Before Alan Carr set off to Ardross castle in the Scottish Highlands last spring to film Celebrity Traitors, he told his friends he was certain he’d be ousted after just one day.
He’d see them ‘very soon’, he said. They weren’t so sure, however.
As followers of the hugely popular BBC1 series now know, Alan has lasted much longer than that.
Not only did he survive the opening 24 hours, he’s in the final five and favourite to win the first ever celebrity version of the show when it reaches its conclusion next week.
Such has been his runaway success, he’s now being touted as the obvious choice to step in as host of Strictly Come Dancing next year, following the departures of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
One insider told me: ‘More people are watching Alan than are watching Strictly right now.
‘He’s been catapulted to the A-list. The star dust is practically dripping off him.’
A fortuitous sequence of events? Or the just deserts for a hard-working and ambitious showbusiness professional?
Before Alan Carr set off to Ardross castle in the Scottish Highlands last spring to film Celebrity Traitors, he told his friends he was certain he’d be ousted after just one day – but he is thriving and has become an unlikely favourite to win
Such has been his runaway success, he’s now being touted as the obvious choice to step in as host of Strictly Come Dancing next year, following the departures of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly (pictured)
But his bubbly, self-deprecating manner masks a steely side, which is very much a result of his unusual upbringing. Pictured: Alan (bottom left) with his father Graham, then manager of Northampton Town, mother and brother in 1985
Everyone who knows Alan insists it’s most definitely the latter.
While the 14 million viewers who watch Celebrity Traitors have been left stunned at the usually loveable star’s ruthless behaviour – especially the way he dispatched his close friend Paloma Faith, and similarly, actress Celia Imrie on Thursday night (both ‘murdered in plain sight’, under the noses of fellow competitors, although they had no idea he was responsible) – his calculating behaviour came as no surprise to those who know him well.
They insist his bubbly, self-deprecating manner masks a ‘super competitive streak’.
‘His public persona is one of being a bit of a giggle, a bit of a pushover, but that is definitely not the case at all,’ says my source.
And this steely side is very much a result of his unusual upbringing, growing up an awkward, chubby, and openly gay boy in an alpha male ‘Match of the Day’ household in Northampton, the eldest son of the local football manager.
His other asset is his strong set of A-list female friends who, say insiders, inspire him to push his way to the front.
Alan, 49, is best friends with singer Adele, who he first met at the BRIT awards in 2008.
In fact they’re so close that not only did the 37-year-old officiate at Alan’s 2018 wedding to party planner – and now ex-husband – Paul Drayton, she also paid for the whole thing.
His other ‘bestie’ is television presenter Amanda Holden, 54, with whom he hosts the hugely popular BBC shows, Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job and Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job, in which they transform run-down properties abroad into boutique hotels and dream homes.
‘Alan is best friends with some of the most powerful showbiz women you could imagine,’ reveals my source.
In fact, the 14million viewers who watch Celebrity Traitors (pictured) have been left stunned at the usually bubbly Alan’s ruthless behaviour
And his other asset is his strong set of A-list female friends who, say insiders, inspire him to push his way to the front. Alan, for example, is best friends with singer Adele (pictured together)
His other ‘bestie’ is television presenter Amanda Holden, 54, with whom he hosts the hugely popular BBC shows, Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job and Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job (pictured)
‘They are formidable women, they push him to fly and fly. They are both extremely ambitious and they push him to be the same.’
Friends also say that Alan, through Amanda, spends time with Simon Cowell, who is regarded as one of the most ambitious and powerful celebrities in Britain. ‘Maybe a bit of that rubs off?’ muses my insider.
After entering the castle in June, Alan found himself up against the likes of Jonathan Ross, Kate Garraway and his friend, singer Paloma Faith. Paloma, 44, was left stunned when Alan ‘murdered’ her in the opening episode, making her the first to be sent home.
