Alan Carr’s legion of fans think he’s now a shoo-in to host Strictly… as the comedian and presenter becomes unlikely favourite to win Celebrity Traitors: KATIE HIND

Before Alan Carr headed to Ardross castle in the Scottish Highlands to film Famous Traitors last spring, he told friends he was sure he would topple in just one day.

He said he would see them ‘very soon’. But they weren’t so sure.

As followers of the hugely popular BBC1 series now know, Alan lasted much longer than that.

Not only has she survived the opening 24 hours, she’s also placed in the final five, making her the favorite to win the first celebrity version of the show when it concludes next week.

Thus came his inevitable success; He is being touted as the obvious choice to step in as presenter of Strictly Come Dancing next year following the departures of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

An insider told me: ‘More people are watching Alan now than Strictly.

‘He was catapulted into the A-list. Stardust is almost dripping off you.’

A random series of events? Or is it a complete desert for a hard-working and ambitious showbiz professional?

Pictured: Alan Carr (below left) stands on the grass field with his mother and brother, his father Graham, then manager of Northampton Town, in 1985.

Everyone who knows Alan insists it was definitely the latter.

While the 14 million viewers who tuned in to Celebrity Traitors were stunned by the often lovable star’s brutal behavior – particularly the way he murdered close friend Paloma Faith and similarly actress Celia Imrie on Thursday night (both ‘killed in plain sight’ in front of his rivals, even though they had no idea he was responsible) – his calculated behavior came as no surprise to those who knew him well.

They insist his bubbly, cocky demeanor masks a “super competitive streak.”

‘His general personality is a bit giggly, a bit off-putting, but that’s definitely not the case,’ says my source.

And this steely side of him is largely a result of his unconventional upbringing, growing up as an awkward, chubby and openly gay kid in the alpha male ‘Match of the Day’ home in Northampton, the eldest son of the local football manager.

His other asset is his strong A-list female friends, who insiders say inspire him to push forward.

Alan, 49, is close friends with singer Adele, whom he first met at the BRIT awards in 2008.

They’re so close, in fact, that not only did the 37-year-old manage Alan’s wedding in 2018 with party planner and now-ex-husband Paul Drayton, but she also paid all the expenses herself.

Her other ‘best friend’ is television presenter Amanda Holden, 54, with whom she co-hosts hugely popular BBC shows Amanda & Alan’s Italian Job and Amanda & Alan’s Spanish Job, who transform run-down properties abroad into boutique hotels and dream homes.

My source explains: ‘Alan is great friends with some of the most powerful showbiz women you can imagine.

14 million viewers watching Celebrity Traitors were stunned by usually cheerful Alan’s cruel behavior

‘They are amazing women, they push him to fly and fly. They’re both extremely ambitious and they’re pushing him to be the same.’

Friends also say that through Amanda, Alan spent time with Simon Cowell, who is considered one of Britain’s most ambitious and powerful celebrities. ‘Maybe some of this will be deleted?’ One of me fell into deep thought.

After entering the castle in June, Alan found himself up against the likes of Jonathan Ross, Kate Garraway and his friend, singer Paloma Faith. Paloma, 44, was left stunned in the opening episode as Alan ‘killed’ her and became the first person to be sent home.

To ‘kill’ a victim, Traitors are tasked with touching the face of an unsuspecting rival while socializing in the castle. The traitors decided that Paloma was the natural choice because Alan knew her and it would be ‘creepy’ for her to touch anyone else.

Speaking after their split, Alan (the series was filmed earlier this year) confirmed that Paloma, who is expecting her third child, did not take the betrayal well but they were “working on their relationship”.

It was this effortless act of stealth that revealed another side of Alan to viewers.

A friend of the star told me: ‘Alan is just such a lovely, lovable guy in the public eye, but when it occurred to him that he could survive and actually move on, he decided to unleash his inner tough personality.

‘It was impossible for him to give up after this. He was used to being a good guy who was happy to see others do good work, but there was no way he was going to let that happen here, and so the gloves came off.

‘Alan is not stupid and underneath it all he is not at all unattractive. He speaks his mind.

‘He doesn’t accept any nonsense. Even though he doesn’t exactly come from the celebrity world, he’s had a long career. It takes a tough guy to pull this off.’

Indeed it is.

Alan’s suffering at the hands of his childhood bullies was chronicled in the 2023 semi-autobiographical ITV sitcom Changing Ends.

He also touched on the hell of being different with his thick glasses, protruding teeth and camp, raspy voice in his 2016 memoir Alanatomy: The Inside Story and in his 2018 appearance on Desert Island Discs.

“I was bullied but it was really annoying,” he told the BBC Radio 4 programme.

Once asked in an interview if he was “coming out”, Carr said he was “never involved” and that he was teased about his sexuality from a very young age.

And it wasn’t just his classmates he had difficulties with growing up. His father, Graham, had a hard time accepting his son’s career choice.

A former footballer and later manager of Northampton Town, who also managed Blackpool and Maidstone, his life revolved around the testosterone-fueled world of sport, and he hoped his son would follow in his footsteps.

Instead, Alan told his father that he would enroll at Middlesex University to study performing arts; he jokingly used this moment in one of his stage shows.

He joked: ‘Dad: “Alan, why are you doing this to me?” Alan: “I don’t know, dad, but I can show you the impressive dance.”‘

He also recalled how his father forced him to break off a friendship because he feared the other boy was ‘gaying’ him.

After graduating from university, Alan moved to Manchester, setting his sights on a career in comedy. He worked in a call center for five years, performing stand-up comedy in his spare time, winning awards and gaining a huge following along the way.

He finally hit the big time in 2006 when he co-hosted the Channel 4 comedy variety show The Friday Night Project with Justin Lee Collins. Before long, she became a featured figure on the comedy panel show 8 Out of 10 Cats Counting Down. In 2019, she became a judge on the reality competition series RuPaul’s Drag Race UK.

Alan also hosted Going Out with Alan Carr on Radio 2 between 2009 and 2012.

I spent some time with Alan two years ago in Corfu while he was filming the reality show Mamma Mia. I have a dream for ITV with Zoe Ball.

This was around the time it was revealed that he had been tapped to be a judge on Britain’s Got Talent by former Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli.

Alan was so close to getting the part that he even ordered his wardrobe and was said to be furious to be disappointed.

While I found Alan to be great fun and a great friend, it was clear that he was in control. He made it clear from the beginning that if he was asked any questions he didn’t like during our interview, he wouldn’t answer them.

And now, with the highest position he can definitely reach, his revenge on BGT must be very sweet indeed.

As one source said: ‘He’s an old-school showbiz professional who would definitely make a perfect host. If he manages to win Traitors it will be a signal to the BBC that he has the star quality to deliver its flagship programme.’