr has won three British Comedy Awards (, , ), two National Television Awards (, ) and a BAFTA TV Award ().
Alan Graham Carr was born on 14 June , in Weymouth, Dorset, elder son of Christine and Graham Carr, and spent the majority of his childhood in Northampton.[1][2] His father, whose family comes from the North East of England,[3] is a former Northampton Town manager and Newcastle United chief scout.[4][5] Carr has a younger brother, Gary.[6]
Carr went to Weston Favell Upper School in Northampton and graduated from Middlesex University with a BA (Hons) degree in Drama and Theatre Studies.[7][8]
After completing his degree in his early 20s, Carr moved to Manchester, aspiring to be a comedian. He lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy after which he moved to Stretford, which he cites as an inspiration for his comedic work.[9] Carr worked in a call centre for five years and performed on the comedy circuit in his spare time, before moving into comedy as a full-time career.[10][11]
Carr's early TV career included guest appearances on 8 Out of 10 Cats in and The Law of the Playground in [12][13] He and Justin Lee Collins co-hosted The Friday Night Project from series two in until it was cancelled after the end of series eight in February [14] Carr went on to host two series of Channel 4's game show Alan Carr's Celebrity Ding Dong from to , and the chat show Alan Carr: Chatty Man, which ran for 16 series from , with Christmas Specials in and [15]
Carr made his radio presenting debut on Christmas Day for BBC Radio 2 as part of their Festive Highlights with the show Alan Carr's Christmas Box.[16] He filled in on BBC Radio 6 Music on 16 February and 14 June , for Adam and Joe and co-presented The Russell Brand Show on 4 October He also presented Alan Carr's Comedy Outings for BBC Radio 2 in
On 25 April , Carr began hosting Going Out with Alan Carr, a new show for BBC Radio 2, in conjunction with Emma Forbes (later replaced by Melanie Sykes). The show was broadcast every Saturday evening from 6&#;pm to 8&#;pm.[17] On 6 March , it was reported that he had made the decision to leave to focus on his Chatty Man show.[18] His last show was on 31 March Carr was replaced by Liza Tarbuck. He returned on Boxing Day for a one-off show on the station.
For four weeks in January/February , Carr again returned to BBC Radio 2 to sit in for Paul O'Grady on his Sunday show. Carr reunited with Sykes to present a week show called Summer Escapes sitting in for Graham Norton on Saturdays from July to September on BBC Radio 2 yearly from until its final run in following Norton's departure from the station. It included features based around summer including the British Seaside Survey.
Carr performs stand-up regularly, on tour and on television. He became a regular performer on the Manchester comedy circuit in his 20s, where he met fellow comedians Jason Manford, Justin Moorhouse and John Bishop, and had his own monthly comedy and cabaret show Alan Carr's Ice Cream Sunday at the Manchester Comedy Store.[19][20][21]
In , Carr won the City Life Best Newcomer of the Year and the BBC New Comedy Awards.[22][23]
Carr has been featured in three Edinburgh shows and in he toured throughout the UK, which was followed by a DVD entitled Tooth Fairy Live. He has performed at the Apollo Theatre in London, which was televised for the BBC One series Live at the Apollo, and has been featured in the Royal Variety Performance.
He has appeared and performed at many festivals, including the Reading and Leeds Festivals, Latitude Festival in Suffolk and Kilkenny Comedy Festival in Ireland. He has performed stand-up internationally, including an appearance at the Just for Laughs festival in Montreal.[24]
In March , Carr took part in Channel 4's Comedy Gala, a benefit show held at the O2 Arena in aid of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital in London.
Look Who It Is! is Carr's autobiography published in [25] It details his life from growing up in Weymouth to presenting The Friday Night Project. In the book, Carr recounts how he grew up in the shadow of his father Graham, and was therefore expected to grow up to be a great football player, despite his childhood "puppy fat". The book laments on his schooldays - he was picked last for the football team when the other students found out his lack of talent and his father forcing him to refuse to communicate with a friend because he was apparently "gaying him up". Carr also tells the story of how puberty left him with "big teeth" and a camp voice.
Carr is gay, but does not consider his sexuality to be a focal part of his act; in , he said: "I just think gay people need to get over themselves. Just because you're gay and on the telly doesn't mean you're a role model. I'm just a comedian. That's all I am. What am I meant to do? Do I go down the Julian Clary route and talk about fisting and poppers? I don't talk about being gay and I think what better equality for gays than that?"[6]
According to Carr, he has been comfortable with his sexuality from a very young age. When Eddie Izzard was a guest on Chatty Man and asked Carr when he came out of the closet, he replied that he was "never really in" and other children were already making fun of his camp behaviour when he was eight or nine years old.[26]
In January , Carr married his partner of ten years, Paul Drayton, in Los Angeles.[27] The wedding was officiated by his best friend Adele.[28] The couple announced their separation in January following Drayton's conviction for drink-driving.[29] Carr lives in West Sussex, three miles from Horsham.[30]
When accepting his award for Best Entertainment Personality at the British Comedy Awards in December , Carr dedicated it to Karen Matthews, who had earlier that month been found guilty of kidnapping Shannon Matthews, her own daughter. Carr was quoted by BBC News as stating: "I should dedicate this award to her [Karen]. She would be my dream guest. I think she's a gay icon. People like a bit of rough, don't they?"[31]
Shahid Malik, MP for Matthews' constituency of Dewsbury, described Carr's comments about Matthews as "sick and insensitive". Carr subsequently apologised for his comments, saying "I realise what I said was insensitive and I am very sorry for any offence caused."[32] On his own website he added: "For those of you who have enjoyed my comedy and seen my act over the last seven years you all would have got used to my tongue-in-cheek style and near-the-knuckle observations. Last night at the Comedy Awards [] I was being ironic, these aren't my real sentiments obviously."[33]
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| –07 | Tooth Fairy | |
| Spexy Beast | ||
| Yap, Yap, Yap | ||
| –21 | Not Again, Alan! | |
| –23 | Regional Trinket |
| Title | Released | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tooth Fairy Live | 12 November | Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo |
| Spexy Beast Live | 14 November | Live at Manchester's Arena |
| Yap, Yap, Yap! Live | 16 November | Live at London's Hammersmith Apollo |