Alan Carr puts his foot down. 'I will not swim with sharks!'

Alan Carr has said he's cross with Channel 4 for trying to get him to swim with sharks.

The comedian and chat show presenter told the Daily Star he was terrified by the idea and wouldn't be getting in the water with them unless it was for a huge amount of money.

He said: "They are doing all these shows at the moment wanting to put you out of your comfort zone. They want me to swim with sharks!

"I watched Jaws with my nan when I was seven and I was terrified. I am going to have a word with Channel 4 as I don't think I should be put in danger for a cheap programme.

"Or should I ask for loads of money like £100,000?"

Alan revealed that despite his regularity on TV, people sometimes didn't recognise him.

He said: "When I first got in Heat magazine I framed it and put it on the wall. This is a genuine story. A man came round to fix the bathroom and asked if I'd had it done on Moonpig."

He added: "Years ago I thought being on the telly might mean I'd be in those weird crushes lists, but it never happened.

"It really hurts when you look at some people on the list like Aleksandr Meerkat."

 

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.