This is the first such book that I have read and I'm now likely to read others. I found it lovely to take a trip down someone's very personal memory lane. I feel honoured that anybody would be willing to share such personal memories at all, let alone write them down. I love how, with this book, I was brought to laughter by Alan as he described some very depressing times he lived through. A lovely, warm and honest story of Alan Carrs' early days. From unambitious student, through soul destroying call centre jobs to television personality and presenter. This autobiography stops at the point of his first presenting job on the Friday Night Project. I'm of the opinion now, after reading this and also the autobiography of Scottish national treasure Kevin Bridges, that perhaps books by comedians are best absorbed as audio books. Timing is everything, after all, and with both of these comedians, it's their voice, personality, and sarcasm I love most of all; difficult to convey through the printed word.

Alan Carr childhood sitcom - BBC Filming begins on Alan Carr childhood sitcom - BBC

His contention was that fear of "giving up" is what causes the majority of smokers to continue smoking, thereby necessitating the smoker's perpetuation of the illusion of genuine enjoyment as a moral justification of the inherent absurdity of smoking in the face of overwhelming medical and scientific evidence of its dangers. Instead, he encourages smokers to think of the act of quitting, not as giving up, but as "escaping". After completing his degree in his early 20s, Carr moved to Manchester, aspiring to be a comedian. He lived in Chorlton-cum-Hardy after which he moved to Stretford, which he cites as an inspiration for his comedic work. [9] Carr worked in a call centre for five years and performed on the comedy circuit in his spare time, before moving into comedy as a full-time career. [10] [11] Career [ edit ] Television and film [ edit ]I wonder if it would of been better if he had not bothered with an introduction at all,just start from his childhood memories? Carr has always maintained that some of the nastiest people in television are our national treasures; that it’s a problem that the British public so revere their celebrities they want them to be nice, forgetting that television is pure fantasy. “Why is it that we need them to be nice?” he asks rhetorically. “And then people think if they’re not nice, they’ve somehow been lied to.” John Dicey, Global CEO & Senior Therapist of Allen Carr's Easyway". Allen Carr's Easyway . Retrieved 23 March 2021. Frings, Daniel; Albery, Ian P.; Moss, Antony C.; Brunger, Helen; Burghelea, Meda; White, Sarah; Wood, Kerry V. (2020). "Comparison of Allen Carr's Easyway programme with a specialist behavioural and pharmacological smoking cessation support service: a randomized controlled trial". Addiction. Alan Carr. 115 (5): 977–985. doi: 10.1111/add.14897. PMC 7186816. PMID 31968400. S2CID 210866371.

Look Who It Is! Alan Carr, My Story by Alan Carr | Goodreads

Fuller, Christian (26 January 2022). "Alan Carr's husband Paul Drayton jailed for drunkenly hitting police car". The Argus. Brighton . Retrieved 26 January 2022. He was academically bright, loved reading (although he likes to play this down, saying on Desert Island Discs that his book of choice would be the Argos catalogue). He went from school to drama and theatre studies at Middlesex University. From there, he floated through a series of temporary jobs – the factories, Tesco, the call centre – that furnished him with rich material for his standup. Which, incidentally, is a distinctly unglamorous profession when you’re starting out. It’s scrabbling around the country’s darkest corners being jeered at and humiliated. In those days, he might be paid no more than a tenner for a routine. It barely covered accommodation or the train home. Carr also wrote a number of other how-to books on subjects such as losing weight, stopping alcohol consumption, and overcoming the fear of flying. Along with his close friends, protégés, & co-authors Robin Hayley (chairman, Allen Carr's Easyway) & John C. Dicey (Global CEO & Senior Allen Carr's Easyway Therapist), he wrote books dealing with gambling, debt/junk-spending, sugar addiction, emotional eating, mindfulness, tech/smartphone addiction, caffeine addiction, vaping/JUUL with Online Video Programmes handling smoking, vaping/JUUL, alcohol, cocaine, cannabis, sugar & carb addiction, emotional eating, gambling, caffeine addiction, fear of flying, and mindfulness. In 2020, it was estimated that Allen Carr's Easyway method had helped more than 50 million people worldwide. [9] [10] What about Graham? “My dad found it incredibly sad. Which is not what you want to hear when you’ve made a sitcom.” Whereas I used to maybe slag off someone from X Factor, I think we’ve realised now who the enemy isThe book continues in this vein as Carr explores his life as a successful comedian, but not the biggest star. The book is very funny and many of the best laughs are on Carr himself as he gets in some daft situations. The book is also great for lovers of celebrity gossip. Carr is happy to tell a little bit about what happens behind the scenes and divulges who is nice and who is not. It is actually refreshing to read a book by a current star willing to call out others, rather than fret about their relationships in the vapid world of celebrity. The tension is in watching a child with Carr’s flamboyance unknowingly navigate the rampant homophobia of the 80s while his mother, Christine, fiercely beats away sneering neighbours. In one scene, Graham and Alan are sitting in their bronze Audi Quattro on the drive. “I don’t think you know what normal is, Alan,” his dad says. Modern-day Alan crashes in with a voiceover: “Hey, snowflakes! This was therapy, 80s style.”