Alan Carr has admitted his life is "insane" since winning The Celebrity Traitors, with a flood of work offers keeping him busy. He has just finished filming an Amazon Prime travelogue series, The F***It List, and is set to appear on ITV's The Masked Singer. He also stars in a Disney documentary series, Castle Man, about his move to Ayton Castle in the Scottish Borders.
Life at Ayton Castle
Carr, who turned 50 in June, says he is juggling his new life at the £3.2million Ayton Castle with filming commitments. "This year, after Traitors, is just insane," he laughed. "The castle is great, really good, brilliant. Everyone thinks it's a gimmick - that's the problem - but I am living there! It's really exciting. I love it up there. It's got dog-friendly beaches, the people are lovely, it's so nice."
The castle has 17 bedrooms and nine bathrooms, and will have glamping in the grounds later this summer. Carr has been annoyed by early reports suggesting he planned to turn it into a luxury hotel. "They said it would become a hotel with a leisure centre and spa when it's actually my permanent home," he fumed to the Mirror. "Now I've been sent lots of CVs from life guards and someone even gifted me a jacuzzi hot tub. But it's Grade A listed so I've had to send it back!"
Community Plans and Glamping
Instead, his plans for the Category A listed baronial mansion include community activities, all filmed for the series. A section of the 160-acre grounds is being turned into a glamping site for a few weeks, with guests able to stay in luxury bell tents from later this month. Announcing the plans, Carr posted a video asking: "Do you fancy a last minute summer escape? Well, I've got just the thing. I'm opening up my castle grounds to a few lovely guests for a one-of-a-kind luxury glamping experience. Whether you like chilling in a sauna or singing Kumbaya as you sizzle your sausage, we've got something for everyone. So if you fancy coming along, I'd love to have you. I can't wait to welcome you to my lovely home. See you there."
Costing from £140-£160 a night, guests will stay in a tent sleeping up to four people, with sauna and cold water sessions plus guided movement classes available. Carr says he has other plans too: "You know it's very community-based - comedy at the castle, carol singing, Burns Night, just really fun things. I think people get a bit funny about me wanting to live in a castle, but when they see what I'm going to do with it - it's not just me lying on a chaise longue with a tiny bell," he insisted. Recently, an auction was held to sell items the previous owners didn't want. "Everyone in the community knows what's happening, they've been in for the auction and for fetes - there's no mystery about it."
Escape from the Heat
Carr appreciates the castle's history, noting it was turned into a school during the war, leaving "pockets of it that are very 1950s." He also enjoys the cooler climate, saying: "The last time I was up there I had the fire on. There was a nip in the air, I put a cardi on. Then you come down here and it's like being in Spain." Despite buying the castle in February, he is still adjusting to living in a stately home after growing up in a Northampton suburb. "It's so funny being in there, coming down the stairs and whatnot," he said. "Sometimes I have to pinch myself."
To fund the purchase, Carr had hoped to sell his former home in West Sussex, which he shared with ex-husband Paul Drayton before their 2022 divorce. The property, with a 4.3-acre garden, swimming pool, and barn, was listed in June for £2.5 million, but he recently cut the price by £275,000. He said: "I've just got to wait for the house to sell and then I'll have some money to spend on it." At the time of buying the castle, he declared: "Some men when they have a midlife crisis buy a Lamborghini or grow a ponytail, but me - I want my very own castle."
Other TV Projects
In addition to his new shows, Carr is keeping up with returning series like Picture Slam and Interior Design Masters for the BBC, his drama Changing Ends for ITV, and Channel 4's Secret Genius. However, his popular renovation series with Amanda Holden, which has featured The Italian Job, The Spanish Job, and The Greek Job, is paused this year, with the fifth series set in Scandinavia. "We will definitely do more," he said. "We love it and we want to get to Scandinavia. But it's just been so busy. Amanda was the first person who came to visit me in the castle, she was like 'I wanna see it!'" He added that he had to tell her: "No disco balls please - this is classy! She came straight up and we had a glass of champagne in one of the turrets."
Carr also ruled out doing any DIY at the castle, saying: "Me with my sledgehammer? I don't think so." He will join Jonathan Ross on the next run of The Masked Singer, where he will head up a rival panel guessing performers' identities. He'll be glad to return to his remote castle for a rest. Now, where's that tiny bell?
