CELEBRITY Traitors star Alan Carr has a ruthless streak and will coldly cut off people that cross him, his ex-husband Paul Drayton has revealed.
Providing startling insight into the man behind the lovable onscreen persona, Paul says the comic turns into a very different character away from the cameras and can become withdrawn and selfish at home.
6 Alan Carr’s ex gives insight into the man behind the lovable onscreen personaCredit: BBC
6 Alan’s ex-husband Paul Drayton has shed new light on the star’s ‘ruthless streak’
6 ‘Betrayed’ Paloma was the first to be eliminated from The Celebrity TraitorsCredit: Instagram
And Paul claims Alan’s friendship with singer Paloma Faith has been exaggerated to create TV drama, adding: “They’re not good mates.”
In an exclusive interview Paul, 54, told The Sun on Sunday: “People think Alan is the funniest thing ever and I used to think that as well.
“But the person I would see at home was very different to the Alan you see on television — and he does have a ruthless streak.
“He will only take so much and then he will say, ‘You’re taking the p*ss, I don’t want anything more to do with you’.
‘Good at playing the game’
“He was tolerant most of the time when we were together, but if he felt someone was taking advantage of him, he would cut them out of his life. He is ruthless in that way.
“I don’t want to say he’s a good liar — as far as I know, he never lied to me during our relationship — but he will be good at playing the game and he will be a good Traitor.”
Paul – who is currently seeking a publisher for his book Ride Or Die Trying – makes it clear he is not slamming his former partner, who he is still on good terms with.
But he is happy to open up about their 14-year relationship after 49-year-old Alan became the standout star of Celebrity Traitors on BBC One.
The opening episode saw him nominated as a villainous Traitor along with chat show host Jonathan Ross, 64, and singer Cat Burns, 25.
The trio were then told they would have to “murder” one of the Faithful contestants in plain sight.
Heavily sweating and visibly nervous, Carr carried out the assassination by rubbing so-called plant poison on Picking Up the Pieces singer Paloma — on the pretence he was clearing hair from her face.
His actions meant the mum-of-two, 44, was the first to be eliminated from the show. Appearing on the One Show afterwards, she told hosts Alex Jones and Lauren Laverne that she felt betrayed.
Paloma added: “My four-year-old turned to me this morning and said, ‘Mama, I don’t like Alan any more. He can’t come to our house’.”
She’s been on his podcast a couple of times but if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think Paloma is his kind of person
Paul Drayton
Alan is unlikely to be shedding any tears, however, because Paul, who split from Alan in 2022, insists: “They’re not best friends. They don’t hang out.
“She’s been on his podcast a couple of times but if I’m being completely honest, I don’t think Paloma is his kind of person.
“She’s just someone he knows from showbiz. His best friends were Amanda Holden, Angellica Bell, Sally Lindsay and Paul O’Grady before he passed. He doesn’t have that many celebrity friends other than Amanda.”
Paul reveals that Alan goes “way back” with fellow traitor Jonathan and also hung out with host Claudia Winkleman.
However, the friendship with Paloma got off to a rocky start.
She cooked them lamb kebabs in 2011 and ended up giving food poisoning to Alan and Paul, as well as their best mate, singer Adele, 37, and her two-year-old pet dachshund Louie.
6 Alan rubbing so-called plant poison on singer Paloma’s faceCredit: BBC
6 Alan and Paul at the 2015 National Television AwardsCredit: PA:Empics Entertainment
Paul said: “Adele had warned us, ‘Don’t give Louie any because he’s got a sensitive stomach’.
“But I have ADHD and you don’t tell someone with ADHD not to do something.
“My dog Bev was under the table along with Adele’s dog and I gave both of them a bit of lamb without Adele knowing.
“About an hour and a half later we were upstairs drinking wine and watching X Factor when Louie arches his back and drops a load of diarrhoea on our rug. Adele said, ‘Get some kitchen roll!’.
“We went and got a load, but when we passed it to her she shoved two bits up her nose — she had no intention of cleaning up.
“We all had a laugh about it afterwards and we thought Paloma was fun to be around. But we didn’t have an instant friendship with her like we did with Adele.
I think the friendship is being made out to be a lot stronger on Traitors than it is in real life
Paul Drayton
“As far as I’m aware they don’t hang out or confide in each other.
“I think the friendship is being made out to be a lot stronger on Traitors than it is in real life.”
Since getting rid of Paloma, Alan, Jonathan and Cat have also murdered Olympic diver Tom Daley and Irish actress Ruth Codd.
Meanwhile, YouTube star Niko Omilana, EastEnders actress Tameka Empson and broadcaster Clare Balding have been banished at the roundtable gatherings.
Surviving Faithfuls are actress Celia Imrie, singer Charlotte Church, historian David Olusoga, former rugby star Joe Marler and comedian Joe Wilkinson.
6 Alan hides his face on screen on The Celebrity TraitorsCredit: BBC
TV host Kate Garraway, comedian Lucy Beaumont, actor Mark Bonnar, Ted Lasso star Nick Mohammed and actor Stephen Fry complete the line-up.
After ten years together Paul and Alan got married in 2018, with Adele officiating the ceremony at her Los Angeles mansion.
They raised animals together at a farm they bought in West Sussex, but the relationship cracked under the strain of lockdown — at a time when Paul admits his love of drink spiralled out of control.
He quips: “There were a few times in our relationship when I bet Alan wished he could have touched my face and bumped me off, to save him from the stress I was causing him.
“I fell in love with him because he’s funny and we used to make each other laugh.”
Having last seen Alan a few weeks ago, Paul is confident he will do well on Celebrity Traitors but adds: “As long as he doesn’t sweat too much and give himself away.
“He sweats when he’s nervous.”