Alan Carr recalls a very drunken night in Sydney

Alan Carr has revealed that he was turned away from the Sydney Harbour Bridge walk for being too drunk.

The comic had been on the booze with Rob Beckett the night before he was due to climb the landmark – and was still way over the limit.

They had booked an ambitious 9.30am slot to scale the 134-metre high bridge, but Carr said: ‘I didn’t feel good but I soldiered on.’

‘As we go through the door, this woman pulls out an orange thing and says "Breathe into it".

‘I was too pissed. I failed a breathalyser to go over the fucking bridge. Too pissed to walk over a bridge.’

‘Then Rob passed. I don't know how he passed. So we sat in the gift shop for an hour , him cowling at me. He's given me bottles of water, and tea… then he bought me a bacon sandwich.

‘Then the woman came over said have "you sobered up?".. and I pass the test. Then  she asked, "Are you celebrating anything?" I went "Yes, sober for 10 minutes."’

The terms and conditions for the Harbour Bridge climb says everyone must have less than 0.05 per cent blood alcohol – the same limit as for driving.

The incident came when Carr was in Sydney to play the Opera House.

He recounted the incident on his Life’s A Beach podcast to guest Nish Kumar – who had witnessed the start of his colleagues’ drinking spree, recalling how Carr paraded around the Opera House bar proclaiming: ‘I’m the Pied Piper Of Cock.’

And when Carr wondered why he couldn’t do the walk even when over the limit, given that climbers wear a safety harness, Kumar suggested: ‘I feel like that's more about making sure someone doesn't chuck up on Sydney's motorists.’

Published: 2 May 2023