Interview with Alan Carr as his sitcom Changing Ends returns to ITV

 Changing Ends, the semi-autobiographical  sitcom about Alan Carr’s life growing up the gay son of a football manager in 1980s Northampton returns to ITV1 tonight. Here he talks about the second series, how much of the show is true, and how a successful comedy career is his revenge on the bullies…

How did you feel about the reaction to series one? 

Really good – I was so nervous because this is such a personal story for me on so many levels. If people had slagged off the show I would have taken it really personally because not only did I co-write it, but it's based on my life – there's no dodging a bad reaction or blaming anyone else because it's all about me! So, I was really, really pleased that viewers enjoyed it. 

Does that give you more confidence going into series two? 

Yes, we've become a bit more focused because we know what works and what doesn't. When you get good reviews it gives you the confidence to push the boundaries, not in a crazy way, but it does feel like a green light from the public and the critics, especially being the most-watched comedy on ITVX. 

I think it means that series two will be even better because it’s got added va-va-voom, we’ve really gone for it. 

On series one I was so concerned about everything being perfect, I came down to set a bit more to check on things, because it had to show what my life was like. But then when we were doing this second series I knew I was in such safe hands and we were all singing from the same hymn sheet, so I didn't get involved as much. I just turned up to do my bits knowing that everything was going to be fine. 

It must have been nice writing the script with Ollie [Savell] in mind this time too, rather than having to hunt for the perfect Alan? 

Yes, absolutely – Ollie is amazing and he just gets better. But of course, the Elephant in the Room was that we were wondering how tall he would have got and how much his voice had dropped – you have to be able to hit those high notes when you play Alan Carr, I'm like Mariah Carey! 

But he's just so professional and funny. Even though he was a little bit taller for series two, he's still just as talented and wonderful in the role as he was in the first series.

If we get recommissioned I might have to do a time jump for series three! 

How much of what we see in the series happened to you in real life? 

Everything you see on screen starts with at least a kernel of truth and then sometimes we embroider a little, but if I started just making things up I think we’d lose something special about the series. 

People stop me in the street to ask me if things they’ve seen really happened, and lots of it really did, which makes the moments funnier. 

Honestly, the stuff that happens to me on a daily basis means I’ve still got enough stories up my sleeve to take us through to series nine if we ever get that far! 

We’ll take something that really happened, like our family caravan holiday in Yarmouth or my dad forcing me to be a football mascot – but let’s be honest, life is stranger than fiction, so we have to make all the ends meet in 22 minutes. 

Sometimes I wish life was a bit more like a sitcom, where everything gets solved at the end! 

In series two, the Cobblers are on the cusp of going up and I'm on the cusp of going through puberty so it's all a bit of a knife edge with these two push-pulls going on – success for the Cobblers and Alan growing up and turning into a young man. It's electric, you can feel that battle going on. 

The series feels very celebratory, and shows young Alan rising above his bullies at school – how reflective is that of your real-life experience?

 My experience of growing up was not always celebratory, but I deliberately wanted the series to be pre-watershed because I'd love someone who is being bullied at school right now to watch the show with their family, and to be inspired to know it's all going to be all right, and that being a bit different is absolutely fine. 

All the things I got bullied for at school are now my trademarks – the glasses, the teeth, the voice, being camp, all of it, and I wanted that to be celebrated in the show. 

How did your parents react to series one?

 I was so nervous about what they would think, but mum and dad love it, they watch it over and over again! My dad has been so sweet about the show. He never really rings me and if I call the house he immediately puts mum on, but since series one went out he keeps calling me asking about what’s happening in series two, he’s desperate for more details. 

I filmed a little bit on my phone secretly and sent the video to him, just to get him off my back, but he wants more and I keep telling him he has to wait until it comes out on ITV. He's like my biggest fan, it's really sweet, but strange because honestly he never usually rings me!

 Do you feel quite protective of your parents, putting them in a sitcom on national TV? 

I do, I didn't want a hatchet job on them because they're absolutely the best and I love them to bits. Growing up I think a lot of gay men do have odd relationships with their dad – my dad was the best dad in the world, but I was like an alien in that house.

I do feel bad because when I started out in stand-up I didn't know all this was going to happen, and I talked about dad in my act. Then as my popularity grew and I got bigger and bigger, it got a bit out of hand. I remember getting a letter from a fan saying: ‘Your parents might not love you, Alan, but we love you!’

But like Ken Dodd said, comedians have two childhoods – the real one and the one they talk about on stage. My dad's not an arsehole, he's just an 1980s Northern football manager, who wanted his son to play football. 

I don't want anyone to think badly of him, I got so much love as a child. So I was a little bit worried about that, but the way Shaun [Dooley] and Nancy [Sullivan] play mum and dad is so sympathetic and lovely, it’s probably what endears people to the show. There's no side to Changing Ends, it's just joyous.

•  Changing Ends returns to ITV1 at 9pm tonight. The full second series is already streaming on ITVX.

Published: 13 Jul 2024