In order to ‘murder’ a victim, the Traitors were tasked with touching the face of an unsuspecting competitor as they all socialised in the castle. Paloma was a natural choice, the Traitors decided, because Alan knew her and for him to touch anyone else would have been ‘creepy’.
Speaking after her exit (the series was filmed earlier this year), Alan confirmed that Paloma, who’s expecting her third child, hadn’t taken the betrayal very well, but they were ‘working on their relationship’.
It was this stealth act which he seemed to carry out so effortlessly, that revealed to viewers another side to Alan.
One friend of the star tells me: ‘Alan is a lovely, lovely man, just as he comes across to the public, but when it occurred to him that he could survive and actually keep going, he decided to release his inner, hardcore personality.
‘There was no way that he was going to give up after this. He’s used to being the nice guy, the one who is happy to see others do well, but here there was no way that he was going to allow that to happen so the gloves came off.
‘Alan is no fool and he is no pushover underneath it all. He speaks his mind.
‘He doesn’t take any nonsense. He has had a long career despite not exactly coming from the celebrity world. It takes someone of stern stuff to make it.’
Indeed it does.
Alan’s suffering at the hands of childhood bullies was depicted in his semi-autobiographical ITV sitcom, Changing Ends, in 2023.
He also referred to the hell of being different – with his thick glasses, protruding teeth and camp, squeaky voice – in his 2016 memoir Alanatomy: The Inside Story and when he appeared on Desert Island Discs in 2018.
‘I was bullied, but I was really annoying,’ he said on the BBC Radio 4 programme.
When once asked in an interview when he ‘came out’, Carr replied that he was ‘never really in’ and was being teased about his sexuality from a very young age.
And it wasn’t just his classmates with whom he had difficulties with growing up. His father, Graham, struggled to accept his son’s career choice.
Another of his friends, singer Paloma Faith. Paloma, 44, was left stunned when Alan ‘murdered’ her in the opening episode of Celebrity Traitors (pictured), making her the first to be sent home
Alan has previously spoken out about his suffering at the hands of childhood bullies, which was depicted in his semi-autobiographical ITV sitcom, Changing Ends, in 2023 (pictured)
As a former football player and later manager with Northampton Town – as well as stints managing Blackpool and Maidstone – his life revolved around the testosterone-fuelled sporting world and he hoped his son would follow in his footsteps.
Instead, Alan told his father he was enrolling at Middlesex University to study performing arts – a moment he jokingly used in one of his stage shows.
He quipped: ‘Father: “Alan, why are you doing this to me?” Alan: “I don’t know, Dad, but I can show you through expressive dance”.’
He also recalled how his father tried to force him to break off one friendship because he feared the other boy was ‘gaying him up’.
After graduating from university, Alan moved to Manchester, with his sights on a career in comedy. He worked in a call centre for five years, while treading the boards in his spare time on the stand-up comedy circuit, winning awards and a huge following along the way.
He finally hit the big time in 2006, co-hosting the Channel 4 comedy variety show The Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins. Before long, he was a household name, appearing on comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. In 2019, he became a judge on the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.
Alan also hosted a Radio 2 show Going Out with Alan Carr between 2009 and 2012.
I spent some time with Alan in Corfu two years ago when he was filming the reality TV show Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream for ITV alongside Zoe Ball.
This was around the time it emerged he’d been pipped to the post of becoming a judge on Britain’s Got Talent by former Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli.
Alan had become so close to getting the role he had even ordered his wardrobe, and was said to be furious about being let down.
While I found Alan hilarious and fantastic company, it was obvious he was very much in control. He made it quite clear from the outset that if he was asked any questions he didn’t like during our interview, that he simply wouldn’t answer them.
And now, with the top job at Strictly apparently within his reach, his revenge at the BGT slight must feel very sweet indeed.
As a source said: ‘He’s an old-fashioned showbiz pro who would be just perfect hosting Strictly. If he does manage to win Traitors it will be a sign to the BBC that he has the star quality to present its flagship show.’
