Lifestyle
Alan Carr reveals weird thing Simon Cowell keeps in his toilet
Interior Design Masters host Alan Carr is tasked with keeping a handful of DIY-challenged celebrities – and cuddly mascot Pudsey Bear – in check as the show returns for a Children in Need special, and chatting about the show he has revealed a secret about pal Simon Cowell’s design preferences.
The heart-warming episode sees famous faces attempt to revamp rooms at a centre for young carers – and proved to be more emotional for Alan than he expected.
“I was ugly crying,” he says. “At a certain point, I had a lump in my throat and couldn’t even film the links to camera. Everyone was moved, and I think even the man underneath the Pudsey outfit had a little cry.”
Comedian Jon Richardson and model Leomie Anderson, celebrity couple Shirlie and Martin Kemp, and comedian Darren Harriott and podcaster Joanne McNally are paired up on the show, with each duo transforming a room at the Sandwell Young Carers Project.
While the pairs work on making the West Midlands centre a place for children to relax and receive support, they’re treated to a cameo from Pudsey himself. And Alan confesses that he was as thrilled as the children to meet the Children in Need icon.
“I just ran over to him and I was hugging him, kissing him, rubbing his belly, and then he took the bear head off and there was a 17-year-old boy underneath,” he laughs, before adding, “It was all above board, thank you very much!”
It turns out that Pudsey’s arrival was almost a disaster. “Pudsey’s head was so big the man inside was bent over with his head on the dashboard, so we had to go and get a bigger van so he could be upright.” But it was all worth it for the moment the kids met Pudsey. “Their faces lit up and it was just magical.”
The comedian and TV presenter is five series into hosting Interior Design Masters and also stars with pal Amanda Holden on renovation show Amanda And Alan’s Italian Job – which he admits is a shock as he’s not exactly handy with a power tool.
“I can’t even put up a shelf or wallpaper or anything like that,” he says. “Amanda and I have got the Spanish Job coming up and there’s this bit where I didn’t put my wheelbarrow close enough to the cement mixer, and I went to make a cup of tea, and came back and there’s a pile of cement to the left of the wheelbarrow, not in it.”
He’s more confident with design than DIY and is proud of his stylish kitchen. Although the room has collected a number of novelty candles over the years, from one with his own face on it which he jokes he “bought on the dark web”, to another shaped like a pink cake. “I don’t know why I bought this, it’s disgusting,” he says. “I’ve got a lovely house, I’ve just ruined it with my knick-knacks.”
Alan loves the journey people go on when they sign up for Interior Design Masters and transform their rooms, and he’s picked up a few tips along the way. “It’s surprising how texture and wallpaper can make you feel better,” he says. “Because of the lighting or something, though you don’t realise it. ‘Why do I like this shop? Why do I like that bar?’ It’ll be because of the wallpaper or a colour that makes you feel special – or at my age, it’s good lighting. I wish I lived in my downstairs toilet, as there I look 20!”
Following on from the Children in Need Interior Design Masters special, he’s hoping for another celebrity episode in the future. “I’d love Simon Cowell,” Alan says. “I think he likes monochrome, doesn’t he? I think someone told me he’s even got black toilet paper in his house.”
“Sharon Osbourne would be fun, too, I remember going to her house and she had Jo Malone candles in every room,” he adds. Alan is also keen for one particular star to take part – but admits that it’s an ambitious dream celeb. “I’d love Tom Hardy,” he says. “Just for a bit of eye candy. It would just be nice to look at him, wouldn’t it? I don’t care if he can’t put a shelf up.”