Alan Carr on Feeling Like an ‘Alien’ in His Football Scout Father’s Home

He is one of Britain’s best-known comedians, famous for his camp brand of comedy.

And Alan Carr’s career has reached new heights as of late as he has emerged as one of the fan favourites on The Celebrity Traitors. 

The former chat show host, 49, is one of the Traitors chosen by host Claudia Winkleman and so far he has managed to avoid detection by the Faithful. 

There has even been talk of Alan getting a new chat show on the BBC after bosses were impressed with his performance on the show.

But Alan’s showbusiness career couldn’t be more different from the world he grew up in with his family in Northampton.

The comic is the eldest son of former football manager and scout Graham Carr, 81.

Graham previously served as associate director for Northampton Town and he was also chief scout for Newcastle United. 

He began as a player for Northampton Town in 1962, later playing for other clubs like York City and Bradford Park Avenue. 

He began his management career at Dartford and later returned to Northampton for five years between 1985 and 1990. 

A series of other management jobs followed before Graham established a good reputation for himself as a scout.

He took charge of Newcastle’s recruitment between February 2010 and June 2017 and ultimately held more sway than managers on who came in and out of the team. 

Two of his most successful deals were the £30m sale of Moussa Sissoko to Tottenham and £25m for Georginio Wijnaldum’s move to Liverpool.

Much of that fortune went to Newcastle’s then owner Mike Ashley, now CEO of Sports Direct and one of Britain’s richest men with a £4.4billion net worth. 

Graham and Alan have never spoken about his son’s sexuality. His dad found out his son was gay later than Alan’s mother and his younger brother Gary.

‘I didn’t know he was gay for a long time, you know, he kept it from us,’ he previously told Daily Mail. ‘Looking back, I feel for him. When he went to live in Manchester he got beaten up once or twice, different things. 

‘I wish I could have stuck up for him a bit more, been there to protect him. It hurts you.

‘My wife told my younger son, Gary, and they’d known for a little while before me.

‘They said, ‘If Dad doesn’t like it, he can leave!’ But me and Alan have never really talked about it, we don’t need to. I love him just the same.’ 

Alan has spoken in the past about the complex relationship he had with his father. 

‘Growing up, I think a lot of gay men have odd relationships with their dad,’ he told The Mirror. ‘My dad was the best dad in the world, but I was like an alien in the house. 

‘I do feel bad because when I started out in stand-up, I talked about dad in my act. My dad’s not an a*******; he’s just an 80s northern football manager who wanted his son to play football.’ 

Alan’s childhood relationship with his father served as the inspiration for the sitcom Changing Ends with Oliver Savell as a young Alan and Shaun Dooley as Graham. 

The series shows young Alan being picked on in Thatcher’s Britain as bullies continue to make Alan’s life a misery.

He felt lost in a ‘match of the day family’ and lonely in school surrounded by football-loving teens who took any chance to pound on him for being different.

But he found his sparkle in drama class and ditched his place as football team captain to explore the wonders of dance, acting and comedy.

Graham was supportive of Alan’s comedy career and recalled his nerves the first time he sat in the audience for his Channel 4 show Chatty Man.

‘You want him to do well so badly. When he was first on the Royal Variety Show, me and my missus stood in the passage peeking through the glass to see if he got any laughs! 

‘Honestly, as a parent, you’re terrified. It cut to the audience and we thought, ‘Thank God, he’s doing OK’.