Alan Carr’s relationship with football scout father Graham: Why The Traitors star felt like an ‘alien’ in their house

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

I’ve been watching Alan Carr’s star really rise lately! He’s become a total fan favorite on ‘The Celebrity Traitors,’ and it’s fantastic to see. He’s really connecting with viewers, and it’s definitely boosting his career to new levels.

The 49-year-old former talk show host is a ‘Traitor’ on the show, secretly working against the other contestants. So far, he’s successfully hidden his identity from those trying to uncover the Traitors.

Following his recent TV appearance, there’s been speculation that Alan might host a new chat show for the BBC, as executives were pleased with his work.

Alan’s life as an entertainer is a far cry from his family’s more grounded upbringing in Northampton.

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

Graham has held roles with both Northampton Town and Newcastle United, previously working as an associate director for the former and chief scout for the latter.

He started his playing career with Northampton Town in 1962, and also played for York City and Bradford Park Avenue during his career.

He started his career as a manager at Dartford before returning to Northampton, where he worked for five years from 1985 to 1990.

Graham held several management positions before becoming known as a talented scout.

From February 2010 to June 2017, he oversaw Newcastle’s player signings and departures, effectively having more influence over the team’s composition than the managers themselves.

He notably secured deals worth £30 million for Moussa Sissoko’s transfer to Tottenham and £25 million for Georginio Wijnaldum’s move to Liverpool.

A significant portion of the money ended up with Mike Ashley, who was then the owner of Newcastle United. He’s now the CEO of Sports Direct and has a net worth of £4.4 billion, making him one of the wealthiest people in Britain.

Graham and Alan have always avoided discussing Alan’s son being gay. Graham learned about it after Alan’s mother and brother, Gary, already knew.

I was really surprised when I eventually found out he was gay; he hadn’t shared that with any of us, and honestly, looking back, I feel terrible for him. He had a tough time, especially when he moved to Manchester – I heard he was even physically attacked a couple of times. It just makes you realize how much someone can go through in private.

‘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.

Someone told us that if my dad wasn’t happy, he was free to go. But Alan and I have always been close and haven’t needed to discuss it – I love him no matter what.

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

He shared with The Mirror that many gay men experience complicated relationships with their fathers. While he considered his own dad to be wonderful, he often felt like an outsider within his own family.

I do feel guilty about making jokes about my dad in my early stand-up routines. He’s not a bad person at all – he’s just a typical football manager from the 1980s who always wished I’d been a football player.

The sitcom Changing Ends, starring Oliver Savell as young Alan and Shaun Dooley as his father Graham, was based on Alan’s experiences growing up with his dad.

I’ve been completely captivated by this series! It really pulls you in to young Alan’s world, showing how tough things were for him growing up in Thatcher’s Britain. It’s heartbreaking to watch him constantly being bullied and how much pain it causes him – it just feels so real and raw.

He felt out of place within his family and isolated at school, where other students, obsessed with football, often bullied him for not fitting in.

He discovered his passion in drama class and gave up being the football team captain to pursue dance, acting, and comedy.

Graham cheered on Alan’s comedy and remembered how anxious he felt watching Alan’s first show, ‘Chatty Man,’ on Channel 4.

You really root for him to succeed. We were so eager to see how he’d do when he first performed on the Royal Variety Show that my wife and I stood in the hallway, watching through a window to see if the audience laughed!

As a parent, it was genuinely frightening. When the camera showed the audience, we all breathed a sigh of relief to see he was alright.

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2025-10-30 19:49