Alan Carr reveals the fate of four of his hit TV shows as he opens up about hectic work schedule
COMEDIAN, writer and TV presenter Alan Carr has opened up about the fate of four of his hit TV shows as he reveals just how hectic his current work schedule is.
The 48-year-old’s career is busier than ever following the success of series two of his autobiographical drama Changing Ends.
During an interview with The Sun’s TV Magazine, Alan revealed he is working around the clock to bring a host of exciting content to the small screen.
First up, he confirmed he is reuniting with Amanda Holden for a new series of their sunny renovation show.
The fan-favourite duo is already back filming, but the show has a big twist.
“I’m filming The Italian Job with Amanda as we speak, but wait for it, there’s a twist – we are in Spain,” the presenter teased.
Alan continued, revealing that the third series of the BBC show will be bigger and better than ever.
He said: “It’s the third series and the challenges are bigger, the renovation is bigger, the house is bigger, the only constant is that we are still drinking Aperol Spritz. This series we are really being pushed out of our comfort zone, it’s going beyond plastering and wallpapering, which is hard for me, as you’ve seen in the last two series I struggle with the basics.
“It’s good that we’ve changed country, different cultures, different designs, different architecture to delve into and explore – Spain has a different feel to the other series and I think people are going to be surprised at us and the country itself.”
Earlier this year, Alan was busy filming the second series of autobiographical drama Changing Ends, which premiered on ITVX in July.
The series follows Alan’s childhood growing up in Northampton in the 80s with Oliver Savell playing the younger version of him.
Alan told the TV Mag that it’s not over yet as he has big plans for the series.
“I would love to do a third series of Changing Ends, every time I see Ollie he has shot up so I don’t think we can get away with making him 12 anymore, we would have to jump in time to him being 14 or 15 which would bring us to late eighties and early nineties, which as you can imagine opens a whole load of comedic possibilities for us,” he teased.
“The hormones racing through your body at 15 are a lot different to the innocence of being 12, music, fashion, world events. In those three years, the world and your body has changed beyond recognition.
“In the late eighties, you had Tiananmen Square and The Berlin Wall coming down, the end of Communism, but all I wanted was to get my hands on a pointy bra like Madonna wore,” Alan joked.
Confirming the fate of two of his other popular competition shows — Interior Design Masters and Picture Slam — Alan revealed there would definitely be more to come.
Alan Carr's career to date
Alan Carr is a household name, but how did the comedian get his start?
- Alan began pursuing a career in stand-up comedy in the early 2000s, moving up to Manchester from Northampton and regularly performing at the city’s Comedy Store. He was even named City Life’s Newcomer Of The Year in 2001.
- He then became a regular fixture on the small screen following stints on Jimmy Carr‘s beloved panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats and the documentary series The Law of the Playground between 2005 to 2006.
- Alan went on to find further fame as the co-host of Channel 4’s The Friday Night Project, which ran from 2006-2009 alongside shamed comic Justin Lee Collins, before going solo and fronting Alan Carr’s Celebrity Ding Dong in 2008.
- But it wasn’t until he landed his talk show The Chatty Man in 2009 that he officially became a household name. The Channel 4 show was for 16 series and welcomed guests like Denise Van Outen, Amanda Holden, Kim Catrall, Kylie Minogue, and Justin Timberlake. It in 2016 before returning for a Christmas special in 2017.
- Since then, Alan has fronted coverage of some of the UK’s biggest events, such as Crufts in 2018 and the Royal Variety Show in 2021, as well as appearing on an episode of The Great Celebrity Bake Off and becoming a regular judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race.
- He also reunited with fellow comedian Jimmy Carr for 8 Out 10 Cats Does Countdown as a regular team captain.
- Alan now fronts a number of beloved series, including The Italian Job – a renovation show he hosts with Amanda Holden – and Interior Design Masters – a reality competition show that pits amateur designers against each other.
- In 2023, Alan wrote and starred in the autobiographical drama Changing Ends which depicts his young life growing up in Northampton in the 1980s. The series was an instant hit and returned to ITV for a second series in 2024.
The RuPaul’s Drag Race judge also teased a little of what’s next for him, revealing that he’s been busy working on other projects, too.
“Watch out for a film I did with Sky called Peter coming out soon, it’s only a little part I don’t think Tom Hanks is going to lose any sleep but we filmed in this quaint Scottish village for three days, it was like an actual fairytale,” Alan gushed.
He added: My podcast Life’s A Beach is going from strength to strength, I chat to different celebs about their travels and it is such a laugh, we’ve had everyone on there from Michael McIntyre, Sir Tom Jones, Louis Theroux, Robbie Williams, Mel B, Romesh to Rylan – we pretend to be on a plane ‘Alan Air’ which kind of works until the dog jumps on the settee or Deliveroo ring on the doorbell.”
Looking toward the future, that he dreams of hosting the BAFTAs with his Italian Job co-host Amanda, before admitting that he still has plenty of acting ambition, too
“I would love to be in a murder mystery, an old-fashioned Poirot or Sherlock Holmes kind of thing set in the 20s or 30s. Stuck in an old Manor House in the country somewhere, I could be the Lord of the Manor or a butler, knowing my luck I’ll probably get bumped off first, you’ll just see my dead blue face being zipped up in a body bag,” he said.
