Alan Carr shares the weird item Simon Cowell keeps in his toilet
Interior Design Masters host Alan Carr is on a mission to wrangle a group of celeb DIY novices – along with the adorable Pudsey Bear – as they return for a heartwarming Children in Need special, and while chatting about the show he reveals the surprising design item celeb pal Simon Cowell has in his toilet.
The special episode, which is sure to tug at your heartstrings, features well-known faces sprucing up spaces at a centre for young carers, and it hit Alan harder than he anticipated. "I was ugly crying," he reveals. "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."
The show pairs comedian Jon Richardson and model Leomie Anderson, pop royalty couple Shirlie and Martin Kemp, alongside comedian Darren Harriott and podcaster Joanne McNally, with each duo tasked with revamping a room at the Sandwell Young Carers Project. As they transform the West Midlands haven into a cosy spot for kids to unwind and find support, they get a surprise visit from none other than Pudsey himself. Alan admits meeting the Children in Need mascot was just as exciting for him as it was for the kids.
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"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 chuckles, quickly adding, "It was all above board, thank you very much!"
But Pudsey's entrance nearly turned into a fiasco. "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."
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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, who is currently hosting the fifth series of Interior Design Masters, also stars alongside his friend Amanda Holden on the renovation show Amanda And Alan’s Italian Job. Despite this, he confesses that he's not exactly a whizz with power tools.
"I can’t even put up a shelf or wallpaper or anything like that," he admits. "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 may not be a DIY expert, but he certainly has an eye for design, especially when it comes to his stylish kitchen. Over the years, the room has accumulated a collection of novelty candles, including one with his own face on it, which he jokes he "bought on the dark web", and 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 enjoys watching the transformation journey people embark on when they sign up for Interior Design Masters. He's even picked up a few tips himself. "It’s surprising how texture and wallpaper can make you feel better," he shares. "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 good – 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, thinking about future guests. "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."
