C4 contract renewed until 2015

Alan Carr has signed a reputed £4million deal to stay with Channel 4 for two more years.

The contract means Chatty Man will stay on air until 2015, and will also include a pilot of a sitcom he is writing, according to the Mirror.

ITV are said to have been interesting in poaching him as a possible replacement for Jonathan Ross, but Channel 4’s head of entertainment, Justin Gorman, said he was ‘chuffed’ Carr was renewing his contract.

He added: ‘Alan’s warm, witty and a little bit wild. We look forward to celebrating, over a sherry or two, his 100th episode of Chatty Man later in the year.

Carr said: ‘I’m ecstatic – I love being on Channel 4 where I can be myself and let my hair down, what’s left of it.’

The last episode of Chatty Man, which went out on March 29, attracted 1.6million viewers.

Last year, Carr revealed his sitcom would be inspired by Rising Damp, saying: ‘I’d like to be a Rigsby character. I’d love to be the lusty landlord with a tenant underneath me.

He added: ‘I do like writing jokes. I don’t see why I shouldn’t write a sitcom. I’m a huge fan of them.’

Published: 11 Apr 2013