It is a stressful time for Carr. Last night he did a tryout for his first live tour for four years. Arena dates start in September but he is already fretting. “When I started stand-up I was temping and had ten minutes of fresh stories every week. It’s not so easy now. Coming up with a new joke is hard but the greatest feeling in the world. It must be the nearest thing to giving birth for a man.” Other people have offered him material but he felt uncomfortable with it: “The audience knew it wasn’t me. Maybe because it was about having a wife and kids..."
So why the mega-tour if it makes him a bag of nerves? The money is clearly nice, the DVD sales will set him up for life, but there is more to it. With the likes of Michael McIntyre, Peter Kay and Jason Manford currently filling arenas to bursting point it is a matter of pride as well as bank balance. “This is what stand-ups do now. I have to do it to show people I can. Though if I had the time I’d rather do more nights in smaller theatres and visit stately homes during the day.”
The theme of his show ties in neatly with his thoughts about television. “There’s a lot in it about lies. How the papers print nonsense. I’ve read that I’ve had a wig fitted, had my teeth straightened and my eyes lasered. I read I’d refused to do Strictly Come Dancing because I wouldn’t dance with a woman. When I used to read tabloids I always thought there’s no smoke without fire, but there bloody well is!”
Carr is refreshingly candid, aware that there may come a time when he is not flavour du jour. “A new commissioning editor might hate me and the next thing you know you are selling jewellery on QVC.” He is not alone. His father Graham is the Chief Scout at Newcastle United and just before we spoke the manager, Chris Hughton, was sacked. New bosses in football as in broadcasting like to be surrounded by their own team, but so far Carr Sr is still in situ.
If it does all end tomorrow Carr Jr knows what he would do. He’d carry on living quietly in north London with his partner Paul and return to the stand-up circuit. “I’d be quite happy to go back to the clubs. £200 a night for 20 minutes work. Not bad is it?”
He clearly finds the buzz of attention anywhere irresistible: “I introduced Snow Patrol at Wembley Stadium during Live Earth when someone else was stuck in traffic. I had a hole in my cardigan and ended up being seen by a billion people. It was horrible before, then afterwards you just want to go back onstage. I’ve always been like that. When I used to do karaoke I’d refuse, then I’d do one song, then a few drinks later I’d be doing a Bee Gees medley.”
